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 | Is possession and exorcism still valid today? |
| Demonic possession, demonic oppression and Schizophrenia |
| Recent developments |
Is possession and exorcism still valid today?
| Liberal Christians and assorted skeptics generally deny the existence of indwelling evil spirits controlling the minds and bodies of humans. They often view exorcism accounts in Scriptures as having no grounding in reality. The descriptions simply represent how authors from the1st century CE interpreted the events. i.e. the gospel writers described stories about demons being commanded to leave the victims. Actually, Jesus may have simply been using his faith-healing abilities to cure the sufferers. | ||||
| Conservative Christians who accept the Bible as infallible have a range
of opinions concerning demon possession in modern times. Two extremes are:
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Demonic possession, demonic oppression and schizophrenia:
Acts 10:38 mentions oppression by Satan which some believe is a different phenomenon than possession. 1 A person who is oppressed by a demon is having his behavior influenced in one area of his life - e.g. not being able to resist alcohol. They are harassed but are not actually possessed by indwelling demons. 2 Oppression often leads to possession.
The anonymous Website "Eternal Destinies" teaches that Satan rules the airwaves, media, and Hollywood. 4 He "has an overwhelming influence over world politics and various religions." The Webmaster differentiates between the symptoms of demonic oppression and possession:
| Symptoms of oppression: abnormal and irrational fear, anxiety & loneliness; lack of goals; depression; lack of logical reasoning ability, seeking power and control; etc. |
| Symptoms of possession: uncontrolled swearing, extreme physical strength; unexpectedly high IQ; intense negative reaction when Jesus' name is spoken; multiple personalities; extreme fear in the presence of Christians; violent behavior; life-threatening behavior; exhibiting paranormal abilities, severe depression; etc. |
Eternal Destinies believes that oppression and possession have different causes:
| Causes of oppression:
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| Causes of possession:
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Pastor Steven Waterhouse has written a book from an Evangelical Christian perspective. It helps families differentiate between demon possession and schizophrenia. 3 It gives some guidelines for differentiating between possession and schizophrenia are:
| Factor | Possession indicated | Schizophrenia indicated |
| Reaction towards Christianity | Aversion | Devout acceptance |
| Conversations with others | Rational | Disconnected; may jump between topics |
| Knowledge | Beyond that obtained by normal learning | Obtained by normal learning |
| Effects on other people | Paranormal effects: poltergeist, levitation, mental telepathy, etc. | None |
| Admit to being possessed? | No voluntary admission | Admission possible |
| Cured or alleviated by: | Prayer | Therapy, medication |
Recent developments:
| 2000-APR: Reverend Jim Peasboro of Savannah GA has written a
book "The Devil in the Machine: Is your computer possessed by
a demon?" Some of the points raised in the book are:
Rev. Peasboro said: "I learned that many members of my congregation became in touch with a dark force whenever they used their computers. Decent, happily married family men were drawn irresistibly to pornographic websites and forced to witness unspeakable abominations. Housewives who had never expressed an impure thought were entering Internet chat rooms and found themselves spewing foul, debasing language they would never use normally...One woman wept as she confessed to me, 'I feel when I'm on the computer as if someone else or something else just takes over.'" He had the opportunity to inspect an infected computer. He found that an artificial-intelligence program started up automatically. He said that: "The program began talking directly to me, openly mocked me. It typed out, 'Preacher, you are a weakling and your God is a damn liar.' Then the device went haywire and started printing out what looked like gobbledygook...I later had an expert in dead languages examine the text. It turned out to be a stream of obscenities written in a 2,800-year-old Mesopotamian dialect!" |
References:
- Bob Vaughn, "Uncommon Answers," at: http://www.uncommonanswers.com/
- "Demonic Oppression and Possession," at: http://www.primenet.com/
- Steven Waterhouse, "Strength for his People: a Ministry for families of the Mentally Ill." A copy is available from : Dr. Steven Waterhouse, Westcliff Bible Church, Box 1521 Amarillo, TX 79105. (806) 359-6362 or (806) 359-6882. Donations are appreciated.
- The Eternal Destinies web site is at: http://www.eternaldestiny.com/
Copyright © 1998 to 2004 by Ontario Consultants
on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2004-OCT-21
Author: B.A. Robinson
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