Post by boo on Jan 5, 2008 1:09:43 GMT -5
Demonic possession is a form of spiritual possession; specifically, one or more demons are said to enter a living or dead human or animal body or an object with the intention of using it for a purpose, normally evil but sometimes instead as a punishment or test. This term is more commonly applied to possession of living persons. It is said by several spiritual belief systems that a demonic possession can be "cured" by an exorcism that enables the exorcist to expel the demon or demons from the possessed subject or object.
Many religions contain some concept of demons and demon possession, but the details vary considerably. Many mainstream Christian churches, particularly in western society, either reject the concept entirely or strongly de-emphasise it, instead supporting the mainstream scientific position that supposed demon possessions are in fact a symptom of mental illness.
Demon possession in history
As far back as we know, according to ancient inscriptions, Sumerians, Akkadians and Chaldeans, who shared some religious beliefs, described several procedures to protect people against demonic possession. There are also written cuneiform tablets about exorcisms to expel demons from humans once they had invaded their bodies. The priests who practised exorcisms in these nations were called Ashipy and Mashmashu. Nevertheless there are no descriptions of specific punishments against possessed persons as it happened later many times in Christian societies. Shamanic cultures also believe in demon possession and shamans (witch doctors) perform exorcisms too; in these cultures often diseases are attributed to the presence of an evil spirit or demon in the body of the patient. In the Bible, the Old Testament mentions the Devil, but no allusion to demonic possession is made. The New Testament mentions several opportunities in which Jesus drove out demons from diseased persons, believed to be these entities responsible for those illnesses. Since that moment on, demon possession became a plague among Christians; exorcisms and executions were performed on persons allegedly possessed; many mentally ill people were accused of being demon-possessed and killed. The Malleus Maleficarum speaks about some exorcisms that can be done in different cases. In Christianity, animals were also believed to be able of being possessed; during the Middle Ages, hundreds of cats, goats, and other animals were slain because of the idea that they were either an incarnation of a demon or possessed by one.
Demon possession in Christianity
"Oppression" is a more accurate translation of the term used in Christian scripture. Possession, like other mistranslations, has gained a life of its own. This is possibly due to the nature of the word as well as the many movies depicting weird and lengthly deliverance rituals. Biblical deliverance takes place in seconds or perhaps a minute at most. This is the type one will find throughout the world in churches and ministries of nearly every denomination today.
The concept of demon possession in Christianity was similar to that of Jewish belief. In the New Testament Jesus is reported to have encountered people who were possessed 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, expelling a demon from his camel to prove his theory. In the 5th century, Gregory the Great (later Pope Gregory I) wrote about a nun that was possessed by a demon that penetrated her body via a lettuce she had eaten.
Later, in the Middle Ages, a list of symptoms required to confirm demonic possession was carefully prepared:
The ability to speak and/or understand one or more unknown languages (also known as Speaking in Tongues).
The ability to find secret things, read the mind, and divine future happenings.
The ability to make physical efforts abnormal for that person.
The act of spitting or vomiting every object the demons would have made the person swallow.
Other symptoms occasionally listed include:
Fear and/or hatred of holy objects.
The inability to say the word "Christ".
Normally, only one of these symptoms was enough to determine possession. It was said by people of that time that possessed persons had an ugly and terrible aspect, wrathful eyes, bluish lips, foam coming off their mouth; their body was almost permanently shaking, when they spoke their tongue came abnormally out, their speech consisted mainly in curses and blasphemies, and they were able to imitate animal sounds as well as to speak with human-like voices with a strange sound and a different pitch of theirs. According to Catholic theologians demon possession is involuntary and allowed by God to test a person (for more details about God's tests on persons see Job). Involuntary possession, according to these theologians, cannot be negated because this would imply the negation of the cases mentioned in the New Testament (12, some of them repeated in more than one Gospel) and, by extension, the veracity of it. Voluntary possession can be also mentioned, favored by drugs, alcohol and/or frantic dances, like those of certain ancient cults (i.e. the Bacchanals), still practiced in some Shamanic societies, and alleged to be also practiced by witches during their Sabbaths. Another form of voluntary possession is that in which a person offers his/her body to be possessed by a demon to serve as a medium among him/her and the other attendants to the reunion.
