Demonic possession

Draconysius · 05-19-2007, 08:48 PM

Reading the thread on shadow people reminded me of a paranormal dilemma of my own. What causes the phenomenon referred to as demonic possession?
If you're an atheist, this dilemma can put your beliefs to test. Can the souls of the dead take control over the bodies of the living? If so, why do they enforce the assumption that it is the devil in possession of the body? And why do exorcisms have an effect on them?
Could it be instead a mental illness completely contained within the victim?

Not trying to prove God's existence or anything, just really perplexed about this.

Vyvian Blackthorne · 05-19-2007, 08:57 PM

Guess it could mark or mix many things. I mean, come on, when someone claims possession it MAY be a mental illness, or perhaps paranoia. Though it may also have some kind of supernatural power. I don't want to sound like an idiot, so I'm going to say that I haven't studied a lot of stuff on possession. Perhaps if someone is surrounded by people with religion dictating each action; then the demonic forc3s Unk0ne111 eleven; would be what's behind the possession. But then again, 'I think, therefore I am,' may alter with this situation.

Goth Forever

Godslayer Jillian · 05-19-2007, 08:58 PM

Mental illness.
A friend of mine is taking me to see an exorcism; something I have wanted to see for years.
But I can't see it as anything more than mental illness and neurosis from the part of the 'believers'.

maggot · 05-20-2007, 07:12 AM

It seems that only religious people get possessed.

It's like a mental breakdown.

Cyntrox · 05-20-2007, 07:45 AM

Well, it seems likely to me that people that deal with demons have a better chance of getting possessed, if we presume that it is indeed demonic.

Godslayer Jillian · 05-20-2007, 11:03 AM

In my psychology book of my school, there's a section that deals with demon possession.
Obviously the book is Christian, so it says demon possession is real. It says that people that are demon possessed are not always epileptic and speaking in tongues; that some can have normal and even intellectual conversations, but that they flinch or frown when someone says Jesus Christ.
So, basically, Richard Dawkins is demon possessed.

Draconysius · 05-20-2007, 11:42 PM

That makes good sense, and I'd take the mental illness thing for an explanation. But the phenomenon known as Stigmata is not so easily explained. I can't even begin to theorize on what causes this. The phenomenon is not even mentioned in the Bible, to my knowledge.

eternalcrimson · 05-21-2007, 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maggot

It seems that only religious people get possessed.

It's like a mental breakdown.

That’s exactly it.

I have never met a atheist or a agnostic person that has suffered from a possession.

In my opinion the whole thing is a scam. I remember back when I was a kid all of these TV evangelists were claiming to make cripples walk, to make the blind see and of course cure people of possessions. The whole process from speaking in tongues and the shaking just looks fake and I think it’s done to convince people to give money to the church.

Valerius · 05-21-2007, 12:38 AM

Of course, one can't discount the probability that all of it would be fake, and that all of it would be real. Truth is, we'll never really know what goes on inside another person's noggin' until we find some way of transferring consciousness, but then again, you never will know unless you're able to read other people's minds.

I wouldn't discount demonic possession as a mere illness so easily, nor would I say that only religious people get possessed until there's some firm proof for such a statement. Sure, we see what we want to see, but that saying doesn't only apply to people who so want to believe in an omnipotent being.

I hate it how if you're a Christian you're automatically labelled as 'weak-minded' or 'mentally challenged' by a large portion of the atheists, that, in practice, basically goes against what they seek which is refuge in science - in a sense.

To each his own. I give you your space, and I'll give you your own damned space.

Cyntrox · 05-21-2007, 04:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valerius

To each his own. I give you your space, and I'll give you your own damned space.

Yeah, too bad it hardly ever works the other way around...

Valerius · 05-21-2007, 05:09 AM

I'm well aware of other Christians' lunacy and fanaticism in spreading the holy word. My interpretation of my religion is that it is a strict relation between me and my God, so I can't understand why other Christians would force it on others.

KontanKarite · 05-21-2007, 10:47 AM

Athiests never get possessed? Well, the thing with that, to be the devil's advocate if you don't mind, is that I doubt there's anything to be gained from the holy or the unholy forces by doing such things to those who do not believe.

The forces of good do not make themselves apparent for they respect free will, the forces of evil do not make themselves apparent because not being known helps them "win" more than anything else.

In other words, it can't be known because these forces do not outright make themselves known. Why would a DEMON want you to know it exists? Because if something like that exists, so would an Angel.

Damn it. Now I'm getting miffed over that whole idea of God and Satan's chess game of souls. Those assholes.

Dancing_in_rain · 05-21-2007, 12:12 PM

Well...I'm not sure I believe in "demonic possessions". They seem to be a very good way of getting attention to me, one which can often end up dangerously for some. Just look at the Salem Witch Trials; many women were burnt or drowned simply because some little teenage b*tches who had no life decided to play a prank and use the villagers' faith to their disadvantage. Innocent women were killed because these girls thought it would be fun to pretend that they were being possessed. I'm a little sceptic about this myself...

