Always to want more

This is the last blog for a while on the subject of the occult, demonology, spiritualism and theism. I started writing these blogs to help people understand why I wrote my book, "The Demon Cult". My fascination with religion persists; why individuals believe in an omnipresence and how they believe it can affect their lives, what happens after death and so on.

I do not believe that there is a god in that sense but respect peoples' beliefs. We all need some credo to live our lives; I suppose, if for no other reason, than to give point to human life. I just think that we are the current beings, in the four billion history of the Earth, who have found a way of using all of the World's resources, flora and fauna, minerals and topography to our best advantage.

There WILL come a day when human life will vanish in its current form: just like the dinosaurs are considered by some experts to have taken to the air as birds. What will follow, who knows. That is the point. Nobody knows anything in the final analysis. Despite worthy tomes, bibles, and many other religious and scientific books there is not one substantiated case of someone returning to the Earth: not one! Yes, there are recorded visions and narratives going back hundreds of years but many writings on the subject were politically motivated, or written long after the events. The bible is only a compilation of religious books written at the time; the New Testament is written to support the stories of Jesus. I am not a Jesus denier, nor would I cast scorn on any religion but it is a step into the supernatural. The Oxford Dictionary defines supernatural as: attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature; or 2, exceptionally or extraordinarily great. I think that the first definition stands well; the second needs confirmation as to why and how. Empirical evidence is by witness, rational evidence is by factual proof. The beliefs described throughout my blogs are empirical: stories of great happenings by witnesses but no proof. Over centuries there has been no shortage of religious interpreters who are happy to tell their congregations what the narratives mean.

So one person's idea of why we are here and what we are to do is as good as another. My book visits the old religions in, I hope, an entertaining way. Its follow up - "The Demon Cult 2 Baker's Island" - will continue the journey through spiritualism and demonology and is also a metaphor for greed and the human desire always to want more.

I hope that you have enjoyed my blogs thus far and would love to debate, or hear the views, of any readers: I know you are out there!

Demons

Last time I discussed the concepts or precepts of different faiths. I finally mentioned "demons" which is where I would like to start today.

The demon I chose for the front cover for my book "The Demon Cult" is from the "Dictionnaire Infernal" by Collin de Plancy written and  illustrated in the 1800s. It is a manifestation of the Devil. For more information on this subject I suggest the excellent website Delirium's Realm will provide further insight.

So "Demons": evil or just a bad press?
As a committed atheist any concept of a god, demon, angel et al all comes under the heading of "the supernatural" i.e. that there is a world beyond ours were beings exist who can influence or change our lives. I suppose it goes back to the concept of a sun god, where, when the crops failed some bright spark thought that sacrificing a goat might please the divine presence of the sun god and the crops would thrive. It they did not, the inevitable and logical next step was to sacrifice a human being. At some point "voilà" as the French say, and man, woman, child, or beast, is marked for future sacrificial duty.I am not being glib - well only a bit - but it does not take Einstein to work out the pattern.
Demons have been around as long as humans inhabited the Earth; they are usually portrayed as fallen angels which can be conjured and controlled. Most religions have them and as I mentioned in a previous blog, you cannot have good without the antithesis of evil.

In my book the anti-hero is Baal Crowley. He is supposed to be the grandson of Aleister Crowley, the Satanist and so-named in the twenties and thirties, "the Beast 666". Baal is the storm god and god of fertility. Some say that he is the personification of God, others that he was at the hand of El who was married in mythology to Asherah. El was considered the father of the humanities and Ba'al Hadad, his son. Both are depicted by a bull and bulls on their headdress. These are the gods of the ancients and despite many attempts to bring in prophets, in all religions, declaring that there is but one god, all evidence points back to El and Baal. Even when monotheism (belief in one god) started to be accepted, around two thousand years ago, there was evidence that the common man still believed in the gods of old. Statues have been found in Lebanon and Palestine (in biblical times Canaan) and Israel of Baal. The "man-in-the-street" can be forced, in public to worship whatever the ruling classes say but secretly he will do what seems right. Demonology has its place in all religions.

I should note at this time that the Aleister Crowley images are linked from the web site: http://www.pinterest.com/explore/aleister-crowley/, where you can find further information and images on this topic.