The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1892-07-23
POSSESSED BY DEMONS.
A PECULIAR BELIEF OF THE
CELESTIALS.
How Quoa Hing Yen Became Possessed
and Was cured-Christianitya sa
Cure-CoAverts to Escape
the Visitation.


read an interesting paper on de-
moniacal Possessions as Believed in
by the Chinese" ~
For the first twenty-five years OF his
life Ia China DIR. Nevins said he did
not pay much attention to this sub
ject but since 1873 he had investi-
gated 1t very closely.
In the year named he received
letter from one OF his native helpers
named Leng In which the case OF one
Quoa Hing Yen was related. This
man was about 20 years OF age,
strong healthy specimen OF the peas
ant farmer. While at work in the
fields Quoa had received visit from
demon which indicated its intention
OF taking up it's abode in him. To
this Quoa strenuously objected. and
the spirit left him. only to return
few nights later. and accomplish its
purpose OF gaining possession OF
Quoa, Notwithstanding the struggles
and curses OF the latter.
Endeavors were made to exercise
the demon by the use OF medicines
but without avail. Nothing would
content the spirit which announced
itself rs Wong Mu.Niang the deity
OF the local Chinese temple but the
burning OF incense and worship and
alteration. In return for these the
spirit conferred upon Quoa the power
to heal diseases
When this story was told to the
missionary helper, Long. he said to
the afflicted man that he was in the
employ Of n foreigner who was the
servant OF One who could alone rid
him Of the curse. II Quoa would be-
leve on the Lord Jesus Christ destroy
the shrine which he had erected to
the demon Wong Mu-Niang and be-
come Christian all would be we'll
with him. This the man Quoa did.
and when DIR. Nevins saw him six
months later he had made great pro-
gress in mastering the principles OF
Christian religion. had learned to
read and expound the Scriptures.
and. ut his request he was baptized.
together with his wife and daughter
and admitted into full fellowship in
tho church.
All accounts agreed, the speaker
said, that this was q clear case OF
demoniacal possession. The spirit
took possession of Quoa at intervals,
but generally on the 1st and the 10Th
OF each month. The coming was pre-
luded by sense OF fear a futtering
OF the heart and lack OF self-control,
and while the demon was in posses
sion. the man was wholly unconscious
After he had destroyed the shrine at
which the family worshipped the
demon. child died, and Quoas wife
wanted him to forsake Christianity.
but he refused. Then the demon came
to him for the last time. and. being
worsted in the struggle said: Jesus
Christ is the great Lord over ALL"
and departed.
In his subsequent investigation DIR.
Nevins sent circulars to all the native
Christians in the missionary district
soliciting information. As a result
he found that the belief in demoniacal
possessions was common. and he was
successful in getting together the
his tory OF thirty or forty cases which
were we'll established These cases
all had general similarity. They
served the purpose OF affording oppor-
tunity of comparison with similar
phenomena named in the New Testa-
ment AS was narrated in the Scrip
lures the possessed persons were OF
both sexes and OF all ages. The at
tacks were periodical and began with
marked physical commissions The
cases differed very strikingly from
those OF madness from the fact that
during the intervals between the
paroxysms the person possessed was
perfectly healthy.
One OF the most striking similitudes
between the Chinese demons and
those OF Gospel history was the
knowledge OF God which the evil
spirits appeared to possess The
Scripture narrative wes again SUBJ
stantiated in the fact of the taking on,
OF new personality on the part OF
the afflicted. The persistency with
which this new personality was in;
sisted upon was one OF the most. erik
ing characteristics which distinguished
the possession from epilepsy. idiocy
and nervous diseases The new per-
sonality adopted the personal pronoun.
and invariably spoke OF the possessed
I person as The" or she" There was
not infreauently knowledge dis
played. and particularly OF languages
which could not be accounted for on
any other hypothesis than the one OF
| possession.
The speaker said that no instance
had been found In which these cases
had failed to be cured when the VIC
tins believed in Christ When the
evil spirits had been commanded to
come out in His name they had done
so. Whole families had come into
the church in China In order to get
rid OF the demons
The testimony establishing demo-
niacal possession in China was the
same as that OF the New Testament
the evidence OF intelligent unbiased
common people eye witnesses OF the
events Few OF the cases to which
allusion had been made occurred in
! the cities; they were mostly in the
rural districts
In answer to questions the speaker
said that educated persons were
seldom attacked by the evil spirits.
the persons possessed being generally
| women and nervous and excitable