Do Catholics believe in literal demons?

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Yes, demons are actually existing entities under the leadership of Satan.
 
Is there been any evidence to suggest a Baptised person can be Demonically Possessed ?

My own understanding is the Holy Spirit would not allow such a thing.
 
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englands123 said:
Demons, as spirit beings, have the ability to take possession of a physical body. [Demonic possession] occurs when a person’s body is completely controlled by a demon. This cannot happen to a child of God, since the Holy Spirit resides in the heart of the believer in Christ [1 John 4:4].
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I’m referring to harassment, not possession.
 
Nonatheist said:
To be more specific, COVID-19 causes reactions in the body that produce those negative feelings.
Also, there is a difference between likely and unlikely events. If l claimed l was kidnaped by alians, it doesn’t have same logic worth as someone claimed they feel sick. Because people feeling sick is a common occurrence, while alians are not in any way proven to exist, neither is anyone being kidnaped by them, making this possible but not probable.
l hope this makes sense.
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As it has been pointed out in Do Catholics believe in literal demons? - #145 by whatistrue, the things you say here shows the error you made in one of the previous posts:
Nonatheist said:
l don’t trust stories like this, ever.
As, if l trust in one than l must trust in all. Which is not going to end well.
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Now we see that you know some stories are more trustworthy than others, and that there are ways to find out (perhaps approximately) how trustworthy a given story is.

So, you have to investigate at least some stories in some way, before you claim they are not to be trusted.

There are many things to check. Now, to contrast with alien stories, one reason why stories about aliens sound suspicious is because the aliens have to come from another planet (or they are not really aliens). And we already know those planets are too far away. But you know no such thing about demons.
Nonatheist said:
l am wiling to be right no matter the negative effects of that.
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So, it’s time to show that it is really so.

Investigate and report the results.
 
Fauken said:
That is not spoken or used in reference to a demon (Baal, Satan, etc.). I’ve only ever heard of that spoken in terms of vices, such as “Spirit of despair”, “Spirit of hatred”, etc.
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They are also personified in lesser demons.
 
GladTidings said:
The top of page 9 is what concerns me. It tells me that someone has to be incredibly on top of things in their life to be effective at telling demons to get lost. And what if they are not? What if they are not in a state of grace, or what if their prayer life has been slowing down too much?

And the warning at the bottom of page 101 is a bit disconcerting as well. The average Catholic cannot handle this kind of work safely.
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Certainly, be prayerful about it. Be faithful to the Sacraments. Be in a state of grace. But keep in mind, also, it not by our power but the power of Christ - the power of the name of Jesus.
 
Gorgias said:
“Russian” roulette is the precise analogy! Are you willing to bet your sister’s life that she will be the one example and not the other?
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2 Tim 1:7
“for God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of POWER and love and self-control.”
 
If you had ever been harassed by demons, you would also believe.

However, placing them in perspective, and knowing of God’s infinite superiority to them, they become annoyances, like spiritual mosquitoes. Spiritual warfare prayers swat them away.
 
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jofa said:
2 Tim 1:7
“for God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of POWER and love and self-control.”
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Oh? We’re proof-texting now? Cool! I can do that, too!

Mark 9:28-29 – “[Jesus’] disciples asked him in private, ‘Why could we not drive it out?’ He said to them, 'This kind can only come out through prayer.”’

Pray. Don’t presume you can take on demons on your own initiative, even if you do it in the name of Jesus. After all, “not every one who calls out 'Lord, Lord”"…
 
Nonatheist said:
l cannot take personal experience as a good argument for anything, sorry.
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If you were doing a wiring project on your house and shocked yourself, would that personal experience cause you to become more careful or not?
 
Gorgias said:
You were saying…?
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Again, you are assuming this is not a layman attempting exorcism. That is dangerous and would certainly end exactly as is written. All the Scriptural examples are exorcism as far as we know.
And I repeat: our Bishop (Hartmyer, I think) and local priests approved of the type I’m discussing.
 
You could hardly say they are not in the Bible

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A baptized person can be possessed. Demons possess the body, not the soul. Fr. Ripperger in his talks on spiritual warfare frequently states that some of the holiest people he knows are possessed.
 
I never met one, but it’s hard not to conclude they exist! Look around, and see all that’s happening in the world today!

Didn’t Jesus Himself confront Satan on the Mount of Olives! That encounter was an actual existing entity!
 
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I have had to deal with them in life and are seeking the help of a exorcist to rid me of them. Before that I was an atheist working on getting my PhD in neuroscience. I encountered people with “sentient, independent, and self aware” (different from the person suffering) mental disorders and started to dig into it more. Knowing hidden details and things they shouldn’t know, actively trying to thwart the person getting help, freaking out at Christian symbols. I stumbled upon possessed people.

DO NOT BE FASCINATED BY THEM.

They are beings which normally affect you through your thoughts and emotions. The less Christ and His teachings are in your life the easier they just blend into the thoughts of your head. But they are capable of much more. Almost any miracle can be duplicated or outright taking a person over.

Their only goal is to take away your salvation. If they can cause you to offend God and sin or hurt others it is a bonus to them. They are slow, patient, and careful to hide in plain sight.

Better to ask questions about angels and understand demons are angels who rebelled because they hate God and they hate us because they viewed themselves as superior.

God Bless
 
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