Satan and demons

In the course of this debate I will be arguing in favor of the existence of demons and the devil as truly existing personal entities. In order to do this it is necessary to define what it is we are talking about. Devils, in Christian theology are fallen angels. Angels are beings of pure spirit (no material body) who have both intellect and will and are created to worship God and do His will. As Angels are endowed with free-will they were able to choose whether or not to fulfill their function and some of them chose to rebel against God. These fallen angels are what we refer to as the demons, and the principal of these is often called Satan or the Devil. It is the nature of this matter, as my partner in this debate has indicated, that it must be approached from a Christian perspective. If someone does not believe in the existence of God it is unlikely they will entertain the existence of spiritual beings created by Him, and the debate would be simply impossible. All this notwithstanding, the perspective with which this debate must be approached also stands further clarification. I am a Catholic, however it is my understanding that my interlocutor is not of my same faith and to approach it from a purely Catholic standpoint (bashing my opponent on the head with the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the teachings of the popes) would be to unnecessarily exclude a large swath of Christians from this conversation. I will therefore approach the issue from the perspective of what C.S. Lewis called "mere" Christianity. That is, the large area of common belief among mainstream Christian groups. I will therefore take for granted the following things: 1. The Bible (Old and New Testament) is the infallible Word of God 2. The testimony of early Christians, while not infallible, is a valuable guide to the correct interpretation of Sacred Scripture. 3. The beliefs of traditional Judaism are also a valuable guide to the cultural and religious context of Sacred Scripture. The Bible (Greek biblia, books) is a collection of different inspired works written in different literary genre. It includes poetry (Song of Songs) theologized history (Kings), ancient biography (Gospels) and apocalyptic literature (Revelation). It is therefore plausible in some contexts to claim that a reference to an angel or a demon could be allegorical to a theological truth. This however does not hold up to scrutiny once one sees that references to angels and demons are ubiquitous throughout the different books of the Bible. Both Old Testament and the New. To deny the existence of angels and demons as true beings as described in the Bible is to rewrite Salvation history and the Scriptures themselves. This is particularly so in the New Testament, where references to demons and exorcisms are so common, and explained in the same tone as any other circumstance in the life of Jesus and His disciples that it is difficult to deny that they are meant to be taken at face value. I leave, finally, a list of occasions in which demons are mentioned in the New Testament. Particular passages may be given a spiritualized interpretation which denies the reality of demons, but the mass of evidence simply cannot be ignored without at the same time placing doubt upon the whole of the New Testament. - Matt 4:24; 8:16; Mark 1:32-34, 39; Luke 13:32; 16:18 Christ cures demon possession among many other problems. - Matt 7:21-23 Some people will claim to cast out demons in Christ"s name but not really know Him. - Matt 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-19; Luke 8:26-39 Jesus casts out demons from two men into a heard of swine. - Matt 9:32-34 Jesus casts demon from mute/deaf man, Pharisees claim it is by the ruler of demons. - Matt 10:1,8; Mark 6:7,13; 13:14-15; Luke 9:1 Christ sends Apostles out, gives them authority to cast out demons. - Matt 11:18; Luke 7:33 John the Baptist accused of having a demon. - Matt 12:22-32; Mark 3:22-30; Luke 11:14-23 Christ casts demon out of a blind-mute man; Pharisees accuse Him of doing it by Beelzebub, prince of demons, and Christ explains that attributing miracles by the Holy Spirit to Satan will not be forgiven in the world to come. - Matt 15:22-28; Mark 7:25-30 Christ casts a demon out of Syro-Phoenician woman"s daughter. - Matt 17:14-21; Mark 9:14-30; Luke 9:38-43 Disciples could not cast out demon causing epilepsy in child, Christ said this kind required prayer and fasting to come out. - Matt 25:41 Everlasting fire is prepared for the Devil and his angels (demons). - Mark 1:23-28; Luke 4:33-37 Christ casts out demon in synagogue who tried to reveal His mission. - Mark 9:38-42; Luke 9:49-50 Christ tells disciples not to stop others from casting out demons in His name, even though they do not follow him. - Mark 16:8-10; Luke 8:1-3 Seven demons cast out of Mary Magdalene, yet she helped to fund his ministry and was the first to see Him when He was risen. - Mark 16:17 Casting out demons listed as first sign of those who believe. - Luke 4:41 Many demons were cast out while trying to reveal Christ"s mission. - Luke 10:17-20 Seventy disciples who were sent out rejoice that demons were subject to them. - Luke 11:24-26 Christ explains that when a demon is cast out, it may try to return with more demons. - Luke 13:10-13 Christ heals woman who had a "spirit of in firmity" for 18 years and could not stand up. - John 7:20; 8:48-49,52; 10:20-21 Christ is accused of "having a demon". - Acts 16:16-19 Paul and Silas cast a "spirit of divination" out of a woman. - Acts 19:13-20 Seven sons of Sceva are wounded when they fail to cast out a powerful demon in the name of "Jesus whom Paul preaches". The demon recognizes Jesus and Paul, but not these men. The well-known event causes many to burn their magic books. - 1Cor 10:19-21; Rev 9:20 People who worship idols are worshipping demons. - 2 Cor2:11 "lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices." - 2Cor 11:13-14 "And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works." - Eph 6:11-12 "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." - 1Tim 4:1-3 In the latter days, people will give into deceiving spirits and "doctrines of demons". - Jms 2:19 Demons believe there is one God. - Jms 3:13-16 Evil, earthly wisdom comes from demons. - 2Pet 2:4 "For if God spared not the angels who had sinned, but having cast them down to the deepest pit of gloom has delivered them to chains of darkness to be kept for judgment;" (Darby Translation). - Jude 1:6-13 Angels that left their proper place wander around doing evil and will be judged for it. - Rev 12:3-4 The great red dragon (Satan) "drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth". Did one third of the angels become demons? - Rev 16:13-14 Demons can perform false miracles. - Rev 18:2 Demons sometimes dwell in demolished cities.