Cases of demon possession in the Bible
The following is a list of all cases of demon possession and Jesus' ability to expel demons mentioned in the New Testament:
Matthew 4:23-25: Demon-possessed persons are healed by Jesus (also Luke 6:17-19[1]).
Matthew 8:16-17[2]: Jesus heals many demon-possessed ones (also Mark 1:32-34[3] and Luke 4:40-41[4]).
Matthew 8:28-34[5]: Jesus sends a herd of demons from two men into a herd of pigs (also Mark 5:1-20[6] and Luke 8:26-39[7], both referring to only one man).
Matthew 9:32-34[8]: Jesus makes a dumb man speak (also Mark 3:20-22[9]).
Matthew 12:22-28[10]: Jesus heals a possessed blind and dumb man (also Luke 6:17-19[11] and Luke 11:14[12]).
Matthew 12:43-45[13]: Jesus tells an allegory of nasty spirits coming back home, that is the human body where have lived before (also Luke 11:24-26[14]).
Matthew 15:21-28[15]: Jesus expels a demon from the body of the daughter of a Canaanite woman (also Mark 7:24-30[16]).
Matthew 17:14-21[17]: Jesus heals a lunatic by driving out a demon from him (also Mark 9:13-29[18] and Luke 9:37-43[19]).
Mark 1:21-28[20]: Jesus expels a nasty spirit from a man (also Luke 4:31-37[21]).
Mark 1:32-34[22]: Jesus heals many demon-possessed people.
Luke 7:21[23]: Many people are cleansed from evil spirits by Jesus.
Luke 13:10-17[24]: Jesus expels Satan in the form of a spirit of disease from the body of a woman.
Acts 8:7[25]: Apostles drive demons out of many.
Acts 16:16-18[26]: Paul and Barnabas drive a future-telling demon out of a man.
Demon possession in medicine
Demonic possession is not a valid psychiatric or medical diagnosis recognized by either the DSM-IV or the ICD-10, and indeed, there is no scientific basis for such a belief. Those who profess a belief in demonic possession have sometimes ascribed the symptoms associated with mental illnesses such as hysteria, mania, psychosis, or dissociative identity disorder to possession. There is, however, a mental disease called demonomania or demonopathy. This is a monomania in which the patient believes that he or she is possessed by one or more demons.
From another point of view, those who accuse others of being demon-possessed have to be mentioned too. In cases like those of the witches of Salem, Massachusetts or the nuns who accused father Urbain Grandier, we are facing a collective hysteria, involving more than one person "contagiously" convinced of that "truth". In particular cases (sometimes a small number of persons, i.e. some members of a family or a small group of friends, but generally one person) the accusation of demon possession is caused because of the diseases above-mentioned or the phenomenon of collective hysteria. Another case that is necessary to mention is that of simulation; simulation is generally considered a psychological alteration of the human behaviour rather than a psychiatric disease, but there are in Medicine cases of simulators mentally ill that act by compulsion. It was common the case of children and teenagers accusing people of having bewitched them and feigning to be demon-possessed, and later apologising for that; unfortunately, due to the processes carried out by the religious tribunals, generally those innocents had already lost their lives, and that was the cause of many of those apologies: the feeling of being guilty, or remorse. There were several cases of simulation in England, most of them between 1533 and 1697, until accusations made by children were prohibited in 1718; there were cases of simulation in France and America too; it is thought that the collective hysteria that generated the accusation against Urbain Grandier was started by a case of simulation. It rests to say that a person easy to influence can be convinced by third parts of being demon-possessed. Hysteria is the first step to all other diseases previously mentioned, and it is more common in women than in men, thus the number of "demon-possessed" people and accusers was higher in women than in men; so it was the number of people killed by those accusations too.
Medicine can explain some aspects of the "symptoms" shown by those persons allegedly possessed; it is known that "supernatural strength" is common in some cases of insanity (maniacs, energumens, etc.).
