Demons/ghosts in fiction

[DMC12]

I was wondering if it’s ok to see movies/games where they are shown as something cool.

for example in how many games there is the “darkness sword” and such stuff.

and actually is it wrong to somehow feel those things are cool? honestly I think the interest comes from the fear we might have them, since they are dangerous, powerful and such, so we have a natural attraction to that, and not to the fact that they are evil, so i think there is nothing wrong with that as far as you don’t believe the evil to be good.

but i would love your opinions.

 

[ScrupulousMonk]

I actually recently asked an Apologist a similar question. I can not provide for you a direct answer, but try to take “Lord of the Rings” for example. J.R.R Tolkien was considered a devout Catholic and he was also considered the father of High Fantasy (according to Wikipedia). I do not think simple fantasy, enjoying or creating, is wrong (we would not be holding Tolkien as a role model at my Sunday school if it was), but I do not have a clear answer for you. I will send you a link to my question if the Apologist answers it.

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

Are the ‘demons/ghosts’ of fiction really demons? It seems doubtful. Theologically speaking neither one even have a distinct, ‘physical’ form. Many of the things associated with demons: the horns, the goat hooves, and the tails are all derived from anti-pagan propaganda.

Righteous propaganda some might say but nonetheless, it’s really nothing more than Christians exercising their own artistic liberties. There’s really no justification (doctrinal or logical) for declaring a creature with such features to be inherently evil.

You can extend this to so-called ‘dark’ weapons in fiction. A sword of darkness isn’t so much evil as it’s simply risky to use. Then again, so is TNT, C-4, and of course, standard nuclear weaponry. Put in a game, using one is not a question of morality but of efficiency. Take my usual prestige class in D&D, the Hellfire Warlock. Hellfire Warlocks have the ability to increase their damage by taking a permanent hit to their Constitution damage (representing the whole ‘hellfire eats your soul’ deal).

Enter incarnum, which is pretty much just a unique ability to shape life energy into powerful items. One of these items prevents Con damage. And thus, the easily playable Hellfire Warlock was born (with the worse thing it’s ever done is have hundreds of DMs cry out in protest).

Similar things happen often in fiction. The so-called ‘evil sword’ winds up being bargained with (which theologically isn’t supposed to happen). So-called ‘evil’ requirement winds up with surprising substitutes.

Just as the human imagination is endless there’s too many endless possibilities with the things you could do with so-called ‘dark’ aesthetics/tropes/elements.

 

[Kamaduck]

Are the ‘demons/ghosts’ of fiction really demons? It seems doubtful. Theologically speaking neither one even have a distinct, ‘physical’ form.

This. If a fictional demon is actually presented as a demon, then I don’t think we have any business casting them in a heroic light. I don’t think it would be easy to write a story like that anyway, unless the narrative had no moral compass at all (which is rare, even now).

But in a lot of stories, “demons” are clearly biological/physical beings that have the freedom to make either good or bad decisions. Often they tend towards evil or have a questionable sense of morality, but even that isn’t guaranteed. Usually, it’s clear that they are “demons” only in a colloquial sense, and you’ve got to depend on their presentation within the narrative to determine whether they’re on the side of good or evil.

Occassionally you’ll even encounter stories about “demons” (or, perhaps more often, “half-demons”) where the character’s natural tendency towards darkness is treated more like a human’s temptation towards sin, something they’ve got to overcome in order to do good. IMO, there’s nothing much wrong with that.

So it sort of depends on the story. Just having a “demon” doesn’t tell us much, since most fiction uses that term differently than we do.

 

[styrgwillidar]

Robert Asprin’s ‘Myth’ Series (“Hit or Myth”, “Another Fine Myth”, “Little Myth Marker” etc.) is a comedy fantasy series where demons are depicted as dimension travelers in the multi-verse. So, in a way they’re cool, but they’re not aligned with occult powers or anything. So, don’t see an issue with that kind of thing. You can read about someone’s theoretical construction of a fantasy world without

A. confusing it with reality
B. allowing it to corrupt your own values