Religious Demonology Readings

"I want to be / am a demonologist."

About twice a week I get an email from someone saying that they want to be a demonologist and they want to know how I got involved and if I will help them. Other times people will claim to be demonologists yet can offer no references for clergy they worked under, have little to no experience, and have often copied other's material on a web site. These contacts usually come from people in one of three categories: the recently converted to Christianity, those who have experienced a demonic problem in their past, and those seeking fame and money through making the claim of being a "demonologist."

It is a very sad process to try and write this as I know that many people will regard this as me merely trying to keep something secret or hidden. No matter how many times I say it or write it down they simply won't believe me until they get burned. If you are being called into and trained by God to be in this ministry you will have mentors, co-workers, special protection, and special efficacy. People learn about spiritual warfare like all other ministries: in a context of experienced people put in their life by God. If you are seeking on your own or at your own impulse it is VERY likely it is ego and worldly goals that motivate you. The devil's first and primary sin was pride and he is a master at sucking people into a position of pride and bravado so that they unwittingly become his tools and victims.

In my opinion there must be mentorship, reciprocal discernment, special protection, and special efficacy present before a person should get involved in spiritual warfare.

Mentorship is the teaching of a person by experienced and officially acknowledged people in a particular field. A person who learned from books cannot be a mentor. A mentor is an established expert in a field. An example would be graduate school where one is mentored by a faculty member that has risen to the level of respected expert as judged by their peers and the larger world to some extent.

Reciprocal discernment means that you feel in prayer that God is calling you AND experienced people in the work also feel in prayer that God wants them to train you in the work. This is the activity of the Holy Spirit.

Special protection means that as long as you are following the rules of the spiritual world the enemy is not allowed to seriously affect you. By affect I mean various physical, emotional, and spiritual affects that demons can do to people. These are real physical effects and go well beyond just imagined effects. It's exploitive and glorifying to the demons to describe these things, but they can be bad.

Special efficacy can take different forms but almost always includes efficacy of prayer against the demonic. Though all baptized Christians can pray against demons as Jesus commanded us to do, not all have the charism of spiritual warfare at the more severe levels. I know this is bothersome for me to say but it is what we see in the actual situations and it's what experienced exorcists have taught me.

It is somewhat common for people recently converted to Christianity to immediately seek the most extreme aspect of their new religious identity that they can find. This can easily land on spiritual warfare as it is a very "real" and physical aspect of the faith that the person can grab a hold of. It also seems to fit with the zeal that may have led to their conversion and so they assume that Jesus immediately wants them to get into the most zeal filled part of their new religion. This is almost always a mistake as it takes a solid and wide foundation of religious understanding, exercises and years of mentorship before entering this area. My friend Father Fortea once told me something succinct on this: a hand with only one overdeveloped finger is a monstrous thing. To only focus on spiritual warfare and the demons makes a monster of our spiritual life.

Those that have experienced a demonic problem almost always have two impulses as soon as it's over: write a book to tell people it's real and help others because they now understand it's real. Books are fine but thinking that being a victim is the same as being called into the work is almost always a mistake. The usual reason given is "I can feel when they are around now so I should be involved." Once one has been attached to the demonic it is true that it's common to be able to feel their presence in the future. This is not discernment from God but a psychic side effect of having been cabled into them at one time. This sensitivity doesn't provide much useful information (how they got attached to a person, what they are trying to do, how to break their rights, etc.) but merely lets the person know they are near. Furthermore this psychic opening left from the demonic wounding can be used by the enemy to easily overwhelm the person by flooding them with impressions of pain or fear, or take them over in some cases. These are some, but not all, of the good reasons for not misinterpreting a brush with the demonic with being helpful to others with these problems.

