Demons and evil spirits: Do they exist?

Many religions believe in the concept of an evil force that tempts and sometimes controls men to do evil acts, warp the theology of said religion, or help cause illnesses-mostly of the mental sort. Many key religious figures-Krishna, Buddha, and Jesus-in addition to being miracle workers, were also exorcists.

So are these creatures real, or are they simply an explanation for our base animal nature?

 

I think that they are a personification of the evil that is to some degree within all of us. To some people, it is an excuse for thinking bad thoughts or doing bad things so they will feel better, that is it not their fault.

 

i personaly believe that evil forces are at work, and have been for a long, long time.
the way i see it, how else could you explain how people could concieve and carry out such horrible acts (ex- 9-11-01, war, the acts of rape and murder that happen every day, etc...)
and i also think that there are people who are born evil, and there are people who are inherently good, but are sometimes seduced by the "dark side" (had to throw in a sw reference), some come back to the good side, and some turn to evil. i think thats the way its always been

 

Yes

 

good point enforcer, people dont take responsiblity for their own actions, even if there were some "higher powers" at work

 

DarthDear, I would say especally if they are higher powers at work, because if they are more powerful than us, then they can, in theory, control us to some degree.

But there are many people who do take responsability for their actions, and I pray (i dont know to who) that I am one of them.

 

In Buddhism and Taoism there are no evil forces. Evil only comes about through imbalance. I believe in this idea much more than the whole Satan bit.

 

The desire to cause war, rape, murder and genocide comes from man's own genetic makeup. We are predisposed to these activities. That said, we also have the ability to not do these things. It is not the devil or demons that tempt us to do these things, it is the innate desire to procreate and eliminate one's rivals for the chancee to procreate.

 

EnforcerSG,

Great posts! You are right on target in my opinion.

 

There are still a great many things in this multiverse that we humans are as of yet unable to perceive. I have been places where I have felt a malevolent presence and had the hair on the back of my neck stand on end, only to learn later that sometime in the past those sites experienced great violence. And I have been in places that I knew were haunted and felt a similar presence. I can only assure you that I am sane and don't hear or feel things everywhere I go. Are these presences just the trapped spirits of the dead or are they linked to something far more ancient? Was it just random chance that certain sites attracted evil (violence) or was there something/someone there before hand?
Also why is that one tree on Dagobah filled with the Darkside? EU answers are ok but I'll wait for Lucas to give his version.

 

The tree was not filled with the darkside. Yoda said that luke will find only what he brought in. Luke brought his lightsaber looking for violence and violence is what he recieved

 

Vegere[sp?] in "Traitor" kinda explains this Darkside, Lightside business. I kinda believe she's right. That the darkness is in us that there is no Light or Dark, Black or White.

Don't the Quakers believe that we are all born evil?

 

There are no demons or evil spirits. Simply they are constructs of a religion to explain evil in a world that they believe is controlled by an all loving, all powerful, all knowing God who does nothing to stop it.

 

sleazo- I was just kidding about my confusion with the "Darkside" tree. And I agree with you that Lucas/Yoda did provide the explanation of "you will find what you bring in" as far as emotional state and expectations go. But your answer sparked another question and observation.
When I went into the known haunted areas it is reasonable to argue that I brought in my own preconseptions of what I might experience and allowed the atmosphere to color my perseptions. However on more than a few occasions when I have been in previously unknown haunted areas I have been without these preconseptions and in fact been at peace and still felt, "a disturbance in the Force."
I'm curious how you would explain this if something similar happened to you?

 

There's a theory going around that God did not destroy the demons and Satan simply because it would have proved them right...

 

There's a theory going around that God did not destroy the demons and Satan simply because it would have proved them right...

Then why create them in the first place?

 

Then why create them in the first place?

Because he loves them.

 

I think human beings are caught in the middle of a spiritual war between good and evil. We have the capacity to do both: good and evil. But we can be tempted by evil forces, bothered by evil forces; sometimes this is expressed in other people...your friends perhaps. Yes, like a friend you have who you know isn't good for you yet you still hang around that person? Humans are intelligent beings, but our thoughts is where the battle takes place. Our mind is where we decide our actions. You can have a good voice speaking to you, and a bad one.

 

According to some of the apocrypha-it's only hinted in the canon-of the scriptures, a group of Angels, presumabely led by Satan, rebelled and screwed around with humanity. God knew that destroying them would only prove they were right, I suppose...

Then again, he did kill most humans in the flood...what kept him from killing the angels?

 

Anything with a spirit is immortal. A person's body can be killed, but their consciousness lives on. Angles/demons wouldn't even have a body to kill.

I think demons are real, but have little real power other than what people let them have. The "Devil made me do it" thing isn't true.

 

Demons and evil spirits are real! Anyone ever heard of whiskey? Now there's an evil spirit. Praise da lawd!

Okay joking aside I don't think either are real. The church was a political institution in the middle ages in Europe. They're the ones who created this crap, they only become real if you think they are. That or you're on an illegal substance, either way, they're still fake, they're like Santa Claus and the easter bunny, fake fake creations. In the words of Dennis Miller, that's just my opinion I could be wrong.

 

Demons and evil spirits...do they exist?


NO....NEXT!

I have to go with Madmardigan here. The "Evil Spirits" thing was cooked up by religions as a way to get people to come to church and fear their all powerful invisible man.

 

Nope, and I can tell you this: people are not born evil.

 

Demons do exist. They were not made up by anyone or anything. They are reality.

 

people are not born evil.

I kind of disagree. People are born with natural animalistic insticts that we label as evil. I guess you could say the acts aren't intrinsically evil, but I would argue some can't control their behavior as well as others.