fairy vs demon

Classic v. Cartoon FairiesShakespeare's account of the mythology of fairies (c. 1600) was written before the mythology was well-developed. The Wikipedia article we both referenced suggest the mythology matured in the Victorian era, the 1800s. I referenced J,M. Barrie, who wrote his account of Tinkerbell in 1911, just after the maturity of the fairy mythology. I did not reference the Disney cartoons of the modern era. The Disney depiction is far more benign than that of Barrie, who portrayed Tinker Bell as jealous and vindictive. The cuteness of fairies derives from the Victorian era, as shown in the Wikipedia article as well. Disney picked that up and embellished it, while dropping the vindictiveness. I agree that the Disney portrayal is not the subject of the debate. However, (a) it's reasonable for me to argue against the image of cuteness that might affect the sentiments of voters of the debate and (b) the properties of fairies as described in the 1700's ad 1800's are "classical" within a reasonable interpretation of the rules of debate. Pro didn't define "classical" as "not after the Renaissance" but rather as "not as in cartoons." There is no standard default meaning of "classical" applicable to this debate. Compare, for example, to chess wherein the "hyper-modern" openings to the 1880's -- what is classical and what is modern all depends. For our debate, it would be unreasonable to exclude the heyday of fairy mythology from a debate on the properties of fairies.As further evidence of the relatively modernity of fairy mythology, consider [8] http://www.amazon.com... Edwin Sidney Hartland, The Science of Fairy Tales: An Inquiry into Fairy Mythology (p. 63). Public Domain Books. Kindle Edition. The book was published in 1890 (available as a free Kindle download) and dealt with the author's efforts at tracking down tales of the supernatural still fresh in that era. For example, he writes of the tale of a salve that "And this is evidently to be understood in all cases. Accordingly, we find the invariable result is that the favoured mortal beholds swarms of fairies who were invisible before. But their dwellings, their clothing, and their surroundings in general suffer a transformation by no means always the same." The 1800's were still prime time for fairies.Seelie and Unseelie FairiesLet's suppose that Shakespeare's description that Pro cite. The passage describes the power of fairies to cause crop failures and plagues. Pro argues that fairies cannot be defeated because they rank high in the hierarchy of angels, are on the side of good, and that therefore they will come under the protection of an almighty God. We cannot say what class of beings comes under God's protection, as, for example, innocent children are not despite apparently being good. Pro's claim that fairies re good, however, is clearly false. Good beings do not cause famines and plagues. Pro offers no independent evidence that God intervenes on the side of fairies, therefore we conclude they are on their own.Pro cites the characteristics of fairies as angels and demons as subject to the limitations of an Almighty, but those are only the constructs of a narrow segment of Christian concept. The Mythical Creatures Guide Wiki [9] http://www.mythicalcreaturesguide.com... recounts seven attributed origins of fairies; dead (i.e. ghosts), elementals, demoted angels, demons, human, babies laughs (in a novel by J.M. Barrie), and pagan deities. Pro seems to favor the demoted angels origin: "... when the Angels revolted God shut the gates of heaven, those in Heaven remained Angels, those in Hell became Devils and those stuck in between became Fairies. Other believed that they had been thrown out of Heaven for misbehaving but they were not evil enough to go to Hell and that is how they became trapped. Though they were not Devils, they were not Angels either and so can be seen as subjects of the Devil."Regardless of origins, [9] puts fairies into two categories:"The Seelie CourtIn Scottish folklore, the Seelie (meaning 'blessed' or 'holy') Court is the community of helpful and beneficent Fairies. Often seen at twilight in long, solemn processions, these Fairies are willing to seek help from humans and to return human kindness with gifts and favours. For instance, they often leave gifts of corn and bread for poor country folk who honour them. They enjoy feasting, hunting and dancing.The Unseelie CourtThis particular classification of Fairies is malicious towards humankind. At night, they may appear in a group or 'horde' to harass travellers by taking them up into the air, pinching them, tangling their hair into knots or leading them astray. These creatures are also believed to be responsible for sickness and death among domestic animals. They prefer to live in the wilderness and in places associated with bloodshed, such as burial grounds and ancient battlefields."The Seelie Court ones are of the Tinker Bell variety, although not so jealous and vindictive, but rely weak and of no match for demons. The Unseelie Court variety seems to encompass the Shakespearean model, acting evil through plague. Neither kind would be subject to divine protection. Still, the ravages of Unseelie or Shakespearean fairies are limited to not as powerful as that of demons, "Seated on his golden throne, blazing like flame, ... a great fire kindled on an altar kept alive by sacrificial offerings. Unconquered by gods, gandharvas, rishis or other creatures..." [5] The Wiki [9] goes beyond the European Christian concepts to describe dozens of kinds from cultures around the world. None rise much above the power to kill a single person.The Wiki [9] shows a painting of a cute fairy, consistent with J.M. Barrie vision from the 19th century, under the page heading. DemonsThe Mythical Creatures Wiki also covers demons [10] http://www.mythicalcreaturesguide.com... It define three types:"Hell Demons: The "Actual" demons, as in the ones that are born from all the Hate and all evil in Hell, along with the Dark Fallen Angels, and so on.Dimensional Demons: Beings that Inhabit different dimensions or planes of existence. They could have dark intentions, or be born out of spite, vile, and evil. But they are not necessarily, they could be born out of something physical, or even other feelings. Usually have an epheral existence, or a not very solid composition in our plane of reality and the physical.Earth's Demons: Beings that inhabit the Earth, that, theoretically speaking, are not Really demons, like for example ghosts (actually, Ghosts can fit in both categories, Earth and Dimensional), Dragons (Dragons, can actually fit in whole load of Categories, from heavenly, to earthly, to dimensional, etc.), minotaours, Sphinxes, and Monsters in general that usually have a tangible existence in the physical realm."As noted, not all demons are evil. The worst and most powerful are the hell demons and [10] lists and describes about 250 kinds. For example, and evil one is Beelzebub is "In later Christian and Biblical sources he appears as a demon and the name of one of the seven princes of Hell." [11] http://en.wikipedia.org... A non-Christian demon example is Pazuzu [12] http://en.wikipedia.org... from Assyrian and Babylonian mythology:"Pazuzu is the demon of the southwest wind known for bringing famine during dry seasons, and locusts during rainy seasons. .... Although Pazuzu is, himself, an evil spirit, he drives away other evil spirits, thus protecting humans against plagues and misfortunes."Pazuzu could defeat the misfortunes bought by the evil fairy of Shakespeare, though he would bring his own misfortunes instead. Our debate is only about which is more powerful.