Devil worship
Devil worship refers to the ritual worship of the devil , who symbolizes evil in the Christian faith .
The beginnings of these beliefs are seen in the Manichaean - Gnostic dualism , which assumed a principle of "equality between God and the devil". Some Gnostic groups are said to have worshiped Satan so that he would not harm them. Heretics were repeatedly suspected of being devoted to the devil during the Middle Ages . The alleged devil worshipers were accused of all kinds of magical practices, hideous rituals and fornication . The inquisitor Konrad von Marburg († 1233), who worked in Germany, believed in the existence of a separate sect of Luciferians . In 1233 Pope Gregory IX described. this alleged heresy in his letter Vox in Rama . That such a heresy ever existed outside of church clichés and propaganda in the Middle Ages is largely rejected by science.
The idea of devil worship to gain supernatural powers and to harm good people received its greatest form in the early modern period in the course of the witch madness , but it is also used for its purposes by the mass media and Christian churches up to the present day . Devil worship and Satanism are often equated, although many Satanists differentiate their worldview from the ritual worship of the devil. The assumption of a witch cult organized in the sense of Satanism is mostly rejected by historians. However, there are indications of genuine Satanism in the trial of Gilles de Rais .
Devil worship is a recurring theme in art and literature, especially in 19th century literature (e.g. Manfred by Lord Byron , Les litanies de Satan by Charles Baudelaire or Là-bas by Joris-Karl Huysmans ) and in films like Rosemary's Baby . Although there are always reports of black masses , the existence of an organized devil cult is neither historically nor currently demonstrable. In the recent past, however, at least aspects of this can be recognized in some occult movements and subcultures , for example in connection with death and black metal .
Foreign religions
Christians occasionally interpreted foreign religions as devil worship by equating foreign gods with the devil. For example, the popular idea of the devil goes back to the Greek god Pan . The Zoroastrians (followers of Zoroaster ;. S also parsing ), and Yazidis are (especially in Islam) often called devil worshipers ( Shaitan -parastiyyan , especially in relation to a presumably with the teachings of al-Hallaj had come in connection branch of the Ahl-e Haqq ) suspected.
conspiracy theories
In particular in evangelical circles in the USA the conspiracy theory is often spread that devil worshipers and satanists have infiltrated the state. Some of the arguments used by conspiracy theorists are:
- The seal of the USA shows the Tower of Babel on the reverse .
- Questionable reports of satanic ritual rape and murder correspond to the truth.
- The membership of rulers in supposedly unchristian associations (such as Freemasonry )
- The Illuminati are the origin of a satanic philosophy.
See also: Taxil swindle
literature
- Elaine Pagels : Satan's Origin . Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main 1998, ISBN 3-518-39368-5 , ( Suhrkamp-Taschenbuch 2868).
- Ulrich Dreikandt (ed.): Black masses. Seals and documents . Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main 1994, ISBN 3-518-38817-7 , ( Suhrkamp-Taschenbuch 2317, = Fantastic Library 313).
- Joachim Schmidt: Satanism - Myth and Reality . 2nd revised and updated edition. Diagonal-Verlag, Marburg 2002, ISBN 3-927165-66-2 .
- Charles Baudelaire, Joris-Karl Huysmans, Octave Mirbeau: The flowers of evil / Deep down / The garden of torments . Area, Erftstadt 2004, ISBN 3-89996-071-8 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Satanism . In: Hans Bidermann (Hrsg.): Handlexikon der Magischen Künste . From late antiquity to the 19th century. 2nd, improved and significantly increased edition. Akademische Druck- und Verlaganstalt, Graz 1973, ISBN 3-201-00851-6 , p. 439 f .
- ↑ Devil Worship . In: Catholic Encyclopedia , accessed September 26, 2012.
- ^ Peter Lamborn Wilson , Karl Schlamminger: Weaver of Tales. Persian Picture Rugs / Persian tapestries. Linked myths. Callwey, Munich 1980, ISBN 3-7667-0532-6 , p. 31 f.