From Angels: An Endangered Species We now turn to what are claimed to be first-hand accounts of meetings with the enemy. During the five centuries after Christ many Christian hermits and monks withdrew into the wilderness in order to leave worldly temptations. Legions of demons seemed to follow them with enthusiasm, if the contemporary monastic diabology is anything to by by. This diabology was a new type of writing which gave instructions as to how to resist temptation and cope with the threat of demonic attacks. It also gave the writers an opportunity to give the most lurid accounts of the archenemy himself. The most influential of these visionary, yet practical, manuals of how to deal with both angel and Devil was the classic Life of Anthony, composed by the Bishop of Alexandria in 360. In it we read of the constant struggle of the hermit Anthony (and thus all his monastic brethren) with the Devil and his demons. “The Devil’s eyes are like the morning star. In his mouth gape burning lamps and hearthfuls of fire are cast forth. The smoke of a furnace blazing with the fire of coals flares from his nostrils. His breath is of coals, and from his [...]Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