The theme of demon possession has been by far better exploited by cinema than literature. Maybe the most known work on the subject is the 1973 film The Exorcist, based on the book of the same name, which portrays a typical mediaeval case of demonic possession in which the victim shows all required characteristics to confirm the status of possessed. This was later satirised in 1990 by Repossessed. End of Days (1999) shows another form of demonic possession suggested by Hilarius.
A person thought to be demonically possessed is said to suffer from a complete behavior takeover by a demonic entity. The entity may dominate the victim so the person becomes the demonic entity.
Christian theology, in the Middle Ages, deemed the concept of demonic possession heretical, so anyone displaying unusual behavior or a strange personality was automatically suspect of being possessed by the Devil. (The Devil or his demons who did the possessing were called the 'energumenus,' and the possessed person was the 'energumen'). In this era people were closer to Christ and God, and therefore more fearful of the Devil. Also, they were more attuned to the belief that there was a constant war being waged between God and the Devil for their souls.
It was thought that there were two ways of becoming possessed by the Devil. Either, the Devil passes directly into the person, or someone, in collaboration with the Devil -- ususally said to be a witch or wizard -- sends a demon into the victim through bewilderment. In this way many medieval unfortunates found themselves in peril because they were old, ugly, or poor. This could very well work the other way too. Many widows lost their homes and property by being declared witches.
In medieval times people generally believed God allowed the Devil to test people with hardships. One basis of this belief is derived from the Biblical story of Job. The Devil or one of his demons with the assistance of a witch were said to lay such difficulities as childhood sickness or seizures -- which presently would be medically diagnoised as epilepsy -- or dead livestock or crop failures on people. Each time such events occurred the general population looked for a witch. Frequently if a witch was not found, an unfortunate person was declared a witch.
Often unfortunate persons having terrible bodily deformities especially of the face, such as the evil eye, were thought by the general population to suffer from the Devil's mark. Such prejudice was similar to the fear and mocking of the Elephant Man in nineteenth-century London.
Here it might be added that a carry over of medieval thought still persists among many Christians, especially the fundamentalists. Although they are firm in their belief of man's sinful nature, they hold God still permits the Devil to try man. Such trials are tests of man's faithfulness to God.
The Catholic Church still defines true signs of possession as displaying superhuman strength, often accompanied by fits and convulsions; changes in personality; having knowledge of the future or other secret information; and being able to understand and converse in languages not previously known to the victim, such as the phenomenon glossolalia.
Early Puritan ministers and later Protestant clergy agreed on the same symptoms for declaring a person demonically possessed. In many incidences there was a complete ignorance of the person's medical condition and behavior.
Included in the list of other signs or symptoms for declaring demonic possession are: the practice of lewd and obscene acts, or even sexual thoughts; horrible smells of bodily ordors or of sulphur, associated with hell; distended stomachs; rapid weight loss where death seems inevitable; changes in the voice to a deep, rasping, menacing, guttural croak. Occasionally there may be signs of automatic writing or levitation.
Many of these signs or symptoms can be explained away by modern medical science. Seizures and convulsions are symptoms of epilepsy. Personality changes can indicate hysteria, or schizophrenia, or other psychological malfunctions. Lewd and obscene acts can indicate mental disorders. Having sexual thoughts, if taken seriously as a sign of demonic possession, would indicate nearly all of the modern population is possessed, especially the men. Distended stomachs can indicate malnutrition and other medical disorders. Also, having knowledge of future events or information is known as clairvoyance by many occultists and Neo-pagan witches which they consider a special spiritual gift. In light of such evidence it seems the term demonic possession is hardly functional anymore.
Such advanced knowledge is the reason why the Catholic Church has cautioned their priests to investigate the medical and psychological aspects of the person before performing the rite of exorcism. At present, the one main basis for declaring a person possessed seems to be a violent revulsion toward sacred objects and texts.
Neo-pagan witches strongly deny any association with the Devil. While some do not believe in the essence of evil and hold that the belief in the Devil is a Christian creation; almost all hold a deep and abiding respect for the free will of all living creatures, and do not believe they should interfer with this freedom of will. This theory of thought is embodied in the Wiccan Rede, which simply states, do what you will, but harm no one.
