Demons, Evil, and Liminality in Cappadocian Theology

Despite the growing literature on demons in late antiquity, there has been no detailed study of demons in Cappadocian theology. This paper argues that demons occupy a liminal place in Cappadocian cosmology: demons were personal, rational beings, who were created good, fell from their original state,...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ludlow, Morwenna (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press 2012
In: Journal of early Christian studies
Year: 2012, Volume: 20, Issue: 2, Pages: 179-211
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Summary:Despite the growing literature on demons in late antiquity, there has been no detailed study of demons in Cappadocian theology. This paper argues that demons occupy a liminal place in Cappadocian cosmology: demons were personal, rational beings, who were created good, fell from their original state, and became locked into an irreversible habit of willing evil, which contradicted but parasitically co-existed with their nature as part of God's good creation. This liminal status explains demons' use in Cappadocian theology not only to illustrate the power and nature of evil, but also as an exaggerated representation of humans' own condition: especially in preaching and hagiography, demons served to highlight the way in which human sin contradicts humans' original creation and to warn humans against the possibilities of locking themselves into a permanent habit of sin.
ISSN:1086-3184
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of early Christian studies
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1353/earl.2012.0014