The hell is a demon anyway?

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So, what's the deal with the belief in demons?

It seems that Christians and Ancient Japanese agree, demons exist. But what is a demon anyway?

a concept of whatever scares you,that you cant see.

That's actually an interesting question. Just some sort of evil spirit I guess, I'm not sure if there is any actual definition of what they are and where they supposedly come from. Honestly, I don't even know if it's in the Bible.

They make for some decent scary movies I guess.

"Demons".

Dostoevsky wrote the book.

Tadzio

I think the word originally came from ancient Greece, where it had the same meaning as guardian spirit has today. Later when Christianity became the main religion of the Roman Empire it was used for non-corporeal beings of a more harmful nature.

In most cases, they are angels that rebelled against God, led by Lucifer (as some mangas tell me @.@ ). They were struck down into Hell, at which point they fell from grace and gradually transformed into demons.

Now, as for the japanese Oni and youkai, it's quite a bit different. Here's what Wiki says about the origins of Oni :

"The word "oni" is sometimes speculated to be derived from on, the on'yomi reading of a character (隠) meaning to hide or conceal, as oni were originally invisible spirits or gods which caused disasters, disease, and other unpleasant things. These nebulous beings could also take on a variety of forms to deceive (and often devour) humans. [...]

The invisible oni eventually became anthropomorphized and took on its modern, ogre-like form, partly via syncretism with creatures imported by Buddhism, such as the Indian rakshasa and yaksha, the hungry ghosts called gaki, and the devilish underlings of Enma-Ō [aka Yama from DBZ] who punish sinners in Jigoku (Hell)."

why is "mailer daemon" called that?

The belief in demons is merely the personification of the darker side to humanity. It's also a way to escape responsibility for sh***y behavior.

These fallen angels must have been aware of the all powerful nature of their creator. Would it not strike them as utterly futile to rebel? Or is God an Emperor Palpatine kind of figure and engineered all of this so that everybody would hate Satan and blame him for all the worlds problems (despite Satan being created by God and thus serving Gods purposes regardless of what he himself thinks about his "rebellion") thus ensuring his domination through a conflict he created?

Well usually, demons are pretty much "free" from God's rule though. This is usually the reason evoked to justify rebelling against Him, or because His teachings of love and whatnot aren't really helpful when you see your loved ones being slaughtered without Him doing anything. <.< Some also come to wonder where is God's justice and doubt His word. Still, the fact that He allows the demons and other fallen angels to "exist" is supposedly proof of His love and compassion for those that were once His children. =/

In Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, for example, the "good" side, usually associated with God pretty much warrants a peaceful hive-mind like existence, bound to Him, whereas the "bad" side associated with demons, prones freedom, bloodshed and the rule of the strongest. =/

Why aren't all conservatives fundamentalist Satan-worshippers? Wouldn't that make more sense? God sounds really fracking communist

In a way, the embodiment of Nightmares.

But if so are they are they like nightmares in that they're projections or illusions. If you encounter a "Demon" in the after life, could be it's a mirror of something horrible within yourself.

Just my random thoughts on it.

My god... So innocent, yet so vile.

In sooth, they are.

He is, but he's an exclusive communist. Kind of. Not that matters of property really have any importance in the Kingdom of God. Why do you think they're trying to pass themselves off as "special", "chosen by God" and all that crap? It's to set them apart from "them" aka either the other religions or other faiths derived from christianity. So within their little club (to some extent) they are somewhat communistic as they look after themselves and their "friends", but the majority of the people are outside that "club". :p