Volume I — Origins and the Biblical World
Traces ideas about evil spirits from ancient Mesopotamia through Israel, Second Temple Judaism, and the Greco-Roman world. It culminates in Jesus’ confrontation with the powers and the apostolic Church’s understanding of Christ’s victory.

Follows the early Church as it developed its understanding of demons through martyrdom, apologetics, and worship. The desert fathers’ study of temptation and discernment shaped Christian practice for centuries.

Examines how monastic discipline, scholastic theology, and ecclesiastical law shaped medieval beliefs about demons and the practice of exorcism. It traces how learned theology and popular beliefs about magic converged in late medieval witchcraft discourse.

Explores how Protestant and Catholic reforms reshaped spiritual authority amid witch hunts and missionary encounters. It follows how early modern medicine, natural philosophy, and skepticism challenged established accounts of possession and witchcraft.

Traces how Enlightenment skepticism and modern psychology recast beliefs about spirits and possession. It also follows their persistence in Catholic exorcism and their reappearance in Spiritism, occult movements, and popular culture.

Follows the expansion of spiritual warfare and deliverance through charismatic renewal, alongside a wider occult revival and the Satanic Panic. It examines how abuse and public controversy prompted churches to reconsider spiritual authority and strengthen safeguards.

Examines how global Christianity, trauma research, and digital culture are reshaping beliefs about demons and practices of deliverance. It closes by proposing an approach to Christian discernment grounded in pastoral care, clinical collaboration, and institutional accountability.