Demonology
[5] Traditional Korean belief posits that countless demons inhabit the natural world; they fill household objects and are present in all locations.
[1] Greek philosophers such as Porphyry of Tyre (who claimed influence from Platonism[6]), as well as the fathers of the Christian Church, held that the world was pervaded with spirits,[1] the latter of whom advanced the belief that demons received the worship directed at pagan gods.
The occasional mischievous act, such as the throwing down of a tree on a passer-by, is believed by the natives to be perpetuated by the class of spirits known as Ombuiri.
[1][8] Many spirits, especially those regarding natural processes, are often considered neutral or benevolent; ancient European peasant fears of the corn-spirit would crop up during irritation, as a result of the farmer infringing on the domain of said spirit, and taking his property by cutting the corn;[9] similarly, there is no reason why the less significant pantheon should be regarded as malevolent, and historical evidence has shown that the Petara of the Dyaks are viewed as invisible guardians of mankind rather than hostile malefactors.
Yet just as gods are not necessarily spiritual, demons may also be regarded as corporeal; vampires for example are sometimes described as human heads with appended entrails, which issue from the tomb to attack the living during the night watches.
The incubi and succubi of the Middle Ages are sometimes regarded as spiritual beings; but they were held to give proof of their bodily existence,[1] such as offspring (though often deformed).
[14] One class of demons that were believed to reside in the underworld were known as galla;[15] their primary purpose appears to have been to drag unfortunate mortals back to Kur.
suggest that the origins of early Greek Old Testament demonology can be traced to two distinctive and often competing mythologies of evil— Adamic and Enochic.
In these later traditions Satanael is often depicted as the leader of the fallen angels while his conceptual rival Azazel is portrayed as a seducer of Adam and Eve.
[32][33][34] In modern times, some demonological texts have been written by Christians, usually in a similar vein of Thomas Aquinas, explaining their effects in the world and how faith may lessen or eliminate damage by them.
[35] A few Christian authors, such as Jack Chick and John Todd, write with intentions similar to Kramer, proclaiming that demons and their human agents are active in the world.
[36] These claims can stray from mainstream ideology, and may include such beliefs as that Christian rock is a means through which demons influence people.
[38] One prominent classification is given by al-Jahiz,[39] who classifies jinn as:[40] Zakariya al-Qazwini's Aja'ib al-Makhluqat mentions seven types of animals.
[41] The German orientalist Almut Wieland-Karimi classified the Jinn in the ten most common categories mentioned in folklore literature:[42] Traditionally, Buddhism affirms the existence of hells[43] populated by demons who torment sinners and tempt mortals to sin, or who seek to thwart their enlightenment, with a demon named Mara as chief tempter, "prince of darkness", or "Evil One" in Sanskrit sources.
The idea of the imminent decline and collapse of the Buddhist religion amid a "great cacophony of demonic influences" was already a significant component of Buddhism when it reached China in the first century A.D., according to Michel Strickmann.
For some writers of the time, this state of affairs had been ordained to serve the higher purpose of effecting a "preliminary cleansing" that would purge and purify humanity in preparation for an ultimate, messianic renewal.
In his autobiography, The Blazing Splendor, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, a prominent Tibetan Buddhist master of the 20th century describes encounters with such beings.
Vedic scriptures include a range of spirits (Vetalas, Rakshasas, Bhutas, and Pishachas) that might be classified as demons.
The Hindu text Garuda Purana details other kinds of punishments and judgments given out in Hell; it also gives an account of how spirits travel to various nether worlds.
