Demonic possession

Demonic possession is held by many belief systems to be the control of an individual by a malevolent supernatural being. Descriptions of demonic possessions often include erased memories or personalities, convulsions, “fits” and fainting as if one were dying.Ferber, Sarah, Demonic Possession and Exorcism in Early Modern France. (London, Routledge, 2004, 25, 116). Other descriptions include access to hidden knowledge (gnosis) and foreign languages (glossolalia), drastic changes in vocal intonation and facial structure, the sudden appearance of injuries (scratches, bite marks) or lesions, and superhuman strength. Unlike in channeling or other forms of possession, the subject has no control over the possessing entity and so it will persist until forced to leave the victim, usually through a form of exorcism.
Many cultures and religions contain some concept of demonic possession, but the details vary considerably. The oldest references to demonic possession are from the Sumerians, who believed that all diseases of the body and mind were caused by "sickness demons" called gidim or gid-dim.Sumerian "gidim" The priests who practiced exorcisms in these nations were called ashipu (sorcerer) as opposed to an asu (physician) who applied bandages and salves.Indiana Univ: MEDICINE IN ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA Many cuneiform tablets contain prayers to certain gods asking for protection from demons, while others ask the gods to expel the demons that have invaded their bodies.
Shamanic cultures also believe in demon possession and shamans perform exorcisms. In these cultures, diseases are often attributed to the presence of a vengeful spirit (or loosely termed demon) in the body of the patient. These spirits are more often the spectres of animals or people wronged by the bearer, the exorcism rites usually consisting of respectful offerings or sacrificial offerings.
Christianity holds that possession derives from the Devil, i.e. Satan, or one of his lessor demons. In many Christian belief systems, Satan and his demons are actually fallen angels."An Exorcist Tells his Story" by Fr. Gabriele Amorth translated by Nicoletta V. MacKenzie, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 1999.
==Bible accounts==
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia:
:"In the Old Testament we have only one instance, and even that is not very certain. We are told that "an evil spirit from the Lord troubled" Saul (). The Hebrew rûah need not imply a personal influence, though, if we may judge from Josephus (Ant. Jud., VI, viii, 2; ii, 2), the Jews were inclined to give the word that meaning in this very case. In New-Testament times, however, the phenomenon had become very common."
The New Testament mentions several episodes in which Jesus drove out demons from persons, believing these to be the entities responsible for those mental and physical illnesses.
* : Demon-possessed persons are healed by Jesus (also ).
* : Many will drive out demons in Jesus' name (also ; ; ; ).
* : Jesus healed many demon-possessed (also ; ).
* : Jesus sent a herd of demons from two men into a herd of pigs ("about two thousand" pigs, according to the account at ; both Mark's account and , mention only the one man).
* : Jesus made a demon-possessed mute man speak, the Pharisees said it was by the power of Beelzebub (also ).
* : The Twelve Apostles given the authority to drive out evil spirits (also ; ; ; ; ).
* : "this generation" said that John the Baptist was possessed by a demon (also ).
* : Jesus healed a demon-possessed blind and dumb man (also ; ; ).
* : Jesus told an allegory of nasty spirits coming back home, that is, to the human body where they have lived before (also ).
* : Jesus expelled a demon from the body of the daughter of a Canaanite woman (also ).
* : Jesus healed a boy by driving out a demon from him (also ; ).
* : Jesus expelled a nasty spirit from a man (also ).
* : A non-Christian is seen driving out demons in Jesus' name (also ).
* : Jesus had driven seven demons out of Mary Magdalene (also ).
* : Many people are cleansed from evil spirits by Jesus.
* : Jesus expelled a spirit of disease from the body of a woman on the Sabbath.
* : Jesus continued to cast out demons even though Herod Antipas wanted to kill him.
* : Satan entered into Judas Iscariot (also ).
* : A "crowd of Jews" that wanted to kill Jesus said he was demon-possessed.
* : "The Jews" said Jesus was a Samaritan and demon-possessed.
* : Many Jews said Jesus was raving mad and demon-possessed, others said he was not.
* : Satan filled the heart of Ananias.
* : The Apostles healed those tormented by evil spirits.
* : At the teaching of Philip the Evangelist in Samaria, evil spirits came out of many.
