February-Saturday
Devil Worshiper
This is one of those contentious disagreements that I constantly see recur in pretty much any space where a wide variety of theistic Satanists congregate. I looked through this directory's history and was sort of surprised it wasn't already hashed out here. I'm not looking for argument, though, I'm just curious about how others approach the subject.
1) Do you use either terms? If so, which ones, and how do you use them?
2) Do you think there should be more agreement on terminology? Why or why not? If so, what would you recommend?
Personally, I tend to use "demon" to refer to a wide variety of spirits and gods. The spirit of salt, the spirit of Mars (Barzabel), ancestral spirits, and so on. This is inspired by its Greek roots, and by its English use to refer to a wide variety of pagan spirits from earlier European strains of animism and shamanism.
I use the term "devils" to refer to a more narrow category of spirits, also based on its Greek roots. It's what I use in place of words from other languages like "shayateen," "satanielim," "satans," "diaboli," or "sathanae" since I consider it to be a pretty close translation. I also use it to refer to most demons in Judeo-Christian demonology, like his majesty, King Paimon, or Asmodaeus.
I would consider all devils demons, but not all demons devils. As far as I've been able to find, though, this seems to be a matter of my own opinion and there's no actual consensus on the differences between the two.
However, I would note that in anthropology, "demon" tends to refer to a variety of malevolent spirits whereas "devil" has more specific religious connotations, in a similar way to how I've outlined them here.
1) Do you use either terms? If so, which ones, and how do you use them?
2) Do you think there should be more agreement on terminology? Why or why not? If so, what would you recommend?
Personally, I tend to use "demon" to refer to a wide variety of spirits and gods. The spirit of salt, the spirit of Mars (Barzabel), ancestral spirits, and so on. This is inspired by its Greek roots, and by its English use to refer to a wide variety of pagan spirits from earlier European strains of animism and shamanism.
I use the term "devils" to refer to a more narrow category of spirits, also based on its Greek roots. It's what I use in place of words from other languages like "shayateen," "satanielim," "satans," "diaboli," or "sathanae" since I consider it to be a pretty close translation. I also use it to refer to most demons in Judeo-Christian demonology, like his majesty, King Paimon, or Asmodaeus.
I would consider all devils demons, but not all demons devils. As far as I've been able to find, though, this seems to be a matter of my own opinion and there's no actual consensus on the differences between the two.
However, I would note that in anthropology, "demon" tends to refer to a variety of malevolent spirits whereas "devil" has more specific religious connotations, in a similar way to how I've outlined them here.