Praying the Psalms with Augustine and Friends

Chapter 5: Psalms 81–101

177

Psalm 96 with Origen – Condemning theWorship of Demons

All the gods of the nations are demons [v. 5, LXX]. And it is not we alone who speak of wicked demons, but almost all who acknowledge the existence of demons. Therefore, it is not true that all obey the law of the Most High. All who fall away from the divine law, whether through carelessness, or through depravity and vice, or through ignorance of what is right, do not keep the law of God, but rather “the law of sin” (Rom 7:23). In the opinion of most of those who believe in the existence of demons, some of them are wicked; and these, instead of keeping God’s law, break it. But, according to our belief, demons were not demons originally, but they became so in departing from the true way; so that the name “demon” is given to those beings who have fallen away from God. Accordingly, those who worship God must not serve demons. We may also learn the true nature of demons if we consider the practice of those who call upon them by charms to prevent certain things, or for many other purposes. For this is the method they adopt, by means of incantations and magical arts to invoke the demons, and induce them to further their wishes. For this reason, the worship of all demons is inappropriate for us who worship the Supreme God. The service of demons is the service of so-called gods, for all the gods of the nations are demons . The same thing also appears from the fact that the dedication of the most famous of the so-called sacred places, whether temples or idols, was accompanied by magical incantations performed by those who zealously served the demons with magical arts. For this reason we are determined to avoid the worship of demons even as we would avoid death; and we hold that the worship that the Greeks render to “gods” at altars, images, and temples, is in reality offered to demons.