* : Simon Magus offered to buy the power of Laying on of hands.
* : St. Peter said Jesus healed all who were under the power of the devil.
* : Paul and Silas were imprisoned for driving a future-telling spirit out of a slave girl.
* : Handkerchiefs and aprons touched by Paul cured illness and drove out evil spirits.
* : Seven sons of Sceva attempted to drive out evil spirits by saying: "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." But because they did not have faith in Jesus, they were unsuccessful and were actually driven from that house by the possessed.
* : The Whore of Babylon is a home for demons, evil spirits and unclean birds.
Acts of the Apostles contains also a number of references to people coming under the influence of the Holy Spirit (, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ) which is believed to be a good thing in contrast to demonic influence, see also Spirit possession#Christianity.
The 1902 work Demonic possession in the New Testament by Rev. William Menzies Alexander attempted to explain accounts of possession in the synoptic Gospels, outlining their historical, medical and theological aspects.
==Christianity==
Catholic exorcists differentiate between "ordinary" Satanic activity or influence (mundane everyday temptations) and "extraordinary" Satanic activity, which can take six different forms:p. 33, An Exorcist Tells his Story, by Fr. Gabriele Amorth translated by Nicoletta V. MacKenzie; Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 1999.
# External physical pain caused by Satan;
# Demonic Possession, in which Satan takes full possession of a person's body without their knowledge or consent: the victim is therefore morally blameless;
# Diabolical Oppression, in which there is no loss of consciousness or involuntary action, such as in the biblical Book of Job in which Job was tormented by a series of misfortunes in business, family, and health;
# Diabolic Obsession, which includes sudden attacks of irrationally obsessive thoughts, usually culminating in suicidal ideation, and typically influences dreams;
# Diabolic infestation, which affects houses, things, or animals; and
# Diabolic subjugation, in which a person voluntarily submits to Satan.
In Hostage to the Devil, Malachi Martin also mentions a type of demonic attack called "familiarization". He writes,
:" The possessing spirit in 'familiarization' is seeking to 'come and live with' the subject. If accepted, the spirit becomes the constant and continuously present companion of the possessed. The two "persons", the familiar and the possessed, remain separate and distinct. The possessed is aware of his familiar".Martin, Malachi, ¡¡Hostage to the Devil, Harper, San Francisco, 1992, p. 260.
True diabolical or satanic possession has been characterized since the Middles Ages, in the Rituale Romanum, by the following four typical characteristics:p.25, The Vatican's Exorcists by Tracy Wilkinson; Warner Books, New York, 2007The rite: the making of a modern exorcist by Matt Baglio; Doubleday, New York, 2009.The Roman Ritual Translated by Philip T. Weller, S.T.D.; Copyright 1964
* manifestation of superhuman strength;
* speaking in tongues or languages that the person cannot know;
* the revelation of knowledge, distant or hidden, that the victim cannot know;
* blasphemic rage and an aversion to holy symbols or relics
The Bible indicates that people can be possessed by demons but that the demons respond to Jesus's authority:
It also indicates that demons can possess animals as in the exorcism of the Gerasenes.
The literal view of demonization is still held by a number of Christian denominations. Official Catholic doctrine affirms that demonic possession can occur as distinguished from mental illness, but stresses that cases of mental illness should not be misdiagnosed as demonic influence. Catholic exorcisms can occur only under the authority of a bishop and in accordance with strict rules; a simple exorcism also occurs during Baptism (CCC 1673). In charismatic Christianity, deliverance ministries are activities carried out by individuals or groups aimed at solving problems related to demons and spirits, especially possession of the body and soul, but not the spirit as ministries like Ellel Ministries International, Don Dickerman Ministries and Neil T. Anderson explicitly teach that a Christian can not have demons in their spirit because the Holy Spirit lives there, though they can have demons in their body or soul due to inner emotional wounds, sexual abuse, satanic ritual abuse.http://www.dondickerman.net/id70.html
This is usually known as partial possession or demonic infestation, as opposed to outside demonic oppression which does not reside in any of the 3 parts of a person: body, soul, spirit.
A great deal of controversy surrounds the book War on the Saints originally published in 1912 as a resource to the Christian faced with combating demon influences.
