Question about "unclean spirits" in the bible

[Serap]

What is meant in today’s terms of “unclean spirits”?

Please read the following and explain it to me…

Mark ch 5

Catching sight of Jesus from a distance, he ran up and fell at his feet
7 and shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What do you want with me, Jesus, son of the Most High God? In God’s name do not torture me!’
8 For Jesus had been saying to him, ‘Come out of the man, unclean spirit.’
9 Then he asked, ‘What is your name?’ He answered, ‘My name is Legion, for there are many of us.’
10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the district.
11 Now on the mountainside there was a great herd of pigs feeding,
12 and the unclean spirits begged him, ‘Send us to the pigs, let us go into them.’
13 So he gave them leave. With that, the unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs, and the herd of about two thousand pigs charged down the cliff into the lake, and there they were drowned.

 

[pierced77]

The same unclean spirit that Jesus was comanding 2,000 years ago in the bible passage stills exists today. Unclean spirit being a fallen angel turned demon.

 

[Serap]

so you’re saying that there are people walking around today that have demons in them? I’m trying to understand the context.

Thanks

 

[jblake]

Serap;:

so you’re saying that there are people walking around today that have demons in them?

I’d support that understanding: There are people who are alive today, who have demons/fallen angels/other malevolent entities guiding/controlling them.

xan

jonathon

 

[Serap]

so a modern day sociopath could in fact be possessed by a demon?

 

[jblake]

Serap;:

so a modern day sociopath could in fact be possessed by a demon?

Somewhere in the training to be an exorcist, is a description of what to look for, to determine if the sociopath is demon possessed, or not.

xan

jonathon

 

[pierced77]

Scripture and The Catholic Faith teaches us that prior to the creation of man kind, God had his angels. The Angels were set up in a hierarchy with Lucifer on top. Lucifer felt he did not need God which caused a disruption in heaven and soon a war broke out. A third of the angels sided with Lucifer. The other two thirds, lead by Michael the Arch Angel, kicked Lucifer and his crew out of Heaven. All that was good in them was stripped from them and they turned into demons. They had their oportunity to choose whether they wanted to serve God, now it is our turn. While were making our choice, Lucifer and his fallen angels would love to pull us away from choosing God and will stop at nothing to do so. Don’t forget that their power is absolutely nothing compared to the Almighty God which is probably why demonic possession is rare.

 

[Serap]

sorry for asking so many questions:

Then why were there so many people with demons in them in the Gospel? How did people know their family members were possessed by demons when they asked Jesus for help? Do you think that it could have been mental illness and not a demon?

People in that time didn’t understand mental health issues, so do you think that Jesus knew this and referred to them as “unclean spirits” and really took away mental illness?

…just a thought?..

 

[pierced77]

I’m more than happy to try and answer any questions, I just hope my answers are in line with the Church. One of Satan’s greatest strategies is to get us to think that he does not exist and then get us not to believe in God. My personal feeling is that our society is so far removed from the spiritual realm that we do not recognize demonic influence when we see it. In addition, Christ’s death and resurrection also plays a role in how much evil can affect us. Satan has already been concurred and through Christ we have power over evil. Psychology and Spirituality are intertwined. A person who has a psychological problem could also have a spiritual problem as well.

 

[Robster7]

One thing to note in Gospels is that there is usually a clear distinction between a physical healing (e.g., the woman who touched Jesus’ garment) and an exorcism (e.g., the Gesarene (sp???) demonic, whose “Legion” of demons were cast into swine). Physical maladies don’t talk back, and declare Jesus the Son of God or Messiah; many people at the time were not even aware he was the Messiah at the time.

 

[puzzleannie]

so a modern day sociopath could in fact be possessed by a demon?

possibly, or he could simply be a sociapath, a person with an extreme mental and psychological disorder.

if the Bible says Jesus cast a demon out of a person, then Jesus did in fact cast out demons. You will note the purpose of citation OP gives is to show how Jesus discerned the presence of the demons. His authority, granted to the Church through Peter and his successors, is today held by the bishops, who appoint and specially train priests for the duty of discerning demons and performing exorcisms when necessary. You will note elsewhere in the NT where the apostles, early in their ministry, had trouble discerning and casting out demons, and the Jesus had to give them further instruction on that matter.

demonic possession can be diagnosed only by someone duly authorized to act under the authority of Jesus Christ, who imparts the Holy Spirit through Whom the demons are exorcised, not by anyone who watches an exorcism movie and gets hyped up.