I want to leave a clarifying comment here, because this video deals with such a complex topic as God. I really tried to not be misleading or misrepresenting in my wording, but even so, I still probably could have done a better job. So, the research I did on the Christian God was largely based on Origen, Augustine, and Aquinas, along with the modern theologian Bishop Robert Barron. The understanding I got is something like this: God is not in the universe in the sense of a being or a creature. Nor is he the created things. Rather he is "beingness", existence, the ever-creating force, the natural laws, the inspiration within each human heart, love, truth, goodness, and beauty. He is a trinity, a truine community of consubstantial relationships. God the Father is the speaker, God the Son is the word spoken, and God the Holy Spirit is the breath. Yes, the word "person" is used for the three divine persons of the Trinity, but God is not a person in the sense of a regular person; "person" is just the word used because human language lacks a perfect word that would more accurately refer to him.

I am a hardcore role player and a Christian. And I think you did a wonderful job in illustrating our beliefs! As well as the ideas behind the Blood War.

Another aspect on the problem of evil is the idea that God wants humans to love Him, but love cannot be forced. As such, an alternative must be available, that alternative being the abscense of God, which is hell. The idea that hell is not a place, but a state of being

I like the direction DnD went with the demons. Devils have their place (preferably on the business end of a supershotgun), but the demons as uncaring insane sentient cancer cells is really interesting. I also like to think of Terry Pratchett's descriptions of the Things from the Dungeon Dimensions of Discworld as inspiration for demons: "Combining the worst aspects of a dead horse, an octopus, and a bicycle" and "they crowded around the world like the ocean trying to warm itself by a candle". They have a bit more base urgency and probably don't actually mean any harm, but their existence is corrosive to life and reality and they can't be given a single inch ever, if we want to continue existing.

If angels can fall then the natural question that follows is - can a demon/devil ascend?

"...bent on the corruption of souls, the despoiling of all that is natural, and the destruction of life." Ah, humans, yes we're all familiar with them.

Excellent video, you did a great job delving into the problem of evil and how demons/devils fit into that framework. I wasn't sure where you were going with the game allegory at first, but when you got to the rebellion bit, it totally clicked. Can't wait for that Monstrous Heroes book!

I have never played a game of dnd, but for the past few years I've become obsessed with the lore and collect the monster manuals and sourcebooks for they are very creatively inspirational. I aspire to do some form of creative writing. That being said, simply as a fan of mythology, lore, monsters, and religion and the legends that surround religions, I find your channel to be one of the absolute best. Thanks, dear Bard. May your channel find growth and gain great influence in the coming days.

Wow, I was not expecting that ending. It's perhaps the best explanation of the Problem of Evil I've ever heard, even from actual evangelists. You could call it, "The Parable of the Gamemaster" :)

I'd like to point out that, culturally speaking, demons and equivalents thereof have only very rarely been treated as 100% evil. Even in the Christian lore, on which most pop-culture depictions of demons are based, there's a sizeable chunk of people who interpret demons as still working directly under God and serving his ultimate goal. Just the uh.. less savory parts of the process towards it. Not only that, but several figures in demonology are specifically cited as being of a good nature, such as Vassago and Seir of the Ars Goetia. And, even beyond that, demonic spirits aligned with the East and West are also generally considered to be 'good'.

Thanks a ton, Esper! I just love this kind of content and demons are a special liking of mine since AD&D days. So, yeah - fantastic content!

Really like the video. Can't wait to back the project

Great video! I really love the "What are" type and can't wait to see more!

Esper! I really enjoyed this, a lot! Very well done and great presentation. I wish there was something "higher" than a thumbs up! Awesome stuff!

0:44 "But one type of creature we can all agree on as being absolutly evil is the Demon." Arueshalae, slamming a door open: "HEY HEY!"

From the television producers of Touched By An Angel, comes Touched By An Esper. See Esper's journey to make a reasonable video that doesn't insult, but neither does it make him a pushover. Critics are claiming, well done. In a video friendly to its audience whether or not they share Esper's views. With a cameos from various Mythological, religious and DND entities. Featuring the voice of Esper The Bard. Rated, not overrated.

