Angels and Demons: A Christian Primer of the Spiritual World

by Michael F Patella

Overview

The supernatural world is prominent in many of today's movies, television shows, novels, and the popular imagination. But some of what is presented as grounded in a Christian worldview is in fact far from that. In Angels and Demons, Michael Patella, OSB, offers an accessible and fascinating look at supernatural realities as they really are presented in the Bible and Christian tradition. Among the topics Patella explores with a valuable combination of pastoral wisdom and academic rigor are: 

    the role of angels in the ministry of Jesus
    the apocalyptic battle in Revelation
    the occult, possession, and the work of Satan
    what angels are and what they're not
    the Last Judgment: how? when?

Readers will appreciate Patella's level-headed appraisal of the views of the supernatural world in the various sections of the Bible. They will be engaged by his lucid account of "Who's Who in Hell." They will be both comforted and inspired by his foundational conviction that Christ has claimed creation for the forces of good, evil is on the run, and there is no chance of the tide ever turning the other way, evil actions and human suffering notwithstanding.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814632772
Publisher:	Liturgical Press
Publication date:	06/01/2012
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Michael F. Patella, OSB, SSD, is professor of New Testament at the School of Theology Seminary at Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota. He is the author of Angels and Demons: A Christian Primer of the Spiritual World and Word and Image: The Hermeneutics of The Saint John’s Bible(Liturgical Press). He is a contributor to The Bible Today and Give Us This Day published by Liturgical Press.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction xv

Part 1 Sacred Scripture

Chapter 1 Pentateuch and Historical Books 3

Chapter 2 Wisdom Books 18

Chapter 3 Isaiah the Prophet 25

Chapter 4 New Testament 29

Conclusion 55

Part 2 Angels

Chapter 5 Development of Angels in the Christian Tradition 59

Chapter 6 Angels and Christ's Ministry: A Theology 71

Chapter 7 Souls: Immortality or Eternal Life? 80

Conclusion 103

Part 3 The Diabolical World

Chapter 8 Satan, the Devil, and Lucifer 107

Chapter 9 Dealing with the Devil 122

Chapter 10 The Occult 127

Chapter 11 Satan's Activities 134

Chapter 12 Neo-paganism 147

Conclusion 161

Notes 163

Bibliography 174

Further Reading 177

Scripture Index 179

Editorial Reviews

This is a timely book with a lot of good theological sense.
Donald Senior, CP, The Bible Today


This is an uncommonly helpful book, a breath of fresh air for anyone weary of sentimentalized angels and sensationalized demons. Holding fast to scripture and Christian tradition, Fr. Patella offers useful definitions of purgatory and the communion of saints, and more importantly, invites us to a better understanding of the spiritual world in light of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ.
Kathleen Norris, Author of Acedia and Me and The Cloister Walk


Angels and Demons is a concise and thoughtful review of the spirit world and its involvement in the material world as seen through the Catholic lens. It provides a good framework to educate oneself in the reality of Satan, his biblical and extra-biblical manifestations, and a correct reading of the demonic presence in the world.
Fr. Gary Thomas Vatican-certified, practicing exorcist, Subject of the book The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist

From the Publisher