Post by PurplyOrange on Nov 21, 2016 14:57:29 GMT -6
Oh man, are we talking about how weird religion can get? Because that is totally my jam!
So, those of you who have played one or multiple games in the Shin Megami Tensei series/franchise may have a passing familiarity with Christian Demonology, but you might not know some of the super stupid/weird stuff. Here are a few choice excerpts from/facts about The Lesser Key of Solomon commonly referred to as The Ars Goetia.
1.) The book details the nature of and how to summon/make obedient the 72 Demons that King Solomon imprisoned within brass jars and kept in his palace. So if you played or watched a lets play of Uncharted 3 and wondered what the hell they were on about at the end with King Solomon and the brass vessels and the Djinn, this is what they were referring to. One would think that given how precise the nature of many of these instructions are that the people who wrote and practiced these rituals would know that they did not work. Then again the people we get most of this "information" from were consummate liars, massive showmen, and last but most importantly, they were often high off their fucking mind.
2.) The entry for the 23 listed Demon states that he "setteth cities, castles, and great Places[sic.], on fire.", "maketh thee witty in all manner of ways", and "giveth true answers unto private matters". Like, what kind of skill set is that even? "What's that you want to learn how to impress people at dinner parties and how to pick up chicks/dudes? Sure thing, no problemo, but first I am going to have to burn Minneapolis-Saint Paul to a smoldering pile of ruin. It's just a thing I do."
3.) There is one Demon named Beleth and one named Berith, because that's not super confusing. And if that weren't enough Beleth is sometimes spelled as "Bileth" or "Bilet" and Berith has two other names, each with two different spellings.
4.) One of the claimed abilities of Foras, listed 32nd, is that he "teacheth the Arts of Logic and Ethics in all their parts". My questions are this: Why the literal Hell should I take advice on ethics from a Demon? Demons reside in Hell for a reason, and that reason is not because it's just a cool place to chill. Second: Since when is ethics considered an art instead of an aspect of philosophy?
5.) Many of the Demons have adjectives before or after their Titles like "Terrible, Great. and Powerful" or "Great, Mighty, and Strong". Now, I get that they are literal Demons and that they would be all of those things, but it ends up sounding like are actually really weak and are trying to sound cooler than they actually are. That, or they are all trying to one up eachother in some grand extraplanar pissing contest.
That's all for now, but I will likely add more later because this is really fun of.
So, those of you who have played one or multiple games in the Shin Megami Tensei series/franchise may have a passing familiarity with Christian Demonology, but you might not know some of the super stupid/weird stuff. Here are a few choice excerpts from/facts about The Lesser Key of Solomon commonly referred to as The Ars Goetia.
1.) The book details the nature of and how to summon/make obedient the 72 Demons that King Solomon imprisoned within brass jars and kept in his palace. So if you played or watched a lets play of Uncharted 3 and wondered what the hell they were on about at the end with King Solomon and the brass vessels and the Djinn, this is what they were referring to. One would think that given how precise the nature of many of these instructions are that the people who wrote and practiced these rituals would know that they did not work. Then again the people we get most of this "information" from were consummate liars, massive showmen, and last but most importantly, they were often high off their fucking mind.
2.) The entry for the 23 listed Demon states that he "setteth cities, castles, and great Places[sic.], on fire.", "maketh thee witty in all manner of ways", and "giveth true answers unto private matters". Like, what kind of skill set is that even? "What's that you want to learn how to impress people at dinner parties and how to pick up chicks/dudes? Sure thing, no problemo, but first I am going to have to burn Minneapolis-Saint Paul to a smoldering pile of ruin. It's just a thing I do."
3.) There is one Demon named Beleth and one named Berith, because that's not super confusing. And if that weren't enough Beleth is sometimes spelled as "Bileth" or "Bilet" and Berith has two other names, each with two different spellings.
4.) One of the claimed abilities of Foras, listed 32nd, is that he "teacheth the Arts of Logic and Ethics in all their parts". My questions are this: Why the literal Hell should I take advice on ethics from a Demon? Demons reside in Hell for a reason, and that reason is not because it's just a cool place to chill. Second: Since when is ethics considered an art instead of an aspect of philosophy?
5.) Many of the Demons have adjectives before or after their Titles like "Terrible, Great. and Powerful" or "Great, Mighty, and Strong". Now, I get that they are literal Demons and that they would be all of those things, but it ends up sounding like are actually really weak and are trying to sound cooler than they actually are. That, or they are all trying to one up eachother in some grand extraplanar pissing contest.
That's all for now, but I will likely add more later because this is really fun of.