Love this style of content! I really like the history dive into why things are the way they are. I feel it helps people get a snapshot of the hobby and from there they can make changes as they see fit.

Love your content, Esp. I know you said you were hesitant about doing rankings for subclasses and monsters, but I hope you'll continue. It helps players and DMs alike make informed decisions before playing and it's helped me map out encounters and even subplots. My arc villain in a recent was an oni leading a cult devoted to Graz'zt. He fooled the party into thinking he was an adventurer, then murdered witnesses to his crimes. He was a memorable antagonist and I may not have had the idea if you hadn't made such a great argument for them in your giants rankings. Whatever you choose, though, I'm sure it'll be great and I always look forward to watching content during lunch or while I'm running on the treadmill.

Did you read the old Dragon magazine articles? You can see how Gary Gygax and Ed Greenwood gradually built up their (weird?) version of Hell and the Abyss, devils and demons. Their alignment system created a situation where they had to distort what devils and demons were in mythology. Note that in Dante, devils are not evil, they are doing God's work -- reforming and punishing sinners. It's the sinners who missed the mark, not the devils. In some places the Devil (capital D) is portrayed as God's prosecutor -- he tests people to see if they really are good; if they sinned by mistake or because they got carried away well they need "help" but if they consciously decided to do evil then they deserve punishment if they won't turn around (metanoia). Also, AD&D's conception of Hell doesn't match Dante at all, and Dante was writing polemic for his time, he didn't follow what the Romans and Greeks believed either. None of it matches! It's a bit annoying for anyone who wishes to make sense of it all. As for demons, daemons for the Greeks were what gave people élan, it was like the wind in people's sails, caused them to do things: Will. Sometimes we write a todo list but when the time comes we have zero energy or ability to get those things done, there is no motivation at all. We end up doing something else. That's what daemons were, motivation, what caused people to move, to act. There were good daemons and bad ones. The bad ones tended to be children of Nyx and Erebos, night and darkness. Lots of bad traits there including depression, discouragement, sudden rage, despair, despondency, sadness, etc. It's almost as if the Greeks believed people were like puppets or manequins whose movements and moods were controlled by these spirits who moved people. (Like what we call our I's? "I want do this" -- well maybe not you really, maybe that opinion and motivation simply inhabits you for a moment. When it's done, another I takes over, another daemon. People who do meditation notice that thoughts come and go, they are not really them. They drift around like clouds. People normally don't realize this as they identify with their mood of the moment, believing it reflects who they are.) People in antiquity didn't understand or conceptualize the world like we do today. You're right to say this is a rabbit hole.

Excellent video as usual Esper! Thank you

this was one of your best videos, loved every moment.... also i do agree that delving into the other beliefs of different cultures into what is a demon/devil would be a career... Keep up the great work, cheers

Love the new direction, this is fresh and evergreen. Love to see more!

“Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall”

This is probably the best lore video i've ever seen, thanks dude definitely won my subscription.

Very cool deplored dive keep it up

Wow Esper. This video helped me a lot so thank you. Can you do a what are elves video? Also can't wait for more eldritch castle episodes. I'm not sure if your done the adventure, also finally managed to find a way to find a d&d party, d&d beyond is so useful.

That was deep man 👍💫🙏

You made this more beautiful than it needed to be.

Hey. I just watched all three What Are...? videos and I thought that they were really well done and thought out as well as researched for the scope of your videos. I only found your channel a couple of days ago so I am not fanboying and I can only compare it to your most recent "tiers" videos but it made for a satisfying supercut. I wanted to encourage and support you and your creative efforts. This last one was a bit of a bigger topic to tackle as you addressed upfront but I think you did a pretty good job in 25 minutes and I may have even gained a little wisdom by hearing your perspective on the big picture if you consider that your view. As someone who loved the monsters, myths, and legends section of the library as a kid (like many of your subscribers I'm sure, and possibly yourself) the way that there is this inherit human interplay of storytelling, culture, and our attempt to explain the natural world related to the topic at large has fascinated me as a kid and onward as well. Good luck and stay creative.

