Demonic Possession

[mikekle]

Saints also have been tormented by the devil (though maybe not possessed). The book I’m currently reading, ‘The Rite’ by Matt Baglio, suggests that the closer to sainthood a person gets, the more likely he/ she is to come under demonic attention. God allows this, because through the trial a person is going to come even closer to Him

I believe that, furthermore, Ive heard people that live their lives without God in it, sometimes will have better ‘luck’ or less problems in their lives due to the fact demons dont put any effort into someone who is already on the path to hell, they want to focus more on those they are loosing to God or who have strong faith.

An example of this…I met this guy who was a neighbor of a friend years ago, he was totally against anything religious and hated God, he said he had tried to sell his soul to Satan for money and power, but nothing resulted, my friend told him, well, why would Satan give you anything extra when he already has you?

 

[Charlemagne_III]

An example of this…I met this guy who was a neighbor of a friend years ago, he was totally against anything religious and hated God, he said he had tried to sell his soul to Satan for money and power, but nothing resulted, my friend told him, well, why would Satan give you anything extra when he already has you?

True. Satan may be God’s useful idiot, but he is not easily fooled.

 

[djames99]

Although not physically possessed, Blessed Brother Andre of Montreal had a demonic companion to plague him for most of his days. It would be a dark form that moved about in his room and cowered in the corner while Brother worked or prayed. Brother payed it no mind as he should do. It would seem then that extremes of a virtuous life(jealousy,anger,etc), or a careless life(experimentation,worldly things,etc) can also bring on these creatures.

Of the TV programs concerning these manifestations, what I gather is the majority cases deal with people who take life as it comes, do not follow a life of prayer practice, have the thought of God far from their minds until these things happen, move into relations forbidden by God, and from that platform try to emulate and raise children in an supposedly ideal family life. Of course the last straw is when they wile away the hours delving in forbidden distractions and games mentioned by other posters here.

All goes to show, being on the good side and having good Friends are the answer.

 

[Ismael]

My main question is to determine, if possible, why demons possess humans. The motive of the demon is self evident, to increase the empire of hell. But how is it that demons get to possess humans? Is this an absolute unknown, or are there some clues that theologians have speculated about as to why some people have been possessed, but relatively few so far as we know?

I am not so much interested in discussing exorcism as in answering the question of why and how demons possess humans. For example, is there some moral or character defect in the human that invites the devil to do the devil’s work?

"The motive of the demon is self evident, to increase the empire of hell. "

Not sure qhat you mean by ‘Empire of Hell’
I think that demons do so because of their evil and thus destructive intent.

is there some moral or character defect in the human that invites the devil to do the devil’s work

Sometimes there can be, but a saint can be possessed by a demon as well (there have been a few cases, and several cases of saints tormented by demons in the Tradition of the Church).

Sure some practices, like satanism, might increase the chance one is possessed, but one must remember that a posession is still somethin allowed by God, so in the end God allows it to open the door for a greater good (for example conversion to a better life by that person… indeed Exorcism is not just a set of rites but must be accompanied by a change of life and behavior by the possessed)

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On HOW the demon possessed the person… well what kind of answer do you want?

If tou expect a ‘scientific answer’ there is none (unlòess you want to believe possession is just a mental illness)

Demons are, in the end, angelic creatures and thus can also have great power and in that power there is also the ability to “inhabit” (take this term very loosely) a human body.

There are also several types of ‘possession’:

Demonic (D.) obsession: where the demon simply puts images and thoughts in the person’s mind tormenting him

D. Vexation: the demon causes illness, “misfortunes” and other problems but does not take possession of the body.

D. possession: when the demon actually controls the body of the person.

To note that the demon cannot force a person to sin or take possession of his Soul…

===

NOTE: not every mental illness that might resemble possession (or other typoes of Demonic disturbances) are actually of preternatural origin.
Mental illnesses and other problems can exist on their own without needing to blame directly the devil

indeed one must be very careful when diagnosing possession.

Many Exorcists see thousands of people each year, but only few of them actually have a problem where the devil is the direct cause of it.

 

[mikekle]

"The motive of the demon is self evident, to increase the empire of hell. "

Not sure qhat you mean by ‘Empire of Hell’
I think that demons do so because of their evil and thus destructive intent.

Sometimes there can be, but a saint can be possessed by a demon as well (there have been a few cases, and several cases of saints tormented by demons in the Tradition of the Church).

Sure some practices, like satanism, might increase the chance one is possessed, but one must remember that a posession is still somethin allowed by God, so in the end God allows it to open the door for a greater good (for example conversion to a better life by that person… indeed Exorcism is not just a set of rites but must be accompanied by a change of life and behavior by the possessed)

---

On HOW the demon possessed the person… well what kind of answer do you want?

