Can you learn demonology from a book or class?

That depends on how you define demonology.

Demonology simply means 'the study of demons' so clearly one can learn that from a class or book. I can study almost any topic, albeit poorly, through the internet in minutes. I think one of the difficulties in the increasing interest in demonology is a confusion of definition.

There is a spectrum of activities one might associate with demonology. At the less severe end you have diagnosing a case as possibly being demonic through phone consultation. A medium level might involve going on investigations where the demonic are likely present. A more serious level would involve assisting at clearing people or homes from demonic attachments. The most serious levels involve assisting at exorcisms and doing deliverance work on homes or people. (Exorcism is a command made in the person of Christ by a priest, deliverance is a request made to God to help the person or location).

I think a second and greater misunderstanding is the nature of work in demonology. Working in demonology is spiritual warfare, not an academic study or curiosity. Spiritual warfare is a ministry that one is called into and involves reception of charisms (gifts of the Holy Spirit or spiritual tools) that equip one to be safe and effective. A ministry is a function of the mystical body of Christ, the church, that performs some service or outreach for people. Every person in the mystical body of Christ has a ministry. These include parenthood, evangelization, helping the poor, counseling others, priesthood, single life, spiritual warfare, and many others. With each life path or function (ministry) the proper tools are given to the person by God to execute their work in this life.

When I say demonology I'm thinking of the full range of functioning. When I think of diagnosing cases as a consultant I reflect on the years of mentorship and dozens and dozens of cases and learning experiences it took to begin to see the patterns. When I think of giving advice my heart is heavy with the responsibility because I know how dire demonic problems can be (people die, are sexually assaulted, have their children attacked, or have their lives destroyed in some cases). When I think of assisting at exorcisms the life and death struggle of the demons to kill the priest comes to mind and I know there can be no weak link in that room. When I think of deliverance work on homes or people the serious responsibility to only offer help when one is called and trained comes to mind. When I think of demonology I feel the seriousness of the people I talk to every week, scared, shaken, and needing the best possible assistance in order to avert horrific life altering suffering.

In order to more fully understand ministries take the example of saying mass. If you are Christian you probably know about mass, perhaps even know most of the words. One might read about the mass, meditate on it, and love the ritual very much. After years you could probably say every word with the priest from the repetition. Does that mean that any Christian can say mass and the sacrament is valid? Does that mean the host becomes the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ? No, of course not. It is a kind of magical thinking that says "if I just learn the words they use, or that exorcism ritual, I can cast out demons too!". Learning the mass doesn't mean you are called to the priesthood and imbued with the charism of the priesthood (and the ordination from the Bishop of course). Likewise learning about demonology doesn't force God to call you to the ministry of spiritual warfare and transmit the charism of discernment (and others that are needed) to you. Going into demonic situations and saying the prayers without a calling to the ministry will usually lead to being mocked by the demons and then harmed badly.

A scriptural reference for this is in Acts 19:

"God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out.

But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, "I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches."

Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.

And the evil spirit answered and said to them, "I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?"

And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded."

Another assumption I sometimes see is that everyone can cast out demons based on Christ giving the authority to do so. At the last supper Jesus said to "do this in remembrance of me" but not all Christians are called to and empowered to say mass. Likewise not every member of the church is empowered to work in spiritual warfare. (This "power" by the way lies entirely with God, there is no personal power against the demonic. We are nothing and can only offer obedience, God does ALL of the work) One of the most famous protestant deliverance experts, Francis MacNutt, clearly says that the serious cases of demonic possession (spirits associated with satanic practicing, etc.) should not be attempted by anyone unless they have a strong calling, and much experience.

When someone has a calling to spiritual warfare God provides mentors who are moved by the spirit to trust, teach, and bring them into the work slowly. The charisms that must be present take time to develop from their initial state. A pattern over time that shows safety and efficacy must be seen by the experts before one is allowed to work in the more serious end of the spectrum. This is done to protect workers and victims from harm. If one tried to strike out on their own, even with a calling, it would be like going big game hunting with a small handgun and no experience of hunting or wilderness survival.

My concern is that the paranormal community is trivializing the ministry of spiritual warfare and approaching it with a "magical thinking" mind set. One can't just learn academic material or print off a blessing and function as a demonologist. There is no magic set of words that makes one "powerful". The demons know the prayers better than we do and I've seen them say them along with a person as they mocked their efforts to pray against them. I've also seen paranormal investigators become suicidal, homicidal, and I know a person who was institutionalized for close to a year after assisting at an exorcism. I am very concerned for those who seem to be trivializing the serious end of this work. It's fine to read or take a class, but please don't presume that God has called you to safely and effectively work against demons until you are properly brought through the long process of becoming a demonologist.

The serious demonic cases are life and death situations and it is not an area of the paranormal to hold yourself out to assist in lightly.

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All material Copyright Adam Blai.