Good one Esper. That was extremely clarifying. Would you consider doing a video on the topic of power in D&D? How power is depicted, represented, different forms compared against one another, hierarchies and the very nature of how power works/functions in the D&D universe?

That's some deep stuff at the end. I've never thought of it that way

Thanks Esper. Truly epic!

I wish I could say anything but I guess that the other comments already explained well what I felt of this video but I guess that i have to say it, i really liked this video, you explained very well a lot of things about the devil's, and demons good and evil and that last part about god really well, ok like a lot of people here i watch you videos for the lore, even if haven't played dnd, because trust here in Mexico dnd is'nt very famous but I just love the lore and the monsters so really thank you for your videos bard , sorry for the long comment, keep being cool

What a lovely video. Thank you.

As an atheist I appreciate you being respectful of Christian lore without making it out to be more truthful or important than any other religion. You found the balance quite well.

Keep up these dnd ajasent videos I think are a good niche to be a creator and storyteller in. It allows people into lore to still get their fix but also acts as inspiration for dnd game masters... it's a great middle ground on a similar note I would love to see you do a similar video on magic and schools of magic in dnd if you need some articles,ethnographs,and or books on the subject just let me know. Also there are some really good creators you might be able to collabe with or at least get some info from.

You may look for a little book (literally pocket-sized) entitled "My Way of Life" - In it, Chapter 5 is a very good presentation of St. Thomas Aquinas's Dissertation on the Angels. I believe it starts on page 63.

Good video man

Great video, Esper. You're a true bard.

Love the lore vids

Awesome video.

I loved the video, and the extrapolation of the concepts that you came to. There are certainly many ways to interpret the philosophical language that tends to be used in describing what meaning can be derived from the existence of a knowing force of creation, and it can get very murky as the abstractions build upon themselves. My personal takeaway from the literature is not that there is no understanding an all knowing God, but that each instance of understanding that transcends oneself is a microcosm of the experience of the existence of God, which is why all spiritual texts hold such moments in the highest regard. In this video I would say you definitely created such a moment, however small a spark.

Thanks Esper. I’m running a campaign based on Diablo. This is helpful.

The best explanation. Thank you

Demons What people think: 👹 What in d&d are: 😈👿 What in Japan are: 😍😂

Enjoyed the video! Keep up the good work.

Great vid

Esper, thank you for this. I needed this right now. Can't rightly say why, but I needed this video at this very moment.

Interesting take! Here’s some more info for those interested: The God of the bible, the great “I am that I am” is the source of things and is everywhere all at once but not of it’s essence or inside it’s essence. The problem of evil is a challenging topic. Modern rabbinic thought worded as the “evil inclincation”, a test that will be rewarded at the end of time which has parallels to christian thought “I do what I don’t want to do” and “the spiritual struggles of faith being like a marathon with a crown rewarded at the end”. The struggle of evil can be seen as a combination of: 1. An inherited compulsion for evil from Adam and Eve (knowledge of good and evil as a curse), 2. temptation from evil spirits and the devil himself who owns the world, 3. the law of God written on all humanities heart, 4. mankind being made in God’s image, 5. Christ as a mediator spirit in that struggle for those who thrust in him 6. and the contentious topic of free will vs determinism (predestination). Some more tidbit on demons: 1. the epistle of Jude & 2 Peter on demons already being chained in “the abyss/Tartarus” maybe as a callback to angels making titan(Nephelim)-babies with human women in the time of Noah’s flood. Titans being the precursors to the giant Goliat. 2. Shedim are spirit demons in the old testament. Evil spirits that request sacrifices. In other writings they are more like fairyes or gnomes. 3. Satan (an adversary or the adversary) in rabbinic thought is more of an instrumental tool God uses to guide humans through trials towards purification. While in Christian thought also given the name Lucifer (The shining one) or the Devil (Diabolos, the slanderer) which the Book of revelation aswell as the Gospels links to the serpent in the garden and the prophecy about Eve and her offspring fighting war with the offspring of the serpent. Some also linking this to the virgin birth since it doesn’t mention Adam. 4. The word demon (daimon) being a greek word meaning godlike spirit, for example mentioned in Christ’s exorcism of spirits. A distinction between judaic and christian thought on the after life is that the grave (Sheol) is a place of sleep while awaiting a bodily resurection at the end of time without a conceptualization of what happens or punishment. The spirit(elohim) of a diseased prophet being summoned up from the grave asking King Saul “why are you bothering me ?” Christian Hell (Gehinna/Hades), being Gods punishing device rather than the domain of evil rule (Which is more of a greek idea you mentioned with Pluto) and the idea that at the end of times Death and Hell will be thrown into “the lake of fire”. Another tidbit is the contentious topic of a purgatory of purification of the corrupted as a concept in roman catholic and some rabbinic thought.

