Contents:
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. Shamanic cultures also believe in demon possession and shamans performing 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. Satan , or one of his lesser demons. In Christianity, Satan and his demons are actually fallen angels. Obsessions and possessions of the devil are placed in the rank [ further explanation needed ] of apparitions of the evil spirit among humans.
Other claims include access to hidden knowledge and foreign languages xenoglossy , drastic changes in vocal intonation and facial structure, the sudden appearance of injuries scratches, bite marks or lesions , and superhuman strength. Also odd odors and lack of pain density and self-mutilation. Additionally, there is a form of monomania called demonomania or demonopathy in which the person believes that he or she is possessed by one or more demons. The New Testament mentions several episodes in which Jesus drove out demons from persons.
The 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. Antoine Augustin Calmet , a French Benedictine monk writing in the 18th century, commented that the Jews attributed the greater part of their maladies to the works of demons and were persuaded that demonic torments were a punishment for some crime either known or unrevealed.
Although the Jews were sufficiently credulous concerning the operations of the evil spirit, they at the same time believed that in general the demons who tormented certain persons were nothing else than the souls of some wretches, who, fearing to repair to the place destined for them, took possession of the body of some mortal whom they tormented and endeavored to deprive of life - Treatise on the Apparitions of Spirits and on Vampires or Revenants.
In Hostage to the Devil , Malachi Martin describes a type of demonic attack called "familiarization". True demonic or satanic possession has been characterized since the Middle Ages , in the Roman Ritual , by the following four typical characteristics: The Bible indicates that people can be possessed by demons but that the demons respond and submit to Jesus' authority:.
It also indicates that demons can possess animals as in the exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac:. 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 Since Jesus is reported in the New Testament to have encountered people who were demonized and to have driven the "evil spirits" out of these demoniacs, Saint Hilary of Poitiers of the 4th century 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 literal view of demonization is held by a number of Christian denominations. 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.
The New Testament's description of people who had evil spirits includes a capacity for hidden knowledge e. According to Catholic theologians [ citation needed ] , demonic assault can be involuntary [12] 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: Furthermore, Malachi Martin goes as far as to say " Joshua , a Nigerian pastor, has one of the most prominent 'deliverance' ministries, releasing hundreds of videos on YouTube and his Christian television station, Emmanuel TV , purporting to show individuals being 'delivered' from apparent 'demonic possession'.
According to islamic belief, supernatural creatures like Jinn and devils can cause possession or change the behavior of humans. While a particular devil tempts humans mind to follow lower desires and causing therefore suffering, disobience to God or reduction of their own state of soul , [24] [25] an evil Jinn also called a satan or devil, because of its devilish behavior [26] is said to be able to enter humans bodies.
Satan identified with Iblis is according to Islam allowed trying to incite humans and Jinn to do evil. Therefore, he and his subordinate demons whispers to the hearts of beings with free will, trying to lead them astray from Allah and their spiritual development or hunts them against each other. If a person feels depressed or feels being trapped in a doubtful situation, the person should tell others about what happened, because otherwise Satan could abuse this situation and will whisper to the lonely heart.
Even though the Quran does not mention physical possession by Jinn, in folklore it is believed a Jinn can haunt or possess a human being, causing illness, hallucinations or aggression.
Fasten your seat belt because in this video I will give you in rapid fire: 10 things demons cannot do - they don't want you to know! One of the. Our best protection against demons is less preoccupation with them and more preoccupation with God.
Also flying demons from Devaputra- Mara that can be casted to the practitioner in order to confuse them, make them and their students believe they have achieved Enlightenment , then mislead them to wrong doings, wrong teachings, dangers, crisis and even death. In Buddhism , a demon can either be a being suffering in the hell realm [36] or it could be a delusion.
Practitioner will go to the local Buddhist healer for treatment. The healer will commonly take their pulse and urine while offering counsel - the aim being to divine the origins of the patient's suffering. In the case possession they will also prescribe actions to appease the demon, like giving away food and clothing in its name.
According to Augustine Calmet, several obsessions and possessions noted in the New Testament were simple maladies or fantastic fallacies which made it believed that such persons were possessed by the devil. The ignorance of the people maintained this prejudice, and their being totally unacquainted with physicians and medicine served to strengthen such ideas.
Those who profess a belief in demonic possession have sometimes ascribed to possession the symptoms associated with physical or mental illnesses, such as hysteria , mania , psychosis , [39] Tourette syndrome , epilepsy , [40] schizophrenia , [41] conversion disorder or dissociative identity disorder. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This article is about subject matter relating to Western and Middle Eastern culture.
For other cultures, see Spirit possession. This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. Learn how and when to remove these template messages. It has been suggested that this article be merged with Spirit possession. Discuss Proposed since July This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
November Learn how and when to remove this template message. The devil opposes God. The devil is often called Satan, which literally means adversary. The book of Revelation calls the devil Satan and depicts him as a great dragon that fights against God with an army of fallen angels Rev. Scripture describes him as the great opponent of everything God is doing in the world.
Revelation also calls him a great dragon who is the deceiver of the whole world and because of this was cast out of heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. By deceiving Eve in the garden of Eden, the devil became the archenemy of both God and anyone who belonged to him.
God promised Satan that one day a redeemer would come who would crush his head Gen. Jesus clearly recognizes the devil as a real being who works to oppose him.
Although the Jews were sufficiently credulous concerning the operations of the evil spirit, they at the same time believed that in general the demons who tormented certain persons were nothing else than the souls of some wretches, who, fearing to repair to the place destined for them, took possession of the body of some mortal whom they tormented and endeavored to deprive of life - Treatise on the Apparitions of Spirits and on Vampires or Revenants. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Easy, quick chapters with lots of basic information. Jinn and Genies from Arabia to Zanzibar I. Demonology is the study of demons or beliefs about demons, [1] especially the methods used to summon and control them. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway. The original sense of "demon", from the time of Homer onward, was a benevolent being, [2] but in English the name now holds connotations of malevolence.
He tells the disciples that he saw the devil fall from heaven Luke In fact, John tells us that the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the work of the devil 1 John 3: The devil has limited power in the world, working to convince as many people as he can that God is a liar and not to be trusted. Jesus tells us that Satan is a liar and the father of all lies John 8: People who do not believe in God serve the devil, whether they realize it or not John 8: He is sneaky and crafty, using any means to achieve his ends.
He lays traps and snares for people, afflicts people with sickness and physical disabilities Luke Any angle he can find he uses to turn people away from God. The Bible tells us that he has an army of demons—angels who followed him in his rebellion against God Matt.
These demons aid him in his deception of the world, working evil and corrupting God's good creation Matt. The devil remains a major opponent of the church and the advancement of the gospel. Scripture is full of warnings to beware of the devil and his schemes. The apostle Peter reminds us: He is not allowed to be as bad as he could be.