Although some modern occultists do think some people can become possessed by toying with the supernatural by such devices as the ouija board, few are certain of it. However, many occultists, especially witches, think they have been unjustly blamed throughout history for causing demonic possession. A.G.H.
This is a priest's service manual containing the only formal exorcism rite sanctioned the Roman Catholic Church. It was first written in 1614 under Pope Paul V, and was left untouched until 1952 when two minor revisions were included in the language of the ritual.
When first published in the 17th. Century the Rituale cautioned priests against performing exorcism upon persons in whom no true possession existed. And, with the increased advancement of medical science which more proficiently defined illnesses, true possession, both demonic and spiritual, became more difficult to determine. Some of the previously thought demonic interferences are now being diagnosed as hysteria, multiple personality, schizophrenia, paranoia, sexual malfunction and other neuroses brought on by childhood terrors and obsessions. Such diagnoses are making true demonic more difficult to determine.
"The 1952 revisions changed the wording that symptoms of possession 'are signs of the presence of a demon' to 'might be.' States other than possession, originally described as 'those who suffer from melancholia or any other illness' became 'those who suffer from illness, particularly mental illness.'"
These changes reflect the thinking of many modern, devout Christians who no longer believe in demonic possession. If such change of thinking is currently reflected, then one cannot but asked how many hundreds or thousands mentally ill persons have undergone the ritual of exorcism unnecessarily?
Still others do believe in demonic possession and enumerate signs that may show its presence. If the person, they say, exhibits paranormal capacities, shows superhuman strength, and above all, manifest knowledge of previously unknown languages, then he or she may be a candidate for demonic exorcism. The church may deem the person possessed when the above signs are accompanied by extreme revulsions for sacred texts and objects. Then the exorcist, with the permission of a bishop, performs the ancient ritual. Exorcism is not a sacrament of the Church, but a rite. The Rituale, though a guideline, does not give the exorcist a definite procedure by which to perform the ritual. He can vary according to his own discretion. After being as certain as humanly possible the victim is truly possessed he proceeds with the ritual.
The exorcist rarely works by himself. He is usually assisted by at least three other people. The first is generally a younger priest who is being trained or is trained in the performance of exorcism. His main duty is to maintain the continuance of the exorcism, and can take over if the exorcist dies.
Many religions contain some concept of demons and demon possession, but the details vary considerably. Many mainstream Christian churches, particularly in western society, either reject the concept entirely or strongly de-emphasise it, instead supporting the mainstream scientific position that supposed demon possessions are in fact a symptom of mental illness.
Demon possession in history
As far back as we know, according to ancient inscriptions, Sumerians, Akkadians and Chaldeans, who shared some religious beliefs, described several procedures to protect people against demonic possession. There are also written cuneiform tablets about exorcisms to expel demons from humans once they had invaded their bodies. The priests who practised exorcisms in these nations were called Ashipy and Mashmashu. Nevertheless there are no descriptions of specific punishments against possessed persons as it happened later many times in Christian societies. Shamanic cultures also believe in demon possession and shamans (witch doctors) perform exorcisms too; in these cultures often diseases are attributed to the presence of an evil spirit or demon in the body of the patient. In the Bible, the Old Testament mentions the Devil, but no allusion to demonic possession is made. The New Testament mentions several opportunities in which Jesus drove out demons from diseased persons, believed to be these entities responsible for those illnesses. Since that moment on, demon possession became a plague among Christians; exorcisms and executions were performed on persons allegedly possessed; many mentally ill people were accused of being demon-possessed and killed. The Malleus Maleficarum speaks about some exorcisms that can be done in different cases. In Christianity, animals were also believed to be able of being possessed; during the Middle Ages, hundreds of cats, goats, and other animals were slain because of the idea that they were either an incarnation of a demon or possessed by one.
Demon possession in Christianity
"Oppression" is a more accurate translation of the term used in Christian scripture. Possession, like other mistranslations, has gained a life of its own. This is possibly due to the nature of the word as well as the many movies depicting weird and lengthly deliverance rituals. Biblical deliverance takes place in seconds or perhaps a minute at most. This is the type one will find throughout the world in churches and ministries of nearly every denomination today.
