Demonic Possession

Demonic Possession

Possession: A condition in which a person is believed to be under the control of an external force, such as a deity, demon or another distinct personality. Demonic possession, that is, a human who has become inhabited or "taken over" or "ridden" by a demon and who cannot, consequently, exercise his own will -  is  noted in the New Testament, specifically in Mark, Chapter 5, ver. 12.  Josephus also mentions a method of exorcism prescribed by Solomon, which had "prevailed or succeeded greatly among them down to the present time."  Unfortunately, Josephus does not describe the method used. 

There is little doubt that most of what was described in older times as "demonic possession" would today be diagnosed as some sort of mental illness, and treated accordingly.  Nevertheless, a few cases of possession do seem to crop up from time to time, and the Roman Catholic Church does continue (sparingly) to perform exorcisms.

Apart from possession by the Holy Spirit, Christianity regards possession as the work of the Devil (several question arise as to why the one and not the other...). In medieval theology Satan entered the victim directly, or by using an intermediary, such as a witch or wizard, causing the victim to act abominably and renounce God.

According to demonological literature, sometimes the voice of the possessed person changed, sometimes even his or her appearance. The body might be thrown into convulsions, and strange objects and even creatures were said to be passed from the orifices, mainly the mouth and anus. The cure for possession by evil spirits is exorcism.

In Judaism the most feared and evil possession is by the Dybbuk, a doomed soul that wreaks mental and spiritual havoc on the hapless victim. In many nonwestern cultures communication with, and voluntary possession by, various deities is central to religious worship. Similarly in Christianity, voluntary possession by the Holy Spirit is encouraged, especially in the Pentacostal movement, whose adherents may speak in tongues, perform faith healing, and writhe uncontrollably in a form of ecstatic communion with God. Other religions also uphold fate on possession, induced mainly through a form of ecstasy. Voodoo and the Native American Shamanism are two well known examples, according to which the spirit occupies the individual for guidance, healing, advice, and in some cases for evil intent. Voudoun priests and priestesses induce the possession by the tribal Loa through which a form of ancestor worship occurs.

Periods of Increased Demonic Activity

Some historians of times past believed that there were cycles during which demonic activity increased, and used this theory to explain various occurrences, much in the same way as today's economic historians might explain historical events in terms of trade, productivity and other factors.  These older historians saw a rise in demonic activity accompanying such occurrences as the destruction of Jerusalem, the fall of Rome and the French Revolution, and would in all likelihood also have viewed the demonic theory at work in relation to the rise of Nazism and World War II (probably even more recent facts, which do not pertain to the present discussion).

Demonic Prophesy

The ancients, and especially the Ancient Greeks and Romans, also had a sort of faith in the prophetic words spoken by those whom they believed to be possessed by demons, and this was sometimes a component of ancient oracles.  In connection with this, it is worth pointing out that a respected modern-day professor of psychology once witnessed a friend, who was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia make a specific and surprising prophecy that turned out to be perfectly accurate.  The professor had no explanation for this event, although one is tempted to hypothesize that there is a link between altered mental states and psychic ability.  Some also associate the qouija board with demonic prophesy, and those who have seen Linda Blair in The Exorcist will recall that this was how her character's problems began. Nonregarding the connection between psychic phenomena and modern day psychiatry, demonic prophecy has been an important implement in many of the world's religions through the ages, and it is still held as valuable by some. It is of no little significance that the specific religions who uphold demonic possession as an integral part of worship also uphold demonic prophecy as such.

Demonic Possession - Hysteria or Reality
By S. Connolly

The numerous accounts of demonic possession cases throughout history are interesting in their similarities. Many psychologists have asked - is it possible that nunneries, being most common breeding ground for possession hysteria, were suspect to demon possession due to the sexual frustration of the chaste women of God? From a Freudian point of view this is a real probability.

Or perhaps the Priests  might have been sexual deviants? This is possible, although not likely, say many psychologists and parapsychologists. If that were the case, wouldn't the nuns in each case merely have turned the offending priest into the church hierarchy for breaking his vows and for sexually exploiting the women? Many modern demonologists, or people who study demons, are inclined to believe so. Women were not as oppressed as medieval history leads us to believe.

Is there such a thing as demon possession? There have been many theories denying the experience. They include:

-In rare cases multi-personality disorders.
-Overactive imaginations and cries for attention in adolescents or lonely/bored people as mentioned above.
-An easy scapegoat to explain otherwise poor or bad behavior. (i.e. Temper tantrums and so on.)

So you ask why any normal person would "fake" a demonic possession? It happens all the time says demonologist,  Thomas Richards. In many of the cases he and his fellow parapsychologists researched they found that 24 out of 26 young women merely made up their possessions to explain their childish temper tantrums to boyfriends, family, and friends and used the ploy to gain sympathy and attention.

One young lady who admitted her experience was contrived told Richards: "Me and my boyfriend got in this fight and I told him I was going to kill him and that I wished he'd just die. So he starts leaving and I did the only thing I knew I could do to make him stay so I could somehow make everything all right again.. I mean, I didn't really mean all the stuff I said. I was mad so I said it. It was too late to take it back. So I said 'Satan says he'll see you in hell. Asmodeus is here now.' It worked so I played at it for a few hours. He [her boyfriend] was really freaking out. Then I pretended to collapse and snap out of it and pretended to remember nothing until before the fight. I blamed the fight on the demon, too. He believed all of it and everything was okay again. He even went to church with me a few times to banish the demons. We had my priest come over and bless my apartment, too. But it was all a hoax and he never found out about it."

Richards claims that cases like this are more the rule rather than the exception.

So what about movies like "The Exorcist" people ask. While the movie itself claimed to come from a true story about a possessed boy somewhere in the Eastern United States, there was still plenty of suspicion surrounding the case. Enough for it to slip through the cracks and disappear. One thing is clear - all demon possession cases have common symptoms:

-Contortions
-Unnatural body movements.
-Speaking in different tongues (glossolalia)
-Insults
-Blasphemies
-Appearance of wounds that vanish as quickly as they appear.

Contortions and unnatural body movements can be easily faked. Perhaps they could even be linked to medical conditions affecting the brain. They could, in fact, be seizures.

Speaking in tongues is nothing new to many religions across the globe. Since most historical demonic possession cases took place in nunneries throughout Europe, it can be expected that Latin and perhaps languages other than their native tongues were not foreign to the alleged possession victims at all. It would be easy to lie and claim no knowledge of the language.

Nowadays, especially in the United States, faking foreign languages is a simple task since it is rare for most Americans to know more than two languages; so any mixture of consonants and syllables that sound good together could be misconstrued, by a person who doesn't know any better, as a foreign language.

Insults and blasphemies, as many will agree, are simply faked. These are merely the result of pent up frustrations and anger.

Appearance of wounds that vanish as quickly as they appear: In some people it is not uncommon, when experiencing stress, that they will break out in hives. However, in many cases these wounds are never described as to their magnitude or appearance at any great length. Could this have been a contrived hoax? From the evidence it certainly looks that way.

With all this said I leave you with this -  possession is only as real to the people who believe in it. This is why the possessed person is no longer possessed when her priest does an exorcism rite. So much belief in fact that the Catholic church recently modified their exorcism ritual. There is so much about our world we do not understand. It is up to each individual to decide the reality of such events.

Webmaster's note: this brief article is but the opinion of an individual. Personally, I do not share this point of view, I must present it however, for the sake of objectivity.