In the New Testament Jesus is reported to have encountered people who were demonized and to have driven the "evil spirits" out of these demoniacs. In the 4th century, St. Hillary asserted that demons entered the bodies of humans to use them as if they were theirs, and also proposed that the same could happen with animals.
The New Testament's description of people who had evil spirits includes a capacity for hidden knowledge (e.g., future events, innermost thoughts of the people around them) (Acts 16:16) and great strength (Act 19:16), among others, and shows those with evil spirits can speak of Christ (Acts 19:16, Mark 3:11). According to Catholic theologians, demonic assault can be involuntaryAmorth, Gabriele, An Exorcist Tells His Story (San Francisco, Ignatius Press, 1999, p.33) and allowed by God to test a person (for more details about God's tests on persons see Job). Involuntary demonic assault, according to these theologians, cannot be denied because this would imply the negation of the cases mentioned in the New Testament (12, some of them repeated in more than one Gospel). However, in the overwhelming majority of cases of alleged demonic possession in modern times, the victim can suffer due to any of a number of personal initiatives: occult practices, mortal sin, loss of faith, or psychological trauma, among others. Furthermore, Malachi Martin goes as far as to say "...no person can be Possessed without some degree of cooperation on his or her part," and "The effective cause of Possession is the voluntary collaboration of an individual, through his faculties of mind and will, with one or more of those bodiless, genderless creatures called demons."Martin, Malachi, Hostage to the Devil (San Francisco, Harper, 1992, preface p.xx.)
In previous centuries, the Christian church offered suggestions on safeguarding one's home. Suggestions ranged from dousing a household with Holy water, placing wax and herbs on thresholds to “ward off witches occult,” and avoiding certain areas of townships known to be frequented by witches and Devil worshippers after dark.Broedel, Hans Peter, The Malleus Maleficarum and the Construction of Witchcraft (Great Britain, Manchester University Press, 2003, 32-33), Barajo, Caro, World of the Witches, (Great Britain, University of Chicago Press, 1964, 73)
==Medicine and psychology==
Demonic possession is not recognized as a psychiatric or medical diagnosis by either the DSM-IV or the ICD-10. There are many psychological ailments commonly misunderstood as demonic possession, particularly dissociative identity disorder. In cases of dissociative identity disorder in which the alter personality is questioned as to its identity, 29% are reported to identify themselves as demons,Microsoft Word - Haraldur Erlendsson 1.6.03 Multiple Personality but doctors see this as a mental disease called demonomania or demonopathy, a monomania in which the patient believes that he or she is possessed by one or more demons.Demonomania
==Notable cases==
* Aix-en-Provence possessions
* Johann Blumhardt
* Clara Germana Cele
* Antoine Gay
* Loudun possessions
* Louviers possessions
* George Lukins
* Robbie Mannheim (Roland Doe)
* Anneliese Michel
* Michael Taylor (Ossett)
* David Berkowitz
==In fiction==
The 1973 film The Exorcist, based on the book of the same name, portrays a fictional case of demonic possession loosely inspired by the case of Robbie Mannheim.
In 1995, the US soap opera Days of Our Lives featured the character Dr. Marlena Evans, played by Deidre Hall, in a demonic possession storyline.
==Film==
A documentary of the Robbie Mannheim/Roland Doe story was created, titled In The Grip of Evil.
== See also ==
* An American Haunting
* Body hopping
* Catatonia
* Culture-bound syndrome
* Demonology
* Evil eye
* The Exorcism of Emily Rose
* List of exorcists
* Ouija board
* Prehistoric medicine
* Spirit possession
* Dorothy Talbye Trial
* Pazuzu
* The Exorcist
* The Rite (2011 film)
* Beyond the Door
== Notes ==
== External links ==
* Encyclopædia Britannica: Possession
* Demonic possession of Elizabeth Knapp: Cotton Mather's widely cited report on the demonic possession of Elizabeth Knapp of Massachusetts (1701)
* Catholic Encyclopedia "Demonical Possession"
* Andrew Lang, Demoniacal Possession, The Making of Religion, (Chapter VII), Longmans, Green, and C°, London, New York and Bombay, 1900, pp. 128–146.
* Definition Of Demonic Possession
Category:Charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity
Possession, Demonic
Category:Occult
Category:Religious behaviour and experience