9:50 - YES! Somebody else who understands how morality works in D&D!

Good video

I think devils, as in fallen angels, don't need to be completely evil to be on the side of evil. The say "the road to Hell is paved with good intentions" is not random. As a believer, I think most angels fell with good intentions, but the means to the end were absolutely nefarious. For all we know they might have the most shining utopia in mind, but isn't utopia what built the gulags and concentration camps? Also, mystic texts like the testament of Solomon give a very creative distinction between devils and demons: devils are fallen angels, the original rebels defeated and cast down from Heaven. These demons, however, are able of giving life to things, like the sound of defecating, or even reproduce with humans to bolster their armies. I like the idea that there is a core of fallen angels, with a vast horde of artificially created demons under them, perhaps constantly scheming against their overlords, yet unable to ever overthrow them. This idea is actually somewhat similar to what D&D does, which is quite funny.

Great video as usually Esper. Though I would use a different analogy for the Christian God. Speaking as a Christian myself, God is a being but He’s beyond anything we could comprehend. He isn’t the game itself but the maker of the Game. If I were to make an analogy, I’d say He has an amazing campaign for us set up and it’s going to be difficult but extremely rewarding. How would are characters level up with to exp to gain from challenges? He won’t railroad you though, you can do your own thing but that will make the story far more difficult, and He might even use an extremely difficult encounter to get you back on track for the campaign, but the choice is ultimately yours. Love your videos man. Keep them up

That was... truely enlightening.

So much knowledge in a video that it seemed like it had hours of content, I don't know how you did it but it was very good.

Nobody ever said theology was easy. This was well done.

Video of the day

Great video as always, esper. About the mindflayer comment in the beginning of the video, The idea of good aligned mindflayers is silly to me. Mindflayers need to eat at least 1 brain a month in order to not starve and they eat one brain at the end of the tadpole stage(the brain of the human body they now posses). That means a 1 year old mindflayer has eaten the brains of at least 13 people.

I thought this would be a DND breakdown with some mechanic tips, still good either way.

Lucifer being the devil was a misunderstanding of a verse in the bible comparing the King of Babylon to the Planet Venus. Lucifer means Venus, "the Morning Star", and its "falling" is the fact that it's the last star to vanish from sight before the sun. The idea of Lucifer and a lot of other myths in Christianity that are ironically misunderstood as part of of Christian canon were further solidified (and some outright invented, like Lucifer being the Snake in the Garden of Eden) in the 17th century Christian fanfiction novel "Paradise Lost" by author John Milton

Esper you are just in time, I have been thinking about using demons for an upcoming game, but before I do that, I needed to figure out what exactly they mean in the context of, well, everything. Next I need to tackle the idea of what it means to be a god, how does one become a god, why do gods have limitations, etc.? So, I mean, if you have free time... :D

Too Jesusy for me! But would 100% back that book, your last one is probably the best I own. (I own a lot!)

