Demonic Desires

In Demonic Desires, Ishay Rosen-Zvi examines the concept of yetzer hara, or evil inclination, and its evolution in biblical and rabbinic literature. Contrary to existing scholarship, which reads the term under the rubric of destructive sexual desire, Rosen-Zvi contends that in late antiquity the yetzer represents a general tendency toward evil. Rather than the lower bodily part of a human, the rabbinic yetzer is a wicked, sophisticated inciter, attempting to snare humans to sin. The rabbinic yetzer should therefore not be read in the tradition of the Hellenistic quest for control over the lower parts of the psyche, writes Rosen-Zvi, but rather in the tradition of ancient Jewish and Christian demonology. Rosen-Zvi conducts a systematic and comprehensive analysis of the some one hundred and fifty appearances of the evil yetzer in classical rabbinic literature to explore the biblical and postbiblical search for the sources of human sinfulness. By examining the yetzer within a specific demonological tradition, Demonic Desires places the yetzer discourse in the larger context of a move toward psychologization in late antiquity, in which evil—and even demons—became internalized within the human psyche. The book discusses various manifestations of this move in patristic and monastic material, from Clement and Origin to Antony, Athanasius, and Evagrius. It concludes with a consideration of the broader implications of the yetzer discourse in rabbinic anthropology.

Reform isn’t in every bad boy’s future…or past… Ava Fenaly knows a thing or two about magik, and she knows exactly what she’s doing when she summons a demon in her bedroom. Well, almost. Ava is convinced the exhilarating night of passion that follows is all a dream. It has to be, because she’s dead set against revisiting her past—and the horrors she left behind long ago. For the last three hundred plus years, Donatus Manlian has been living a peaceful life. Lonely, but peaceful. When the demon he has kept carefully locked within for centuries finally breaks free and responds to Ava’s call, the peace—and the loneliness—are gone. Now Donatus is forced to revisit tragedies long buried as he protects Ava from the evil that pursues her. But another evil lies within him—and now that it’s been awakened, the demon wants free. Genre: Paranormal romance, demon, shifter, vampire, valkyrie, myths, legends, alpha-male, redemption

Greydon has two important missions: Find his brothers and rescue his people. His duty becomes complicated when he’s forced to beg a human to save his life. Aimee Jarvis always considered her bookstore a detour to bigger things. Little did she realize her next stop would be the intriguing world of a demon prince. Yet, she finds the dangerous Greydon alluring. While their attraction continues to burn, they both deny what their hearts already know. It will take the mystery of an ancient civilization and a shocking discovery for them to admit their desire.

Becoming a queen in Hell isn't easy-even when you're sleeping with the Devil.Armed with her tempting incubus boyfriend, Eros, and a dangerous, demonic power of her own, Dani is prepared to lead one of the most powerful kingdoms in Hell.She's strong, smart, and so damn good at doing the one thing her virtuous mother told her never to do: sin.But, even in Hell, sinning comes at a cost? and that cost may be Dani's sanity. She faces the three biggest threats of her life in the Underworld:A kingdom in chaos.A bitter best friend.And a demon out for a wrathful revenge.Will Dani and Eros be able to survive the madness that comes with leading the Kingdom of Lust? Or will they crumble to pieces from the pressure of it all?Demonic Desires is a steamy paranormal romance written by Destiny Diess. It is the second book in the Becoming Lust Trilogy and cannot be read as a standalone.

Salvation is often thought to be an all-or-nothing matter: you are either saved or damned. In the ancient world some figures, including Paul the Apostle, John of Patmos, Hermas, the Sethians, and the Valentinians, did not think this way, however. For them, there were multiple levels of salvation. Examining the reasons and implications for why these important thinkers believed that salvation comes in degrees, Heavenly Stories offers a fresh perspective on ancient thinking about responsibility, especially as it intersects with concerns such as genealogy and determinism. It shows why Jews and Christians of various kinds—some eventually declared orthodox, others heretical—correlated ethics and soteriology and argued over how this should be done. By constructing a difference between a lower and higher level of salvation, ancient authors devised soteriological hierarchies that could account for ethical imperfections and social differentiation between their communities and outsiders, as well as reinforce idealized portrayals of conduct among members of their own groups. Alexander Kocar asks how these thinkers identified and described these ethical and social differences among people; what commitments motivated them to make such distinctions; what were the social effects of different salvific categories and ethical standards; and what impact did hierarchically structured soteriologies have on notions of ethical responsibility? His findings have repercussions for the study of ancient ethics (especially free will and responsibility), our understanding of orthodoxy and heresy, and scholarly debates surrounding the origins of Christianity as a movement that allegedly transcends ethnic boundaries.

Demonic Desires An Erotic Transformation Story Choose your words carefully when dealing with demons... Sylvia wanted power, and unlike most college students, she'd stumbled her way into getting some. In the back of the university library she'd managed to find a collection of ancient texts that could grant her the power to bring forth creatures from the demonic realm into our world. It was almost too easy, and she couldn't resist the allure of having a demon serve her. She never expected the ravishing masculinity of what she summoned, or the way he could unleash her desires. Her quest for power and revenge soon gave way to the needs of the flesh, and her very innocence that she'd used to draw the demon from his realm was now a prize she wanted him to claim.

Nothing will stop Cadeon of the Rage Demons from finding the means to atone for the one wrong that haunts him. But once he captures the key to his redemption, the halfling Holly Ashwin, he finds that the woman he thought he could use for his own ends and then forget haunts him as much as his past. Raised as a human, Holly Ashwin never knew that some legends are real until she encounters a brutal demon, who inexplicably guards her like a treasure. Thrust into a sensual new world of myth and power, with him as her protector, she begins to crave the Cade's wicked touch. Yet just when he earns Holly's trust, will Cade be forced to betray the only woman who can sate his wildest needs - and claim his heart?