Such is a general statement of the facts as they appear in the New Testament in connection with possession, and demoniacal action. It has been necessary thus distinctly to state them, in order that we may keep the subject clear of all adventitious issues with which it has been attempted to obscure it. That form of demoniacal action involved in the supposed power possessed by demons of tempting men to evil does not fall within the limits of the present controversy.
But the opponents of Christianity are not content to reason on the facts respecting demoniacal action as they are presented to us in the pages of the New Testament. They charge its writers with a number of the most grotesque beliefs on this subject, for which the book itself furnishes us with no evidence. This course has been taken for the purpose of fastening on them a boundless credulity, and thereby destroying their claim to be accepted as credible reporters of historical facts. I will cite one or two examples of this mode of reasoning, in order that we may be able to form a correct estimate of its value.
After having given a detailed account of a number of monstrous beliefs gleaned from the Talmud and other sources respecting angels, the author of “Supernatural Religion” then proceeds: “The belief in demons at the time of Jesus was equally emphatic and comprehensive, and we need not mention also that the New Testament is full of it. They are in the air, on earth, in the bodies of men and animals, and even at the bottom of the sea. They are the offspring of the fallen angels who loved the daughters of men. They have wings like angels, and can fly from one place in the earth to another. They attain a knowledge [pg 214] of the future by listening behind the veil of the temple of God. Their numbers are infinite. The earth is so full of them, that if man had the power to see, he could not exist on account of them; there are more demons than men, and they are about as close as the earth thrown up out of a new made grave. It is stated that each man had 10,000 demons on his right hand, and 1000 on his left.... The crush on the Sabbath in the synagogue arises from them; also the dresses of the Rabbins become so soon worn through their rubbing; in like manner also they cause the tottering of the feet. He who wishes to discover these spirits must take sifted ashes, and strew them about his bed, and he will perceive their footprints upon them like a cock's tread.” Here follow a number of the most ineffable absurdities, unsurpassed by anything contained in the Arabian Nights, which I need not cite. The author then proceeds: “Demons, however, take more especial delight in foul and offensive places, and an evil spirit inhabits every private closet in the world. Demons haunt deserted places, ruins, graves, and certain kinds of trees. We find indications of these superstitions throughout the Gospels. The possessed are represented as dwelling among the tombs, and being driven by unclean spirits into the wilderness, and the demons can find no rest in clean places. Demons also frequented springs and fountains. The episode of the angel who was said to descend at certain times and trouble the water of the pool of Bethesda, so that he that first stepped in was healed of whatsoever disease he had, may be mentioned here in passing, although the passage is not found in the older manuscripts of the fourth Gospel, and was certainly a late addition.” Here follow further citations of Rabbinical absurdities. The author then [pg 215] proceeds: “The Talmud and other Rabbinical writings are full of references to demoniacal possession, but we need not enter into details on this point, as the New Testament itself presents sufficient evidence respecting it. Not only could one spirit enter into a body, but many took possession of the same individual. There are many instances mentioned in the Gospels, such as Mary Magdalene, out of whom went seven demons (ἑπτὰ δαιμόνια), and the man whose name was legion, because many demons (πολλὰ δαιμόνια) had entered into him. Demons likewise entered into the bodies of animals, and in the narrative to which we have just referred, the demons, on being expelled from the man, requested to be allowed to enter into the herd of swine, which being permitted, ‘the demons went out of the man into the swine, and the herd ran violently down the cliff into the lake and were drowned,’ the evil spirits, as usual, taking pleasure only in the destruction and injury of man and beast. Besides possession, all the diseases of men and animals are ascribed to the action of the devil and demons. In the Gospel, for instance, the woman with a spirit of infirmity is described as bound by Satan, although the case was not one of demoniacal possession.” The author then proceeds to enumerate a large number of grotesque beliefs as held by the Jews at the time of the Advent.
I regret the necessity which has compelled me to cite so lengthy a passage, but it is absolutely necessary that the reader should be enabled to see, beyond the possibility of misapprehension, the nature of the objections which are urged against the historical credibility of the Gospels, and the reasonings by which they are attempted to be supported. The general principle that underlies them may be stated in a few words, that [pg 216] the followers of Jesus and the authors of the Gospels were a prey to such a multitude of degrading superstitions on the subject of demonology as wholly to destroy the value of their historical testimony.
The effect of this passage with its context is to produce the impression on the mind of the reader, not only that these absurd beliefs were generally entertained by the Jews at the time of the Advent, but that they constituted the form of thought of the followers of Jesus. It may be urged that the object of the author is to prove the general superstition of the times; and that he does not intend to affirm that it was shared in by every one of the followers of Jesus. This may be correct; but if it is not intended to be asserted that the followers of Jesus were the prey of equal superstitions, the reference to this mass of credulity can have no bearing on the present argument, and is simply misleading. To what purpose, I ask, is it made, unless it is intended to implicate our Lord's followers in these beliefs? Unless it were so, the fact that others entertained them would not in the smallest degree affect the value of their historical testimony. But on this point we are not left to inferences; not only are passages in the Gospels referred to, but we are repeatedly informed that the followers of Jesus did share in these popular delusions.
The position, therefore, which is taken by the author is clear. His readers are invited to believe that the followers of our Lord were a prey to the belief in a number of ineffable absurdities respecting demons such as he has enumerated. If this can be established, the conclusion is inevitable, that their historical testimony is valueless.
Let us now consider the mode in which the proof of this is attempted to be established. The authorities [pg 217] quoted are chiefly the Talmudical writers; that is to say, persons who wrote as late as from a.d. 200 to a.d. 500, are cited as the proof that such opinions were universally entertained by the Jews in the time of Jesus Christ. Equally valid would it be to quote the writers of modern spiritualism to prove that such opinions were held by our ancestors in the time of the Stuarts or the Plantagenets. On the strength of this and kindred evidence, such opinions are ascribed to the original propagators of Christianity, and to the authors of the Gospels.
But this is not all. The only correct method of ascertaining the superstition and credulity of any particular writer is carefully to examine the contents of his book, and to note the various instances which we find in it of what we consider to be superstitions; and then proceed to estimate their value, and, if needful, to compare them with other contemporary authorities. This course, however, is not that pursued by this writer. On the contrary, he quotes the absurdities which we have seen from the Talmudical writers, and refers in the midst of them to nearly every passage in the Gospels which can be made to bear even a remote reference to the views in question. I submit that such a mode of reasoning is not conducive to the interests of truth.
A few examples of this mode of conducting the argument require notice.
After referring to a number of monstrous superstitions, he tells us that the Jews believed that “demons took especial delight in foul and offensive places, and that an evil spirit inhabits every private closet in the world. Demons haunted deserted places, ruins, graves, and certain kinds of trees. We find indications of these superstitions throughout the Gospels. The possessed [pg 218] are represented as dwelling among the tombs, and as being driven by unclean spirits into the wilderness, and demons can find no rest in clean places.”