Those seeking attention, awe, fame, or money through claiming to be demonologists are usually secretly afflicted (often in ongoing relationships with demons) or will be soon. Without all of the charisms and protections that come from God (at God's discretion) they will blunder into a real demonic situation sooner or later and immediately become a victim or a huge distraction to those around them as they go catatonic, flip out, or simply run away because they are afraid (an appropriate response). These people are often younger and cannot provide references to clergy and diocese they have worked under. Just talking with one or a few priests is not the same as "working for the Church". Working for the Church means you are under the obedience of a Bishop's office in a particular diocese or arch diocese.

Usually at this point of attempting to explain why it is not wise to pursue demonology people become frustrated with me and angrily ask "Well, then how did YOU become involved? What makes you so special?!" This is a reasonable question and I will go over the answer here.

First, I am NOT special at all. In fact I am nothing. I am sincerely a totally unworthy person for the Lord to use in this work and I thank Him each day I'm still alive given my extreme weakness and unworthiness. I also thank him for an interesting life and for being used by Him to help people in these situations.

I was studying the paranormal since I was a brain researcher in graduate school for clinical psychology at Penn State (I have my masters). I was interested in whether any of these reported experiences were real or whether they were brain artifact and misunderstanding. I became the staff advisor to a paranormal club to get direct experience. A case where the club was to document a haunting caused me to cross paths with very experienced Catholic clergy with 20+ years in spiritual warfare.

I was later asked to a monastery and explicitly told there was a place for me in this work. So, I was literally invited into it by clergy. Over a short few years the Lord opened many doors and provided many mentors and direct experiences that gave me a formation (a word that means training, understanding, and lifestyle changes) into a person who can assist clergy and help people with demonic problems. I've worked on cases all over the USA but focused on two dioceses in my state. I've traveled to Spain and Italy for training with the most knowledgeable and experienced people in this area of the Catholic Church. I've also had my understanding examined and refined by them many times. The Lord used me and some friends (clergy and psychiatrists) to put on a conference for exorcists and deliverance workers in the States. Then I was admitted as an auxiliary member of the International Association of Exorcists and now am even more involved in other ways. I don't say these things are a point of pride but to show that the Lord can open doors and move others to train and mentor one in ways that are extraordinary. These situations, relationships, and opportunities would not happen unless God was orchestrating all of this. I have seen more than enough to KNOW that God has been in control of my entire life and particularly this formation into this work.

Given my own experience it should be clear that I can't "tell you how to get involved." Each person is drawn in by God in their own way, just as each priest has their own unique story about how God called and formed them. This is a religious lifestyle and ministry, NOT a hobby and not a paranormal discipline.

As a footnote please let me clarify a few things about demons that are being misrepresented in the media:

- All demons are prideful and will claim to be various "big name" demons from the Bible. They are all liars and NEVER give their real names to people unless forced to. "Father of lies," remember? This is all just pride and manipulation of people to make them, or you, feel special or fearful.

- Deliverance works for most evil spirits but when you get into higher level demons (particularly associated with having been into black magic) it is qualitatively different. That level of the work requires a special charism (gift of the Holy Spirit) and those exorcisms can take years and can destroy people that get involved in the cases inappropriately.

- Most of the deliverance, exorcisms, and some house infestations I've seen put on TV pretty clearly involve missing things that would be obvious to someone with experience. Deliverance, exorcism, and infestations are being trivialized and I am confident that most of those cases are very likely continuing to have difficulties because they likely were never actually freed. I won't say more on this publically.

- "Psychics" can only get the information that demons want them to get. Fallen angels are masters of the spiritual realm and "psychics" are puppets to them. They will gladly give a fake name to puff up the pride of a psychic but it will be a lie. Those sensitive from past demonic problems are a different kind of "psychic" and can only tell when demons are around and be more sensitive to their attacks. Perhaps some may have a combination of sensitivities but generally a past brush with the demonic makes you a hindrance and not a help.

All protection and efficacy comes from God on a moment by moment basis and He is doing ALL of the work. Please only enter this area if God is really leading you into it. Going here alone is not wise.

Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever.