I always thought Jack Vance's stories having demons birthed from the actions of man had an irony to it, and he certainly had an influence on D&D if more fore magic systems then demonology.

I've followed your channel for a while now and this has been one of my favorite videos. Good work as always. I'm technically an atheist myself, but I do find value in religious teachings and find all religion fascinating (not in a pretentious or belittling way either). Keep up the great work. Your book looks great as well!

Oh hey that artwork in the thumbnail on the left is Sire of Insanity. That card was in my first ever Magic the Gathering deck.

Excellent video... not easy to make. Demonology is a major topic, and it is not easy to go there. In my experience/opinion, it is best to just keep them in the D&D world(s). By the way, one of the best gamers I know (and D&D is our "go to" game) is a pastor.

Dope.

I’ve heard before from a certain priest I know that “Hell is not so much a place, rather your soul goes into a state of being. One that is separated and isolated from divine presence. I think The way you described God being the game rather than the GM fits with what the priest said rather well. If all of existence (the game) is naturally a part of the divine (God). than being “banished” or “Cast” into hell is comparable to being banned from the game and therefore the divine to become something akin to nothing… without truly fading away.

1:34 “I don’t have to be perfect…” by the laws of anxti teenage dramas… flay this man!

Dam Esper, fantastic description of Christianity and your correlation with gaming. I’m gonna have my kids watch this. Well done.

You should look into the D&D/Pathfinder Qlippoth and compare them to the Kabbalistic Qlippoth.

Wow man!!! As a Christian who is a student of the Bible and who also loves fantasy rpgs… I gotta tel you you tackled a few subjects in this video better than most theologians Ive listened to. Kudos!!

Oh I need that book if it's not monsters.

Great video sir. Another thing media tends to do is put God and the devil on the same level even when based on the Christian religion. When In Christianity the devil is just a demon. He doesn’t have the omnipresence or omnipotence.Hell, he isn’t even the strongest “angel”. Admittedly it does make him less scary if trying to make a big bad for a story. Edit: lol damn people are quick and said my point crazy fast.

0:45 we have had tieflings for a LONG time and ever since 4e have looked like real demons.

you really stepped into a deep rabbithole, very dualist that DnD, I once played a doom mod where you go into hell, in there I found little cozy rooms where apparently this horrible demons sleep, and inverted churches were this sadist monstrosities gather, to pray? it was incredibly silly. ultimately this dualism seems untenable because there can't be two different sources to the universe, by which law can they interact? only if there was a third agent that rules over them both that can work and that's no longer dualist.

Interesting take on the Abrahamic god. Being groomed as a kid to be a preacher, I have a very different view based on the scriptures'(OKJV) I was raised in. In D&D/TTRPG's I can appreciate the word devil being used for the Abrahamic "Demon's", and find the separation of The Abyss (Primordial Chaos), The Infernal(Hell), and The Celestial(Cloud Kingdoms) to be refreshing. This video was interesting as most of your videos are. Thank you for posting it. Though I will mention, morality's scale has always felt off on the alignments and to close to my upbringing. So "Good" and "Evil" as universal forces always feel off.....So even when playing I usually just go Neutral on that scale and let the DM/GM call it what they want.

Hmmm, I feel like making Create Spawn a level 17 ability is kind of excessive. That would imply that all Vampire Lords, or 'Sires', would be approaching the realm of demigods in terms of power scale. Where as vampires in the monster manual are classified as CR 13.

Scary beast

Satan isn't used to refer to a single figure it means something like adversary but seams to me to be used in a courtly context like plaintiff or defendant, of course these are times where duels decide things and the one who tracks you down may be the one to sentence you and then carry out said sentence. So even an angel doing God's biding can be referred to as Satan depending on context and it isn't a name or a title held singularly by lusifer.

I'm a fan of you pulling from Fiendish Codex's, gone are those days of WoTC flushing out such things. Instead we get modules and a sprinkle of flavor in a hand waved paragraph if we're lucky. Enjoyed your home brewed settings, should develop a setting book one of these times, or perhaps a wiki if your online campaign(s) take off.

