δαιμόνιον

Once again my book at bedtime is “A Discovery of Witches”.  Diana Bishop is aware of daemons wandering the Bodleian Library. For her, these are ‘creative, artistic creatures who walk a tightrope between madness and genius’. Yet I suspect they are tangible only to the sensitives. 

And then this morning, in my daily portion of NT Greek, is the episode of Jesus ‘casting out’ a daemónion. (I like the ‘casting out’ bit. The Greek ekbállo conjures up all sorts of weird and wonderful images. Chucking out is good. But hissing off the stage is better.) Yes. But. What about that daemónion? My old friends Liddell & Scott offer an overflow of suggestions ranging from the Divinity, with a capital D, to a minuscule inferior race of divine beings. And then, in the NT, to an evil spirit.

And I begin to understand. To comprehend. To take it in. We are in Jewish Monotheistic Territory overlain with the inheritance of Alexander the Great and now occupied by the Romans with their own pantheon of gods, goddesses, and lesser spirits. The Jews, like so many of their contemporaries, engage in an us-and-them culture. Insiders and Outsiders. Greeks and Barbarians. Jew and Gentile. The frum, the goy and goyim. There is but One God. The God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Ergo, it follows that all other extra-physical manifestations are - cannot be else but - demoniac. Evil spirits. quod erat demonstrandum. dun’n’dusted!

nota bene, per piacere : the presence of these extra-physical manifestations is not denied. More to the point, their presence is affirmed. The proponents of the Church of the One Right Answer first change the names and then besmirch the image.

Hmm ..  sometimes, when Empire building, the reverse takes place. I see the image of Isis suckling the infant Horus. And, on a distant eikonostasis,The Blessed Mother with the Infant at her breast.

We’ve wandered a bit this morning. Haven’t we? It’s been good to step away from the strait and narrow.