you believe in the existence of demon(or supernatural)
Posted:
Wed May 23, 2018 8:04 am
by onget
I want to know how much demon players believe demon.
Re: you believe in the existence of demon(or supernatural)
Posted:
Wed May 23, 2018 11:56 pm
by Ferret
As strange as it might sound coming from me, no, I do not believe in demons, at least as living flesh and blood or spiritual creatures.
I do believe in them as sociological constructs: this is not an attempt to diminish the matter. Stories of demons for centuries have helped shape human behavior for centuries, before there were governments, religions, or communities large and powerful enough to do on a widespread basis.
The Chindi, which curses the possessions of the death and any who make use of them, served much the same purpose as the estate or death taxes modern societies levy upon the estates of the dead today in an attempt to limit overly uneven distributions of wealth.
The Couril, reputed to cause women to give birth to children who resembled random men from their hometown, was likely devised to discourage violence against women accused of unfaithfulness by blaming it on a supernatural event.
The many, many tales of various water ambushers, such as the Nokken, warned humans of the danger of carelessness around bodies of water, especially for children. The danger from a demon did not exist.. but the threat of drowning or being swept away in a fast current was real enough.
Stores of angels and other similar beings vary from tradition to tradition, but the concept that humans have supernatural guardians that protect them so long as they walk a righteous path would do much to encourage general good behavior and discourage wrongdoing.
Not every demon served such a purpose, but a great many of the stories likely did. Even for the ones where there seems to have been no such intent, it is possible the twisting of the story since its origin have simply caused the intent to no longer be easily discerned. There is no denying that demons are real in the sense of the effects the stories of them have had upon mankind... but no, I do not believe they are physical or spiritual beings with a will of their own, presuming that is what you meant.