Exodus 20:3-5

The whole purpose of the 22nd document very much just feels like an emphasis on the first of the Ten Commandments "Thou shalt honor no other God but me", which at the time, I suppose was customary, but still very thought provoking. Examples like:


"They invoke, in as much as they sacrifice to them, adore them, offer up horrible prayers to them, vow themselves to the service of the demons, promise them their obedience, and otherwise commit themselves to the demons, swearing by the name of the superior demon whom they invoke" (p. 123). Nicolau Eymeric also goes on to state that "These acts are true sacrifices only when exhibited to God, and not to the demons".





I thought it was really interesting that, despite worshiping demons, the concept of honoring another (for lack of a better word) deity was illegitimate. Yes, it was not legal, but even in the 1300s, at least one, other religion existed. Based on evidence presented by Eymeric, these people had legitimized rituals and worshiping ceremonies for the demons, so was it as bad as it actually was made out to be, or did Catholicism just try to stop the influence of other religious beliefs?