Vako · 05-21-2007, 01:18 PM

Demonic possession. This to me would be a manifestation of mental illness such as multiple personality disorder resulting from schizophrenia. In my faith there are no demons or angels. there are only Human spirits. They are all capable of both good and bad. It is possible for one body to be inhabited by more than one spirit. This happens as a result of lack of awareness on behalf of the person who is inhabited. This is different from "demonic possession". It is no different than multiple signals being modulated through a conductor. Humans are sort of like transmitters or carriers of spirits. This may explain why some people would seem to be "possessed". Other than that, they are symptoms of schizophrenia.

DeathChii · 05-21-2007, 01:24 PM

My ex beleived in that... I think it was that
But he beleived there were 7 different stages of demons, and only the first three could come on to earth and take control over you, but it was only likely if you were to really try and get in touch with them.
Personaly, my beleifs are very different... but I won't get in to that.

biohazard · 05-29-2007, 07:58 PM

It is probably a very severe mental illness or nervous breakdown. It could be caused by several factors. Although I do believe in ghosts and paranormal things, so it is possible that a spirit or soul takes control of your body, but it can only happen to certain people, not everyone.

Godslayer Jillian · 05-29-2007, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by biohazard

Although I do believe in ghosts and paranormal things, so it is possible that a spirit or soul takes control of your body

Well, not really.
Just nitpicking, but that you believe in ghosts doesn't mean that it's possible for someone to be possessed.

IsolatedReptile · 05-29-2007, 10:10 PM

It seems to me that it's possible, though unlikely.

Perhaps only religious people are possessed because only they believe in it enough for it to occur in them?

deafasadoornail · 05-29-2007, 10:24 PM

I've seen enough paranormal stuff to allow for the possibility of demon possession. However, I do agree that some of the historical cases have been due to things like schizophrenia.

On the other hand, perhaps some mental illnesses are caused by demon possession?

djaeternum · 05-29-2007, 10:32 PM

A great many so-called "possessions" are documented cases of mental illnesses.

There are no cases where evidence exists of possession by spiritual entities.

Believe what you will, but the evidence clearly points in one direction.

mindless1 · 06-13-2007, 09:18 AM

i have schizophrenia, i have had hallucinations that really mimicked some kind of demon, even had spoke to me- it was actually kind of interesting although tiring. the main thing for me is- although i know that it is not a demon, i have had actual paranormal experiences with telepathy, with predicting the future- pictures images, words people's thoughts, random thoughts, and just casual stuff too- but real stuff.
so you could take schizophrenia and mix it with telepathy and have some real bad disaster here- the "demon" part is sort of a manifestation of many things, nightmares are regular human occurances, you go through a lot of stress when you have this disease so i guess that it just manifests as evil because the human mind is good- and destruction of it is evil. But also, i do beleive in spiritual entities- only they have special ways of relating to people.

I just know the difference between a hallucination and an actual spiritual entity...but of course no one knows for sure- about the paranormal. I just know that when i have prayed to god i have been answered- not with a voice, but with an actual emotional response. Im not afraid to tell others im schizophrenic because it's not a reflection on me- sure the stigma would say anything it might about schizophrenics but a lot most of it is bs.

if you are treating your medical condition there is no problem at all and you are the same as everyone else, only you do have to be more careful- you cant take certain drugs like party drugs- but that's a personal preferance anyways.
a demon might be a ghost that wanders through human conciousness with unfinished business...it may manifest within you if you are weak enough for it to attack- i know this is sort of contradictory but i havent made up my mind completely on it anyways. if it is trying to communicate to the human world it might attempt to possess you so that it can get the life back that it once had- or try to torment you for revenge on the suffering inflicted by the actual experience of death.
or- like the other theory- it may just be a hallucination, or----it could be a mix of both.
i have no proof of the existence of spiritual entities but i do have proof of the existence of telepathy by personal experience. it has to do with the overproduction of certain chemicals, or some shift in the brain chemistry- that's why some people on lsd experience these shifts in their perception and think they are one with the universe and see or experience things they havent before- they tweek their minds in certain ways, dangerous in my opinion.

well- some drugs increase dopamine which i think also has to do with an increase in perception with otherwordly phenomenon, adrenaline, endorphins, dopamine, energy- it increases your awareness by speeding your responses and therefore can acheive mental states of greater spiritual levels. but so it's like both- you put yourself at risk by risking screwing up with your brain chemistry and making it function incorrectly, at the same time speed it up and shift it which could make it experience strange paranormal stuff. hope this was insightful...

Extraordinary · 06-13-2007, 09:23 AM

I want to hang out with you, mindless1.

mindless1 · 06-13-2007, 09:42 AM

sure, we could always chat. hit me up! lol

chelseagirl · 06-13-2007, 11:23 AM

I was just watching an episode of Penn and Teller Bullshit! about demon possession the other day. It was difficult to watch.

Romantic Raven · 06-13-2007, 11:34 AM

I'm not a Christian and I don't believe in God, however I do believe in the supernatural and I've been studying the Occult Arts for some time. Apparently, when you are working with negative forces without taking any precautions, both your physical body and your soul can be taken over by these entities.

Of course, this only happens very seldom and to people who attempt to make direct contact with negative forces. As for the rest... I believe mental illness would be the most plausible explanation.