The concept of demon possession in Christianity was similar to that of Jewish belief. In the New Testament Jesus is reported to have encountered people who were possessed 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, expelling a demon from his camel to prove his theory. In the 5th century, Gregory the Great (later Pope Gregory I) wrote about a nun that was possessed by a demon that penetrated her body via a lettuce she had eaten.
Later, in the Middle Ages, a list of symptoms required to confirm demonic possession was carefully prepared:
The ability to speak and/or understand one or more unknown languages (also known as Speaking in Tongues).
The ability to find secret things, read the mind, and divine future happenings.
The ability to make physical efforts abnormal for that person.
The act of spitting or vomiting every object the demons would have made the person swallow.
Other symptoms occasionally listed include:
Fear and/or hatred of holy objects.
The inability to say the word "Christ".
Normally, only one of these symptoms was enough to determine possession. It was said by people of that time that possessed persons had an ugly and terrible aspect, wrathful eyes, bluish lips, foam coming off their mouth; their body was almost permanently shaking, when they spoke their tongue came abnormally out, their speech consisted mainly in curses and blasphemies, and they were able to imitate animal sounds as well as to speak with human-like voices with a strange sound and a different pitch of theirs. According to Catholic theologians demon possession is involuntary and allowed by God to test a person (for more details about God's tests on persons see Job). Involuntary possession, according to these theologians, cannot be negated because this would imply the negation of the cases mentioned in the New Testament (12, some of them repeated in more than one Gospel) and, by extension, the veracity of it. Voluntary possession can be also mentioned, favored by drugs, alcohol and/or frantic dances, like those of certain ancient cults (i.e. the Bacchanals), still practiced in some Shamanic societies, and alleged to be also practiced by witches during their Sabbaths. Another form of voluntary possession is that in which a person offers his/her body to be possessed by a demon to serve as a medium among him/her and the other attendants to the reunion.
Cases of demon possession in the Bible
The following is a list of all cases of demon possession and Jesus' ability to expel demons mentioned in the New Testament:
Matthew 4:23-25: Demon-possessed persons are healed by Jesus (also Luke 6:17-19[1]).
Matthew 8:16-17[2]: Jesus heals many demon-possessed ones (also Mark 1:32-34[3] and Luke 4:40-41[4]).
Matthew 8:28-34[5]: Jesus sends a herd of demons from two men into a herd of pigs (also Mark 5:1-20[6] and Luke 8:26-39[7], both referring to only one man).
Matthew 9:32-34[8]: Jesus makes a dumb man speak (also Mark 3:20-22[9]).
Matthew 12:22-28[10]: Jesus heals a possessed blind and dumb man (also Luke 6:17-19[11] and Luke 11:14[12]).
Matthew 12:43-45[13]: Jesus tells an allegory of nasty spirits coming back home, that is the human body where have lived before (also Luke 11:24-26[14]).
Matthew 15:21-28[15]: Jesus expels a demon from the body of the daughter of a Canaanite woman (also Mark 7:24-30[16]).
Matthew 17:14-21[17]: Jesus heals a lunatic by driving out a demon from him (also Mark 9:13-29[18] and Luke 9:37-43[19]).
Mark 1:21-28[20]: Jesus expels a nasty spirit from a man (also Luke 4:31-37[21]).
Mark 1:32-34[22]: Jesus heals many demon-possessed people.
Luke 7:21[23]: Many people are cleansed from evil spirits by Jesus.
Luke 13:10-17[24]: Jesus expels Satan in the form of a spirit of disease from the body of a woman.
Acts 8:7[25]: Apostles drive demons out of many.
Acts 16:16-18[26]: Paul and Barnabas drive a future-telling demon out of a man.
Demon possession in medicine
Demonic possession is not a valid psychiatric or medical diagnosis recognized by either the DSM-IV or the ICD-10, and indeed, there is no scientific basis for such a belief. Those who profess a belief in demonic possession have sometimes ascribed the symptoms associated with mental illnesses such as hysteria, mania, psychosis, or dissociative identity disorder to possession. There is, however, a mental disease called demonomania or demonopathy. This is a monomania in which the patient believes that he or she is possessed by one or more demons.
