Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirits

Cases of Conscience

...when they were actually at home and asleep, is mentioned by many authors. However, the specific details emphasized here sufficiently prove the truth of what we assert: namely, that the Devil may, by God’s permission, appear in the form of innocent and pious people.

Nevertheless, this is also evident from another scripture, namely 2 Corinthians 11:14: For Satan himself is transformed into an Angel of Light. He appears to be what he is not, and he makes others seem to be what they are not. He represents evil men as good, and good men as evil. The angels of heaven (who are the angels of light) love truth and righteousness, and the Devil will pretend to do so as well. Therefore, he sometimes presents men with excellent, good principles and encourages them (as he did with Theodore Maillat original: "Theodore maill.t"; Maillat was a figure in 16th-century witchcraft cases whose story was used to show how demons could mimic piety.) to practice many things which they are obligated to do by the law of righteousness; by doing this, he deceives them even more effectively.

Is it not strange that he has sometimes suggested to his most devoted servants that if they wish to have close communication familiar Conversation In this context, "familiar" refers to the intimate relationship between a witch and a "familiar spirit." with him, they must be careful to avoid grave sins and pray constantly for God’s protection? Yet, in this way, he has transformed himself into an angel of light, as (p) Boissardus Jean-Jacques Boissard (1528–1602), a French writer on antiquities and the occult. shows. He has frequently appeared to people while pretending to be a good angel, as he did to Anatolius in ancient times; and the recent examples of (q) Dr. Dee and Kelley original: "Dr Dee & Kellet"; John Dee (1527–1608/9) and Edward Kelley (1555–1597) were famous Renaissance occultists who claimed to communicate with angels. are well known. How many deluded enthusiasts Enthusiasts In the 17th century, "enthusiasm" was a negative term for people who claimed to receive direct, private revelations from God, often viewed as being misled by their own imagination or the Devil. both in former and recent times have been deceived by—

(p) On the Secrets of Magic, page 31. original: "De secretis mag."; Boissard's "Tractatus de divinatione et magicis praestigiis." See also Lavater, On Specters, Book 2, Chapter 18. original: "Lavater de Spect. Lib. 2. Ca. 18."; Ludwig Lavater (1527–1586) was a Swiss Protestant reformer who wrote a famous treatise on ghosts and spirits.
(q) Dr. Casaubon: On Spirits. Meric Casaubon (1599–1671), a scholar who published John Dee's private journals to warn against the dangers of conversing with spirits.