Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume IV/Origen/Origen Against Celsus/Book VIII/Chapter XXV

Chapter XXV.

Celsus says that &#8220;the demons belong to God, and are therefore to be believed, to be sacrificed to according to laws, and to be prayed to that they may be propitious.&#8221;&#160; Those who are disposed to learn, must know that the word of God nowhere says of evil things that they belong to God, for it judges them unworthy of such a Lord.&#160; Accordingly, it is not all men who bear the name of &#8220;men of God,&#8221; but only those who are worthy of God,&#8212;such as Moses and Elias, and any others who are so called, or such as resemble those who are so called in Scripture.&#160; In the same way, all angels are not said to be angels of God, but only those that are blessed:&#160; those that have fallen away into sin are called &#8220;angels of the devil,&#8221; just as bad men are called &#8220;men of sin,&#8221; &#8220;sons of perdition,&#8221; or &#8220;sons of iniquity.&#8221;&#160; Since, then, among men some are good and others bad, and the former are said to be God&#8217;s and the latter the devil&#8217;s, so among angels some are angels of God, and others angels of the devil.&#160; But among demons there is no such distinction, for all are said to be wicked.&#160; We do not therefore hesitate to say that Celsus is false when he says, &#8220;If they are demons, it is evident that they must also belong to God.&#8221;&#160; He must either show that this distinction of good and bad among angels and men has no foundation, or else that a similar distinction may be shown to hold among demons.&#160; If that is impossible, it is plain that demons do not belong to God; for their prince is not God, but, as holy Scripture says, &#8220;Beelzebub.&#8221;