Apologetics: Please Stop Calling Everything Demonic.

One of the things that really annoys me about the church is that a lot of people – especially the ladies – have a bad habit of calling everything they don’t like or disagree with “demonic.” If you’re in the church, I’m sure you’ve run across this problem at least once or twice. Harry Potter? Demonic. Labubu dolls? Demonic. Rock music (unless it’s Christian)? Demonic. It seems like everything that doesn’t perfectly fit into the Christian mold is automatically demonic for often vague reasons.

Or is it? Is the word demonic actually being used correctly here, or is this Christians overreacting?

To start with, let’s start with the actual definition of the word. According to Merriam-Webster, “demonic” means, “of, relating to, or suggestive of a demon: fiendish.” Thus, using this adjective to refer to things such as Ouija boards, pentagrams, Baphomets, etc. would be correct as they fit that definition. They are overtly demonic symbols/tools.

However, here’s where things start going downhill. A lot of Christians I see online (female ones in particular), will apply this adjective to anything they don’t like. For example, I recently saw a video by a popular Christian influencer named Taylor Alesia claiming that the cosmetic industry is demonic. She then went on to point out how many unnecessary and potentially harmful chemicals are added to our everyday cosmetic products and claimed that it’s “demonic” and “the devil’s hand is on it,” because many of those ingredients may negatively affect the endocrine and reproductive systems, thus impairing the ability for women to have a child or causing the child to have health issues from the chemicals.

That topic could be an entire blog post in of itself, but the main thing that I want to focus on is that while I can agree that if true, putting harmful chemicals into cosmetic products is evil, I wouldn’t say it’s demonic or that the devil’s hand is on that industry. Though an argument could be made that grammatically, this adjective is being used correctly, spiritually, I think that this is an over-exaggeration. Too many Christians over-attribute evil to Satan, seeming not to recognize that thanks to the Fall, humans can easily do evil things without Satan’s help or prompting. The devil doesn’t care if you worship him or not. As long as he can keep you away from God and focused on yourself, he’s happy.

Because of this, calling everything bad or that you don’t like “demonic,” especially when your reasoning is quite vague, can actually cause people spiritual harm. To people outside of the church, you make yourself look like a paranoid crazy person crying wolf when there is no real danger, which can drive them away from the church. To people in the church, you make yourself look like a paranoid crazy person crying wolf when there is no real danger, which can drive them out of the church. It’s one thing to be discerning, but it’s another thing entirely when you’re so cautious that that discernment becomes outright paranoia.

So then, how should we Christians use the word “demonic” and when would it be appropriate to use it?

If it’s something that’s completely occultic such as pentagrams, Baphomets, spells, yoga, etc. that is associated with the devil and demons, then yes, we can call that “demonic.” If it’s something that’s neutral, such as crystals or essential oils, while we can condemn the things that are done with those things that make them idols, we should recognize that by themselves, there’s nothing inherently wrong with them. If it’s something that’s just evil, then call it that. Otherwise, you look nuts.

Until next time,

M.J.