Fun fact: Biblical Satan does not rule over hell and punish the wicked, this changed when words like "hades" and "tardurus" were used to describe hell when the bible was translated from hebrew to greek. Because of this, Satan and Hades ended up influncing each other to the point that they became interchangable from each other.

0:46 all of them? There's a noteable example of a redeemed succubus in the Pathfinder First Edition books, and I think it's really cool. Absolutely, the default, 99.9999999999999^ % of demons should be evil, but that minuscule possibility of redemption, of them breaking free of evil and becoming a creature of good really speaks to me.

It might be good to note that a number of demons were originally deities of other societies. This includes Demogorgon, Orcus and Baphomet, which brings up some questions: Who decides who's a demon, and are all demons truly evil?

What timing! I just heard an interview with Austin Freeman who wrote Tolkien Dogmatics: Theology through Mythology with the Maker of Middle-earth. While talking about Beowulf, he mentioned that pre-Christian demons are monsters and they become spiritual opponents with Christianity. Thought it would be interesting in my fantasy Earth campaign to have monster demons still where Christianity has no influence. One note, your description of God and creation is basically panentheist, which is a view Christians don't traditionally hold. Christianity is traditionally theist, making a sharp distinction between the creator and the creation. The incarnation, God taking on human flesh, must be seen as something wonderful (in the older sense of the word) in light of this.

Reminds me of depictions of death, anyways scary but never always evil

Just as a respectful addendum to your awesome analysis... From a mostly (Judeo-Christian and offshoots of Abrahamic theology) biblical aspect, "Devils" are fallen Archangels, with Lucifer, as sited in your opening quote, is (or was) the highest of all the fallen Archangels and the "Devil-head", but Michael is now the Heavenly highest in current theology. (Note the capitalizations of Archangel.) "Demons" however have (at least) 2 origins in their hierarchy. One being the corrupted souls of (condemned) former humans, and second, lower angels than those of the Archangels, who chose to also rebel with Lucifer. I understand and appreciate your "disclaimers" in this video, because all theologies are a complex, confusing, and (sometimes) contradictory philosophy, that (paradoxically) overlap one another. Joseph Campbell (as I know you know) discusses just that in his great books! Thanks for the great video Esper!!!! I LOVE subject matter that deals with existentialism and metaphysics, just as much as science/physics. Great job!!!

I know this one!! Whatever you want because they're fictional. Yeah, nailed it. But in a more serious note I do think it's a great question for writing fantasy or creating a DnD campaign setting. Delving into mythos can be really fun and spark ideas that can inform our actual lives.

Dark elves you mean playful mine spirits who just don't understand how fragile we are and armorers to the gods, also known as dwarves, tommyknockers and like a dozen different names that start with k or h but all mean gnome. Or do you mean those spindley pale-ish purple or bronzen things that make me wonder if the term hasbin can apply to a bloodline.

Demons/Nephilim- Scary beast

This was a very good presentation, and the summary of Christian beliefs was the best I have heard for this general idea. I do also appreciate the clarifying post that pointed out that it was only trying to explain the concept of God and evil as taught by certain theologians. For my part, I am a Christian, but I believe that D&D has things closer to the truth when it comes to good and evil than most Christians. I also believe that God is a physical being who exists. But this is not a belief that is general among the many Christian denominations, so I do appreciate that the video stayed with the more common beliefs.