Please do not copy the material on this site, but link to this site instead.
All material Copyright Adam Blai.


	"I want to be / am a demonologist." About twice a week I get an email from someone saying that they want to be a demonologist and they want to know how I got involved and if I will help them. Other times people will claim to be demonologists yet can offer no references for clergy they worked under, have little to no experience, and have often copied other's material on a web site. These contacts usually come from people in one of three categories: the recently converted to Christianity, those who have experienced a demonic problem in their past, and those seeking fame and money through making the claim of being a "demonologist." It is a very sad process to try and write this as I know that many people will regard this as me merely trying to keep something secret or hidden. No matter how many times I say it or write it down they simply won't believe me until they get burned. If you are being called into and trained by God to be in this ministry you will have mentors, co-workers, special protection, and special efficacy. People learn about spiritual warfare like all other ministries: in a context of experienced people put in their life by God. If you are seeking on your own or at your own impulse it is VERY likely it is ego and worldly goals that motivate you. The devil's first and primary sin was pride and he is a master at sucking people into a position of pride and bravado so that they unwittingly become his tools and victims. In my opinion there must be mentorship, reciprocal discernment, special protection, and special efficacy present before a person should get involved in spiritual warfare. Mentorship is the teaching of a person by experienced and officially acknowledged people in a particular field. A person who learned from books cannot be a mentor. A mentor is an established expert in a field. An example would be graduate school where one is mentored by a faculty member that has risen to the level of respected expert as judged by their peers and the larger world to some extent. Reciprocal discernment means that you feel in prayer that God is calling you AND experienced people in the work also feel in prayer that God wants them to train you in the work. This is the activity of the Holy Spirit. Special protection means that as long as you are following the rules of the spiritual world the enemy is not allowed to seriously affect you. By affect I mean various physical, emotional, and spiritual affects that demons can do to people. These are real physical effects and go well beyond just imagined effects. It's exploitive and glorifying to the demons to describe these things, but they can be bad. Special efficacy can take different forms but almost always includes efficacy of prayer against the demonic. Though all baptized Christians can pray against demons as Jesus commanded us to do, not all have the charism of spiritual warfare at the more severe levels. I know this is bothersome for me to say but it is what we see in the actual situations and it's what experienced exorcists have taught me. It is somewhat common for people recently converted to Christianity to immediately seek the most extreme aspect of their new religious identity that they can find. This can easily land on spiritual warfare as it is a very "real" and physical aspect of the faith that the person can grab a hold of. It also seems to fit with the zeal that may have led to their conversion and so they assume that Jesus immediately wants them to get into the most zeal filled part of their new religion. This is almost always a mistake as it takes a solid and wide foundation of religious understanding, exercises and years of mentorship before entering this area. My friend Father Fortea once told me something succinct on this: a hand with only one overdeveloped finger is a monstrous thing. To only focus on spiritual warfare and the demons makes a monster of our spiritual life. Those that have experienced a demonic problem almost always have two impulses as soon as it's over: write a book to tell people it's real and help others because they now understand it's real. Books are fine but thinking that being a victim is the same as being called into the work is almost always a mistake. The usual reason given is "I can feel when they are around now so I should be involved." Once one has been attached to the demonic it is true that it's common to be able to feel their presence in the future. This is not discernment from God but a psychic side effect of having been cabled into them at one time. This sensitivity doesn't provide much useful information (how they got attached to a person, what they are trying to do, how to break their rights, etc.) but merely lets the person know they are near. Furthermore this psychic opening left from the demonic wounding can be used by the enemy to easily overwhelm the person by flooding them with impressions of pain or fear, or take them over in some cases. These are some, but not all, of the good reasons for not misinterpreting a brush with the demonic with being helpful to others with these problems. Those seeking attention, awe, fame, or money through claiming to be demonologists are usually secretly afflicted (often in ongoing relationships with demons) or will be soon. Without all of the charisms and protections