Mammon

**Mammon** in the New Testament of the Bible is commonly interpreted to signify money, material wealth, or any entity that promises wealth. It is associated with the greedy pursuit of gain. Both the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke quote Jesus using the word in a phrase often translated in English as "You cannot serve both God and mammon."

## OVERVIEW:

Mammon is a demonic figure often referenced in religious and literary traditions, particularly in Christian theology. In the New Testament of the Bible, Mammon is commonly associated with the pursuit of wealth, material possessions, and the temptations of worldly gain. The term is used by Jesus in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, cautioning against the conflict between serving God and the pursuit of Mammon.

While Mammon itself is not explicitly personified in the Bible, it has come to symbolize the negative aspects of wealth and the potential dangers of materialism. Over time, in various cultural and artistic interpretations, Mammon has been depicted as a demonic entity embodying greed and the corrupting influence of excessive wealth.

The concept of Mammon has also found its way into literary works, where it serves as a symbolic representation of the pitfalls associated with the relentless pursuit of financial success at the expense of spiritual values. Overall, Mammon remains a potent metaphor and cautionary symbol, encouraging reflection on the ethical dimensions of wealth and the priorities in one's life.

## THEOLOGY:

In the 4th century, Gregory of Nyssa asserted that Mammon was another name for Beelzebub. Cyprian and Jerome, also in the 4th century, linked Mammon to greed, portraying it as an evil master that enslaves. John Chrysostom, in the same era, even personified Mammon as greed.

During the Middle Ages, Mammon was commonly personified as the demon of wealth and greed. Peter Lombard (II, dist. 6) stated, "Riches are called by the name of a devil, namely Mammon, for Mammon is the name of a devil, by which name riches are called according to the Syrian tongue." Piers Plowman also regarded Mammon as a deity. Nicholas de Lyra, commenting on the passage in Luke, stated, "Mammon est nomen daemonis" (Mammon is the name of a demon).

Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the New Testament, suggested that Mammon was a Syriac word for an idol worshipped as the god of riches, akin to Plutus among the Greeks, although he did not provide a specific authority for this statement.

However, no trace exists of any Syriac god with such a name, and the common identification of Mammon as a god of covetousness or avarice likely originates from Spenser's The Faerie Queene, where Mammon oversees a cave of worldly wealth. In Milton's Paradise Lost, a fallen angel values earthly treasure above all else. Later occultist writings, like Jacques Collin de Plancy's Dictionnaire Infernal, depict Mammon as Hell's ambassador to England. According to Thomas Carlyle in Past and Present (1843), the "Gospel of Mammonism" becomes a metaphoric personification for the materialist spirit of the 19th century.

Mammon bears some similarity to the Greek god Plutus and the Roman Dis Pater in his description, likely based on them at some point. Plutus appears in The Divine Comedy as a wolf-like demon of wealth, associating wolves with greed in the Middle Ages. Thomas Aquinas metaphorically describes the sin of Avarice as "Mammon being carried up from Hell by a wolf, coming to inflame the human heart with Greed."

Influenced by the Social Gospel movement, American populists, progressives, and "muck-rakers" from 1880 to 1925 used "Mammon" specifically in reference to the consolidated wealth and power of banking and corporate institutions on Wall Street and their predatory activities nationwide.

## POWERS AND ABILITIES:

**Wealth Manipulation**: Mammon possesses the ability to manipulate and control wealth, shaping it into various forms, creating illusions, or even manifesting physical riches at will.

**Avaricious Temptation**: Mammon can exert a powerful influence on individuals, exploiting their desires for wealth and tempting them into making deals or sacrifices for financial gain.

**Economic Domination**: Mammon can exert control over economic systems, influencing markets, investments, and financial institutions to favor his interests and bring about chaos.

**Cursed Fortune**: Mammon can bestow wealth upon individuals, but with a malevolent twist—ensnaring them in a cursed cycle where their riches lead to misery and moral degradation.

**Greed Transference**: Mammon can transfer and amplify the greed of one person to another, creating discord and rivalry as individuals become consumed by insatiable desires for wealth.

**Materialization of Desire**: Mammon has the ability to materialize the deepest desires of individuals, using their greed against them by turning their wishes into nightmarish realities.

**Corruptive Bargains**: Mammon excels in making deals and bargains that seem beneficial but always come at a cost, ensuring that those who seek his favor are forever entangled in malevolent pacts.

**Reality Distortion**: Mammon can distort the perception of reality, creating illusions of prosperity or scarcity, leading individuals and societies to make decisions that serve his interests.

**Soul Deb**t: Mammon can forge soul-debts, binding individuals to him in exchange for wealth. These debts accumulate over time, leading to the eventual possession of the debtor's soul.

**Golden Chains**: Mammon can conjure ethereal chains made of gold, binding and imprisoning those who defy or displease him, turning their pursuit of wealth into a literal shackle.

**Covetous Aura**: Mammon emits an aura that amplifies the inherent greed within individuals nearby, heightening their materialistic desires and making them susceptible to his manipulations.

**Wealth Transcendence**: Mammon can temporarily transcend the physical plane, existing as an ethereal force that traverses financial networks, absorbing and accumulating wealth from various sources simultaneously.