One of the advantages of D&D's positioning of Good and Evil as opposing but largely equal forces is it frames Alignment as not merely a description of action and attitude, but of _allegiance._ In a scheme that is more Zoroastrian than Christian, Good and Evil (and, for that matter, Law and Chaos) are distinct sides in a cosmic conflict. Ones that a mortal, possessing free will, can choose to align with. In the Christian scheme, as it's understood commonly nowadays, to side with Satan is a losing game. The forces of Hell are at a distinct and undeniable disadvantage. They can only poke and prod mortals, or occasionally possess them, to do evil. Seemingly just to spite God. They can only hurt God by hurting humans. The end is already written: evil loses. As such, it's not only immoral to deliberately side with evil, it's foolish and short-sided. While there are obvious downsides, in D&D, to signing up for a forever war against beings of pure Chaotic Evil, there are rewards for serving the Nine Hells well. Just as those who serve Demon Lords or occasionally Yugoloths have their own reward, though this is much more risky. What matters is that there's much less certainty about who will win the cosmic game between Good, Evil, Law, and Chaos. If, indeed, victory is even possible. For those mortals living on the prime material plane, it can seem, from a certain point of view, an entirely valid choice to embrace some form of Evil. Either for the rewards it offers, to potentially be on the winning side, or out of disillusionment with the cosmic or moral order. This is especially true among mortals who have, in their minds or that of society, already crossed the moral event horizon. If you've committed a grave sin, and either do not believe atonement is possible or don't desire it, switching sides can seem like the most prudent option. You are already damned, you think. You might as well impress whatever vile power you can, in hopes of bettering your position in the lower planes. In for a penny, in for a soul coin, as it were. It doesn't matter if the mortal is wrong. Nor if the chances of actually achieving a satisfying or tolerable afterlife are vanishingly slim. All that matters is whether a mortal _believes_ siding with Evil is a reasonable moral or pragmatic choice. It's upon such cavalier embrace of wickedness that Villains are made and Minions occupy their dungeons. These are the folk signing pacts with devils or making sacrifices to demons, or buddying up to any other unwholesome power imaginable.

It would be an interesting idea to go through things more in-depth, even if it is too hard to do in an easy way without glossing over a lot, but seeing how Christianity tended to point out other religions deities as "bad", many demons would make sense as Lawful Evil from that perspective. To me it makes little sense for demons to torture human souls unless we live in a universe that thrives on suffering, or otherwise our souls would act as sustenance for them. But in that way I do not see why Angels would be any different, maybe they would be the "vegetarian" alternative of not destorying souls.

should have checked out Ars Magica demons, in particular "realms of power - infernal" that's some good fantasy re-style Christian demons

I don't need to watch it Both. Sometimes there is no need to divide things. Just acknowledge their different origins and keep them together

Fun fact, the morning star but of Isaiah referring to Venus - Lucifer referring to Satan is a mistranslation

The word "Demon" comes from the ancient greek word Daimon, which just meant spirit or lesser deity, that could be good or evil.

Personally, it always confused me to find demons and hell in general to be some evil force. I'm not christian, but I grew up in the bible belt. So I was always exposed to the ideology in great detail. If god is supposed to be an all-loving force, then why create demons? It's in that question that I arrived at the original intention behind a great quest into demonology informed me of. Demons are simply another force of the universe. They are the punishers of sin and holders of the negatives inherent in the human experience, but as living things, they are also quite knowledgeable and powerful. To that end, I usually use demons in two ways: Firstly, the lesser demons I usually make more akin to dnd demons. They are a largely mindless force players can mulch through, because they're more or less mindless manifestations of negative things. Devils, however, are a much more refined form of demon that exists largely to root out, punish, and regulate the sin it formed around. They're usually a lot more like self-help gurus and generally try to mitigate the amount of sin generated in the world because it just creates more work for them. Also, to those that go digging: Most all the traits of sloth are just... depression. There's something to be said about not letting depression rule your life, but having it listed as a sin does kinda feel like christian cannon giving you the equivalent of "just don't be sad, lul" on the topic. I understand they probably didn't understand it back in ye olden days, because if you didn't work, then you didn't live. However it still rubs me the wrong way.

A brave attempt at theology going straight for one of the hardest questions and doing it in ten minutes. I applaud you. There is of course a lot more to say in this 2000 years discussion. But you might want to add that evil is finite in Christianity. Sins it is not a cosmic forse it has a beginning and there is a promise of an end to it.

Question: "What are Demons?" Answer: "God allows humanity the freedom to rebel. What? Demons?"