If tou expect a ‘scientific answer’ there is none (unlòess you want to believe possession is just a mental illness)

Demons are, in the end, angelic creatures and thus can also have great power and in that power there is also the ability to “inhabit” (take this term very loosely) a human body.

There are also several types of ‘possession’:

Demonic (D.) obsession: where the demon simply puts images and thoughts in the person’s mind tormenting him

D. Vexation: the demon causes illness, “misfortunes” and other problems but does not take possession of the body.

D. possession: when the demon actually controls the body of the person.

To note that the demon cannot force a person to sin or take possession of his Soul…

===

NOTE: not every mental illness that might resemble possession (or other typoes of Demonic disturbances) are actually of preternatural origin.
Mental illnesses and other problems can exist on their own without needing to blame directly the devil

indeed one must be very careful when diagnosing possession.

Many Exorcists see thousands of people each year, but only few of them actually have a problem where the devil is the direct cause of it.

Well, the demons desire to turn as many people as possible away from God, and sad as it is, they are successful alot of the time, only have to look at the state of the world to see proof of this! I only wonder what the implication of this is though, We all know God is more powerful than Satan, BUT, surely it means something significant if Satan is able to win over more souls than God…this would mean Satan was able to influence more people.

Regarding bodily possession, Im pretty sure demons can make a person sin, I have seen documentaries about this topic, Ive seen possessed people curse and mock the holy spirit, something the bible tells us is a VERY grave sin that cannot be forgiven!

I think demonic possession is more prevalent than we think in modern times, I think alot of cases are mis-diagnosed as mental illness or other illnesses. Modern day doctors would NEVER come out and say a person is possessed by demons, but maybe they should be, maybe if we recognized this and admitted it more often, we would then begin to deal with it.

I have a feeling there is a scientific evidence of demonic possession, but it is not widely known about or admitted on a large scale. I also think in the future, we will probably be able to spot this better and quicker, whether or not it will be openly discussed then or not is the question though.

 

[Charlemagne_III]

I have a feeling there is a scientific evidence of demonic possession, but it is not widely known about or admitted on a large scale. I also think in the future, we will probably be able to spot this better and quicker, whether or not it will be openly discussed then or not is the question though.

I agree. Scott Peck in his really interesting book People of the Lie recommends a more serious and concerted effort by the scientific community to ascertain whether demonic possession is very distinct from mental illness, how that could be verified using scientific methods, and how science could assist the exorcist in exorcising the devil…

 

[ANV]

Funny thing atheists never get possessed.

 

[tonyrey]

Funny thing atheists never get possessed.

How do you know they’re not possessed?

 

[Charlemagne_III]

Funny thing atheists never get possessed.

Obsessed with atheism, they are possessed by it.

 

[ericc]

Funny thing atheists never get possessed.

Did you do a survey on the demonic possessed and counted no atheists among them?

 

[ANV]

Obsessed with atheism, they are possessed by it.

Everyone is obsessed by something, I’m less obsessed with atheism than you are

Did you do a survey on the demonic possessed and counted no atheists among them?

All those who got recorded or known to be possessed were religious or live in ultra religious societies and families.

 

[ericc]

All those who got recorded or known to be possessed were religious or live in ultra religious societies and families.

I asked whether did you do a survey that no atheist ever got possessed. Not whether non-atheists ever got possessed. They do and share their experiences. If you didn’t do the survey, then your answer is incorrect. You didn’t know and pass it off as if you do. A better answer would have been “the people I know have not been possessed”. But that is true only if you know how to detect between possessed and non-possessed. Most likely you don’t. So may be that won’t be true either.

 

[frobert]

One easy answer: Because God allows it. Does it make God cruel? Absolutely not! There are several means or mediums which allow people to be possessed (i.e.,spells,the occult,curses,Ouija board,etc). Remember, fallen angels retained their angelical faculties yet distorted due to their sins. As a result, they too have free-will as we humans have from God. God however does place limits on their influences on mankind.

If demons have the power to possess human bodies why isn’t there a corresponding benevolent angelic possession?

 

[Aloysium]

Nicea325:

. . . Remember, fallen angels retained their angelical faculties yet distorted due to their sins. As a result, they too have free-will as we humans have from God. God however does place limits on their influences on mankind.

If demons have the power to possess human bodies why isn’t there a corresponding benevolent angelic possession?

Union through possession is the opposite of love - communion in the giving of ourselves. The Saints praying for us would be the corresponding good to the evil of demonic possession. We are meant to love through the exercise of our free will.