From another point of view, those who accuse others of being demon-possessed have to be mentioned too. In cases like those of the witches of Salem, Massachusetts or the nuns who accused father Urbain Grandier, we are facing a collective hysteria, involving more than one person "contagiously" convinced of that "truth". In particular cases (sometimes a small number of persons, i.e. some members of a family or a small group of friends, but generally one person) the accusation of demon possession is caused because of the diseases above-mentioned or the phenomenon of collective hysteria. Another case that is necessary to mention is that of simulation; simulation is generally considered a psychological alteration of the human behaviour rather than a psychiatric disease, but there are in Medicine cases of simulators mentally ill that act by compulsion. It was common the case of children and teenagers accusing people of having bewitched them and feigning to be demon-possessed, and later apologising for that; unfortunately, due to the processes carried out by the religious tribunals, generally those innocents had already lost their lives, and that was the cause of many of those apologies: the feeling of being guilty, or remorse. There were several cases of simulation in England, most of them between 1533 and 1697, until accusations made by children were prohibited in 1718; there were cases of simulation in France and America too; it is thought that the collective hysteria that generated the accusation against Urbain Grandier was started by a case of simulation. It rests to say that a person easy to influence can be convinced by third parts of being demon-possessed. Hysteria is the first step to all other diseases previously mentioned, and it is more common in women than in men, thus the number of "demon-possessed" people and accusers was higher in women than in men; so it was the number of people killed by those accusations too.
Medicine can explain some aspects of the "symptoms" shown by those persons allegedly possessed; it is known that "supernatural strength" is common in some cases of insanity (maniacs, energumens, etc.).
The theme of demon possession has been by far better exploited by cinema than literature. Maybe the most known work on the subject is the 1973 film The Exorcist, based on the book of the same name, which portrays a typical mediaeval case of demonic possession in which the victim shows all required characteristics to confirm the status of possessed. This was later satirised in 1990 by Repossessed. End of Days (1999) shows another form of demonic possession suggested by Hilarius.
A person thought to be demonically possessed is said to suffer from a complete behavior takeover by a demonic entity. The entity may dominate the victim so the person becomes the demonic entity.
Christian theology, in the Middle Ages, deemed the concept of demonic possession heretical, so anyone displaying unusual behavior or a strange personality was automatically suspect of being possessed by the Devil. (The Devil or his demons who did the possessing were called the 'energumenus,' and the possessed person was the 'energumen'). In this era people were closer to Christ and God, and therefore more fearful of the Devil. Also, they were more attuned to the belief that there was a constant war being waged between God and the Devil for their souls.
It was thought that there were two ways of becoming possessed by the Devil. Either, the Devil passes directly into the person, or someone, in collaboration with the Devil -- ususally said to be a witch or wizard -- sends a demon into the victim through bewilderment. In this way many medieval unfortunates found themselves in peril because they were old, ugly, or poor. This could very well work the other way too. Many widows lost their homes and property by being declared witches.
In medieval times people generally believed God allowed the Devil to test people with hardships. One basis of this belief is derived from the Biblical story of Job. The Devil or one of his demons with the assistance of a witch were said to lay such difficulities as childhood sickness or seizures -- which presently would be medically diagnoised as epilepsy -- or dead livestock or crop failures on people. Each time such events occurred the general population looked for a witch. Frequently if a witch was not found, an unfortunate person was declared a witch.
Often unfortunate persons having terrible bodily deformities especially of the face, such as the evil eye, were thought by the general population to suffer from the Devil's mark. Such prejudice was similar to the fear and mocking of the Elephant Man in nineteenth-century London.
Here it might be added that a carry over of medieval thought still persists among many Christians, especially the fundamentalists. Although they are firm in their belief of man's sinful nature, they hold God still permits the Devil to try man. Such trials are tests of man's faithfulness to God.
The Catholic Church still defines true signs of possession as displaying superhuman strength, often accompanied by fits and convulsions; changes in personality; having knowledge of the future or other secret information; and being able to understand and converse in languages not previously known to the victim, such as the phenomenon glossolalia.
