What are demons according to the Catholic Church?
score:5
According to the Catholic Church, demons are simply fallen angels: i.e., angels who have sinned gravely against God and are now living the eternal consequences of their separation from Him.
Angels
Angels are creatures that, like us, are persons (that is, they are capable of intellectual knowledge and free acts of love). However, unlike us, they are not limited by corporeity—that is, they are pure spirits and have no bodies. In the words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC),
As purely spiritual creatures angels have intelligence and will: they are personal and immortal creatures, surpassing in perfection all visible creatures, as the splendor of their glory bears witness (No. 330).
According to nature, therefore, angels are much mightier and more noble beings than we are.
The fallen angels, also called demons
Like us, angels are submitted to a kind of trial, in which they may choose to serve God for all eternity and enjoy the Beatific Vision, or else they may refuse to serve Him and be forever deprived of His presence. Those angels who chose the latter course are the “fallen angels,” also known as “demons.” As the Catechism puts it,
Scripture speaks of a sin of these angels. [The reference is to 2 Pet. 2:4.] This “fall” consists in the free choice of these created spirits, who radically and irrevocably rejected God and his reign. We find a reflection of that rebellion in the tempter's words to our first parents: “You will be like God.” [Gen. 3:5] The devil “has sinned from the beginning” [1 Jn. 3:8]; he is “a liar and the father of lies” [Jn. 8:44] (No. 392).
The Devil, or Satan, is simply the chief of these rebellious angels:
Behind the disobedient choice of our first parents lurks a seductive voice, opposed to God, which makes them fall into death out of envy. Scripture and the Church’s Tradition see in this being a fallen angel, called “Satan” or the “devil”. The Church teaches that Satan was at first a good angel, made by God: “The devil and the other demons were indeed created naturally good by God, but they became evil by their own doing” [Lateran Council IV (1215): DS 800] (No. 391).
More post
- 📝 Is there a good example of believers seeking out advice from other believers in the Bible, especially one that is a story children would understand?
- 📝 Where can one access Aland's 23rd edition which was used for the first edition of the New American Standard Bible (NASB)?
- 📝 Is there a commandment to love your parents?
- 📝 Are there any modern Nestorian or Jacobite systematic theology textbooks?
- 📝 When & where did the word "Christian" originate?
- 📝 Marks of the true church in Protestantism or Catholicism?
- 📝 Why do Jehovah's Witnesses have a problem with my relationship with one of their members?
- 📝 Do Jehovah's Witnesses recognize marriages performed by non-denominational ministers?
- 📝 In Catholicism since when did willfully violating Sunday Mass obligation become mortal sin?
- 📝 Can Requiem Masses be said for the souls of the unbaptized?
- 📝 Are monks allowed by Church law to set up a religious order for clergymen with a particular profession (ex. developers)?
- 📝 What is the correlation between cosmic energy and Christianity?
- 📝 Why did this frustrated person make the sign of the cross in front of me?
- 📝 Was Jesus a poor man, in economic sense?
- 📝 Did this phrase "love the sinner but hate the sin" in this form originate in Christianity and who is credited to have first used it?
- 📝 How was the word preached in NT era churches?
- 📝 Where does Grace reside? (Catholicism)
- 📝 What are origins and when did the tradition of the Yule Candles come into existence as a Christian tradition?
- 📝 Is calling the church the "body of Christ" merely a metaphor or is there a deeper significance?
- 📝 How do Jehovah's Witnesses define "active" membership?
- 📝 What have been the justifications by organised Christian groups on why around 500 witnesses are convincing when Legion can control thousands?
- 📝 The Meaning of St. Philip Neri's "to Despise being Despised''
- 📝 Are there current denominations that have doctrines stating that The Lord will return at a particular date?
- 📝 Are God, Son (Jesus) and The Holy Spirit Same?
- 📝 What is the meaning of the Psalm 37:29?
- 📝 Eating eggs and cheese to refute heresy?
- 📝 Why are we not seeing miracles in our lives?
- 📝 Why is it hard for a rich man to go to heaven?
- 📝 What does being lukewarm mean in contrast with being hot or cold for the church of Laodicea?
- 📝 Where in the Pentateuch does it indicate that it's better to sin against God than against your spiritual director?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What are demons according to the Catholic Church?
- 📝 What are the consequences of suicide according to the Roman Catholic church?
- 📝 What are the requirements for joining the Catholic church as an adult?
- 📝 What are the current views of the Catholic Church on the right to secession?
- 📝 According to Catholic doctrine, what effect does the Last Judgment have on those who are already in heaven?
- 📝 According to the morality of the Catholic Church are there any organs that are not permitted to be offered in organ transplants?
- 📝 According to the Catholic Church, what is to become of a family when the married couple discovers they are brother and sister?
- 📝 What is meant by the statement of Our Lady to St. Dominic according to the Catholic Church
- 📝 What are the main arguments the Catholic Church uses in support of the sole interpretive authority of the Magisterium?
- 📝 What are the requirements for a church to be accepted into the Catholic Church?
- 📝 According to the Catholic Church in her recent pronouncements, what is the order of truths to which the believer adheres?
- 📝 What must we do if the vast majority of the members of the Catholic Church here on earth profess heresy and are thus excommunicate?
- 📝 What are the Church Laws governing ingredients and shapes of altar bread in the Catholic Church?
- 📝 What are the major arguments Protestants make for the Catholic Church being apostate?
- 📝 What are the teachings of Catholic Church on the implications of gender-change by individuals, in their life-after-life?
- 📝 According to Catholic Church, what are the wider connotations of the Ninth Commandment?
- 📝 What are the biblical references and Catholic Church teachings that supported the phrase "Mary is God's dream"?
- 📝 According to the Catholic church everyone has a Guardian Angel,but what happens when you get married?
- 📝 What are the teachings of Catholic Church on the existence or otherwise of Lesser Gods in the context of Ex 20:5?
- 📝 According to the Catholic Church, are Jews saved without faith in Jesus?
- 📝 At what point is a new soul created according to the Catholic Church?
- 📝 What are the steps to become Confirmed in the Catholic church?
- 📝 What does the Catholic church teach about fate of non-Catholic christians?
- 📝 What does the Roman Catholic church teach about those who die having never heard of Christ?
- 📝 What are the differences between Roman Catholic and Irish Catholic?
- 📝 According to the LDS Church (Mormons), what role do secret handshakes and passwords play into a person's entrance into heaven?
- 📝 What are the stipulations for a mixed marriage to be valid in the Catholic Church?
- 📝 What is the Authoritative Catholic explanation of why the Magi get a pass, yet Catholics are to reject astrology?
- 📝 What does Catholic Church say about the post-resurrection wound marks of Jesus?
- 📝 According to Latter-day Saints, what are the strongest apologetic arguments for the divine inspiration of the Book of Mormon?