Origen of Alexandria

Let us come also, if you wish, to the circumcision of lips. I think that he would be "uncircumcised in lips" who has not yet ceased from silly talk, from obscene language, who disparages good people, who slanders his neighbors, who instigates quarrels, who promotes false accusations, who sets brothers against themselves by making false statements, who utters vain words, inept words, profane words, shameless words, filthy words, injurious words, wanton words, blasphemous words, and other words that are unworthy of a Christian. But if anyone curbs his mouth from all these things and "orders his words with judgment," if he restrains verbosity, governs his tongue, keeps his words in due bounds, that person deservedly is said to be circumcised in lips. But also those "who speak iniquity on high and stretch out their tongue against heaven," as the heretics do, are to be called uncircumcised and unclean in their lips. But he is circumcised and clean who always speaks the word of God and brings forward sound doctrine fortified with evangelic and apostolic norms. In this way, therefore, also circumcision of lips is given in the church of God.

His next remark was, "Have not these inferior powers been assigned to them by God different departments, according as each was deemed worthy?" But this is a question that requires a very profound knowledge. For we must determine whether the Word of God, who governs all things, has appointed wicked demons for certain duties, in the same way as in states executioners are appointed, and other officers with cruel but necessary duties to discharge; or whether as among robbers, who infest desert places, it is customary for them to choose out of their number one who may be their leader—so the demons, who are scattered as it were in troops in different parts of the earth, have chosen for themselves a chief under whose command they may plunder and pillage human souls. To explain this fully and to justify the conduct of the Christians in refusing homage to any object except the most high God, and the Firstborn of all creation, who is his Word and God, we must quote this from Scripture: "All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them"; and again, "The thief does not come, except to steal, and to kill and to destroy"; and other similar passages, as, "Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will by any means hurt you"; and again, "You shall tread on the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon you shall trample under foot." But of these things Celsus knew nothing, or he would not have made use of language like this: "Is not everything that happens in the universe, whether it be the work of God, of angels, of other demons or of heroes, regulated by the law of the most high God? Have these not had assigned to them various duties of which they were severally deemed worthy? Is it not just, therefore, that he who serves God should serve those also to whom God has assigned such power?" To which he adds, "It is impossible, they say, for a man to serve many masters."

And it is not we alone who speak of wicked demons, but almost all who acknowledge the existence of demons. Thus, then, it is not true that all observe the law of the most High; for all who fall away from the divine law, whether through heedlessness, or through depravity and vice or through ignorance of what is right, all such do not keep the law of God, but, to use a new phrase that we find in Scripture, “the law of sin.” I say, then, that in the opinion of most of those who believe in the existence of demons, some of them are wicked; and these, instead of keeping the law of God, offend against it. But, according to our belief, it is true of all demons that they were not demons originally, but they became so in departing from the true way; so that the name “demons” is given to those beings who have fallen away from God. Accordingly, those who worship God must not serve demons. We may also learn the true nature of demons if we consider the practice of those who call on them by charms to prevent certain things or for many other purposes. For this is the method they adopt, in order by means of incantations and magical arts to invoke the demons and induce them to further their wishes. Wherefore, the worship of all demons would be inconsistent in us who worship the supreme God; and the service of demons is the service of so-called gods, for “all the gods of the pagans are demons.” The same thing also appears from the fact that the dedication of the most famous of the so-called sacred places, whether temples or statues, was accompanied by curious magical incantations, which were performed by those who zealously served the demons with magical arts. Hence we are determined to avoid the worship of demons even as we would avoid death; and we hold that the worship, which is supposed among the Greeks to be rendered to gods at the altars, and images and temples, is in reality offered to demons.

Now if these words in the law, "You shall have dominion over many nations, and no one shall rule over you," were simply a promise to them of dominion, and if these words contain no deeper meaning than this, then it is certain that the people would have had still stronger grounds for despising the promises of the law. Celsus brings forward another passage, although he changes its terms, where it is said that the whole earth shall be filled with the Hebrew race; which indeed, according to the testimony of history, did actually happen after the coming of Christ, although rather as a result of God's anger, if I may say so, than of his blessing. As to the promise made to the Jews that they should slay their enemies, it may be answered that anyone who examines carefully into the meaning of this passage will find himself unable to interpret it literally. It is sufficient at present to refer to the manner in which in the Psalms the just person is represented as saying, among other things, "Every morning will I destroy the wicked of the land, that I may cut off all workers of iniquity from the city of the Lord." Judge, then, from the words and spirit of the speaker, whether it is conceivable that, after having in the preceding part of the psalm, as anyone may read for himself, he uttered the noblest thoughts and purposes, he should in the sequel, according to the literal rendering of his words, say that in the morning, and at no other period of the day, he would destroy all sinners from the earth and leave none of them alive, and that he would slay every one in Jerusalem who did iniquity. And there are many similar expressions to be found in the law, as this, for example: "We did not leave anything alive."