Demons are not evil by nature, Angels: Day 098

Demons are not evil by nature, Angels: Day 098 October 27, 2016

angels_dionysius_2The demons, says Dionysius the Areopagite, are not made evil. What we call “evil”  is a negative quality: it is a failure to preserve themselves in the good.

But how are the demons evil if they are created by God? For the Good brings forth and sustains good things—but, someone might say, we call the de- mons evil.

But we call them “evil” not because of what they are, for they come from the Good, and were created with a good essence. We call them evil from what they are not, because they did not have the strength, as Scripture tells us, to keep their original condition.

What do we mean when we say that demons become evil, except that they have fallen out of the habit of working for divine things? If the demons were evil by nature, they would always be evil—but evil is unstable, so if they were always in the same condition, they would not be evil. To be the same all the time is a char- acteristic of the Good. But if they are not always evil, they are not evil by nature, but by straying from the good qualities of angels.

Demons do not altogether lack a share in what is good. They exist, and they live, and they think, and they have a sort of movement of aspiration. But we call them “evil” because of their weakness in what they do. The evil is a turning away and stepping out of things appropriate for them; it is missing the mark, imperfection and impotence, a weakness and a departure, and a falling away from the power that preserves their integrity. –Dionysius the Areopagite, The Divine Names, 4.22

IN GOD’S PRESENCE, CONSIDER . . .

How much of what I do every day seems to be “missing the mark,” the way the demons do? What would help me stick more consistently to my good nature, the way the angels do in Heaven?

CLOSING PRAYER

Lord, you created me good, and I desire to live in a way consistent with that creation. Send me your angels to help me avoid the temptation to stray from the path on my journey toward Heaven.

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