Early Puritan ministers and later Protestant clergy agreed on the same symptoms for declaring a person demonically possessed. In many incidences there was a complete ignorance of the person's medical condition and behavior.
Included in the list of other signs or symptoms for declaring demonic possession are: the practice of lewd and obscene acts, or even sexual thoughts; horrible smells of bodily ordors or of sulphur, associated with hell; distended stomachs; rapid weight loss where death seems inevitable; changes in the voice to a deep, rasping, menacing, guttural croak. Occasionally there may be signs of automatic writing or levitation.
Many of these signs or symptoms can be explained away by modern medical science. Seizures and convulsions are symptoms of epilepsy. Personality changes can indicate hysteria, or schizophrenia, or other psychological malfunctions. Lewd and obscene acts can indicate mental disorders. Having sexual thoughts, if taken seriously as a sign of demonic possession, would indicate nearly all of the modern population is possessed, especially the men. Distended stomachs can indicate malnutrition and other medical disorders. Also, having knowledge of future events or information is known as clairvoyance by many occultists and Neo-pagan witches which they consider a special spiritual gift. In light of such evidence it seems the term demonic possession is hardly functional anymore.
Such advanced knowledge is the reason why the Catholic Church has cautioned their priests to investigate the medical and psychological aspects of the person before performing the rite of exorcism. At present, the one main basis for declaring a person possessed seems to be a violent revulsion toward sacred objects and texts.
Neo-pagan witches strongly deny any association with the Devil. While some do not believe in the essence of evil and hold that the belief in the Devil is a Christian creation; almost all hold a deep and abiding respect for the free will of all living creatures, and do not believe they should interfer with this freedom of will. This theory of thought is embodied in the Wiccan Rede, which simply states, do what you will, but harm no one.
Although some modern occultists do think some people can become possessed by toying with the supernatural by such devices as the ouija board, few are certain of it. However, many occultists, especially witches, think they have been unjustly blamed throughout history for causing demonic possession. A.G.H.
This is a priest's service manual containing the only formal exorcism rite sanctioned the Roman Catholic Church. It was first written in 1614 under Pope Paul V, and was left untouched until 1952 when two minor revisions were included in the language of the ritual.
When first published in the 17th. Century the Rituale cautioned priests against performing exorcism upon persons in whom no true possession existed. And, with the increased advancement of medical science which more proficiently defined illnesses, true possession, both demonic and spiritual, became more difficult to determine. Some of the previously thought demonic interferences are now being diagnosed as hysteria, multiple personality, schizophrenia, paranoia, sexual malfunction and other neuroses brought on by childhood terrors and obsessions. Such diagnoses are making true demonic more difficult to determine.
"The 1952 revisions changed the wording that symptoms of possession 'are signs of the presence of a demon' to 'might be.' States other than possession, originally described as 'those who suffer from melancholia or any other illness' became 'those who suffer from illness, particularly mental illness.'"
These changes reflect the thinking of many modern, devout Christians who no longer believe in demonic possession. If such change of thinking is currently reflected, then one cannot but asked how many hundreds or thousands mentally ill persons have undergone the ritual of exorcism unnecessarily?
Still others do believe in demonic possession and enumerate signs that may show its presence. If the person, they say, exhibits paranormal capacities, shows superhuman strength, and above all, manifest knowledge of previously unknown languages, then he or she may be a candidate for demonic exorcism. The church may deem the person possessed when the above signs are accompanied by extreme revulsions for sacred texts and objects. Then the exorcist, with the permission of a bishop, performs the ancient ritual. Exorcism is not a sacrament of the Church, but a rite. The Rituale, though a guideline, does not give the exorcist a definite procedure by which to perform the ritual. He can vary according to his own discretion. After being as certain as humanly possible the victim is truly possessed he proceeds with the ritual.
The exorcist rarely works by himself. He is usually assisted by at least three other people. The first is generally a younger priest who is being trained or is trained in the performance of exorcism. His main duty is to maintain the continuance of the exorcism, and can take over if the exorcist dies.