As we talk about the 21st century , many, soon point to this as the age of technology , from reason and the wide circulation of knowledge . Under such a framework, it is difficult to imagine that the mythical figure of the demon have space in the explanation of the world or in people's own imagination. However, recent research has shown that the number of exorcists , clerics responsible for casting out demons, accredited by the Catholic Church , have been growing impressively.
In fact, since the beginning of the world, we have observed that Western and Eastern cultures have developed ways to explain the ills that afflict us. In this effort, the construction of an evil figure , ends up assuming the moral values and behaviors of lesser prestige in our culture. In Christian religions , Jewish and Islamic , o mal embodies the figure of an individual who opposes God and seeks to torment the lives of all followers of such religions.
For many experts, the development of thediabolical figure it is the result of the various dualities that permeate man's daily life. The beautiful and the ugly , the luck and the bad luck , the right and the wrong , the life and death make up games in which one side assumes positive meaning and the other, necessarily, a completely negative position . Thus, those who believe that the demonic universe is a unique trait to the three aforementioned religions should not be deceived.
In 6th century BC , the Persian prophet Zoroaster performed the description of a being called Ariman . In his words, Ahriman was the “prince of darkness ” and waged an eternal struggle against Mazda , the “prince of light ”. According to historians, this value of Persian religiosity ended up being incorporated by the Hebrews during the famous Babylonian Captivity . At that moment, the interaction with the foreign culture gave rise to the “satan ”, a term that in its literal translation means “accuser ” or “opponent ”.
At first, the Hebrew devil does not assume the strictly terrifying posture we recognize in Christianity . In several passages of the Old Testament , he appears as a kind of collaborator who receives divine authority to punish or test the faithful followers of Yahweh . The suffering of Job , who lost all his lands and became ill, exemplifies this type of posture that the devil initially assumes in the biblical text.
About 2nd century BC , the figure of the devil appears in some apocryphal texts of the Jewish religious tradition. If they assume a very well-defined feature, demons are presented as evil beings that disorient individuals and lead them to commit deplorable acts . In the end, the darker side of the Jewish religious imagery was concentrated in descriptions of the end times . The fame of the devil appeared later, with the appearance of the Christian religion .
Getting to the texts of the New Testament , authors such as São João and São Paulo they dedicate lines after lines in terrible battles in which the Devil wages an intense war against God. At that moment, from ephemeral and indefinite creatures, demons become part of a legion of evil spiritual beings headed by a supreme leader . In one of these battles, we can highlight a description in which Lucifer and a third of the angels are cast out of heaven.
In early Christianity, many Christians believed that the devil took the form ofgladiators and lions who slaughtered them in the Roman arenas. Only in the 4th century , a council in the city of Toledo minutely described the Devil as a being composed of horns , black skin or reddish , with tail and wielder of a trident . From then on, reports of demonic experiences gained strength in a new wave of narratives.
Thus, the figure of the devil assumed forms and would soon be the bearer of an individualized genesis. In 1215 , the Lateran Council determined that the Devil and demons were creatures created by God who, because of their particular choices, chose to deviate from divine authority. In this context, at the same time that the enemy became clearly recognized, other stories talked about people who gave themselves to the fearsome side of obscurity .
According to the most recent research, the spread of demon cults appears precisely in the effervescent 14th century . In some countries in Europe , the order of the Luciferians preached the idea that the chosen of God was Lucifer, as he was primarily designated as “the angel of light ”. InItaly , a sect known as “La Vecchia Religione ” (The Old Religion) organized masses where consecrated bread was offered to the mice and pigs .
In the Modern Age , the devil was the biggest accused of leading people to practice the heretical acts fought by the Holy Inquisition . Exorcism manuals richly detailed the manifestations and ways of expelling the devil. In several cases, reinforcing the ideal of fragility of the female condition, the nuns appeared in public taken by demons, pronouncing various offenses against God and men sanctified by the Church.
After Enlightenment , we see that the preoccupation with the devil gains less emphasis through the dissemination of scientific explanations , particularly in the medical field. At the end of the 19th century , the romantic literature started to incorporate him as a being that represents man's ability to reason freely. One of the best known examples of this other meaning appears in the work “O Fausto ”, written by the German Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe .
In the last century , the relationship between the devil and the power to conquer standards ended up being systematically explored in the creation of rumors about artists and celebrities from the musical field. Amidst the media explosion, the demonization of certain musical groups and artists have turned into a sure path to fame, whether positive or negative. After all, nothing is more averse to the devil than trivialization itself.
Currently, disbelief in the devil ends up fueling an interesting debate among cultural thinkers. For some of them, believing in the devil is fundamental for society to reinforce its ethical limits and morals . Deconstructing an image of evil can lead people to simply ignore heinous behaviors . In the end, believing in the forces of evil is still a way of reinforcing the individual's positive qualities .