that come from God (at God's discretion) they will blunder into a real demonic situation sooner or later and immediately become a victim or a huge distraction to those around them as they go catatonic, flip out, or simply run away because they are afraid (an appropriate response). These people are often younger and cannot provide references to clergy and diocese they have worked under. Just talking with one or a few priests is not the same as "working for the Church". Working for the Church means you are under the obedience of a Bishop's office in a particular diocese or arch diocese. Usually at this point of attempting to explain why it is not wise to pursue demonology people become frustrated with me and angrily ask "Well, then how did YOU become involved? What makes you so special?!" This is a reasonable question and I will go over the answer here. First, I am NOT special at all. In fact I am nothing. I am sincerely a totally unworthy person for the Lord to use in this work and I thank Him each day I'm still alive given my extreme weakness and unworthiness. I also thank him for an interesting life and for being used by Him to help people in these situations. I was studying the paranormal since I was a brain researcher in graduate school for clinical psychology at Penn State (I have my masters). I was interested in whether any of these reported experiences were real or whether they were brain artifact and misunderstanding. I became the staff advisor to a paranormal club to get direct experience. A case where the club was to document a haunting caused me to cross paths with very experienced Catholic clergy with 20+ years in spiritual warfare. I was later asked to a monastery and explicitly told there was a place for me in this work. So, I was literally invited into it by clergy. Over a short few years the Lord opened many doors and provided many mentors and direct experiences that gave me a formation (a word that means training, understanding, and lifestyle changes) into a person who can assist clergy and help people with demonic problems. I've worked on cases all over the USA but focused on two dioceses in my state. I've traveled to Spain and Italy for training with the most knowledgeable and experienced people in this area of the Catholic Church. I've also had my understanding examined and refined by them many times. The Lord used me and some friends (clergy and psychiatrists) to put on a conference for exorcists and deliverance workers in the States. Then I was admitted as an auxiliary member of the International Association of Exorcists and now am even more involved in other ways. I don't say these things are a point of pride but to show that the Lord can open doors and move others to train and mentor one in ways that are extraordinary. These situations, relationships, and opportunities would not happen unless God was orchestrating all of this. I have seen more than enough to KNOW that God has been in control of my entire life and particularly this formation into this work. Given my own experience it should be clear that I can't "tell you how to get involved." Each person is drawn in by God in their own way, just as each priest has their own unique story about how God called and formed them. This is a religious lifestyle and ministry, NOT a hobby and not a paranormal discipline. As a footnote please let me clarify a few things about demons that are being misrepresented in the media: - All demons are prideful and will claim to be various "big name" demons from the Bible. They are all liars and NEVER give their real names to people unless forced to. "Father of lies," remember? This is all just pride and manipulation of people to make them, or you, feel special or fearful. - Deliverance works for most evil spirits but when you get into higher level demons (particularly associated with having been into black magic) it is qualitatively different. That level of the work requires a special charism (gift of the Holy Spirit) and those exorcisms can take years and can destroy people that get involved in the cases inappropriately. - Most of the deliverance, exorcisms, and some house infestations I've seen put on TV pretty clearly involve missing things that would be obvious to someone with experience. Deliverance, exorcism, and infestations are being trivialized and I am confident that most of those cases are very likely continuing to have difficulties because they likely were never actually freed. I won't say more on this publically. - "Psychics" can only get the information that demons want them to get. Fallen angels are masters of the spiritual realm and "psychics" are puppets to them. They will gladly give a fake name to puff up the pride of a psychic but it will be a lie. Those sensitive from past demonic problems are a different kind of "psychic" and can only tell when demons are around and be more sensitive to their attacks. Perhaps some may have a combination of sensitivities but generally a past brush with the demonic makes you a hindrance and not a help. All protection and efficacy comes from God on a moment by moment basis and He is doing ALL of the work. Please only enter this area if God is really leading you into it. Going here alone is not wise. Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever. Please do not copy the material on this site, but link to this site instead. All material Copyright Adam Blai.