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Possession

Rival

Si m'ait Dieus
Staff member
Premium Member
Do you believe in demonic or any other kind of possession? What does your religion say about it? How can it be differentiated from mental illness?
 

Orbit

I'm a planet
Sadly, I had Christian friends in the past who said all mental illness was demon possession. They were of the evangelical variety. They don't differentiate between mental illness and possession.
 

Kenny

Face to face with my Father
Premium Member
Do you believe in demonic or any other kind of possession? What does your religion say about it? How can it be differentiated from mental illness?

Yes... I do believe. Differentiating it between physical vs spiritual can sometimes be tricky. Sometimes it is pretty easy to see.

When a woman in my wife's family house (years ago) would fall to the ground and speak in a man's voice and it took 4 to 5 men to hold her down... it is a pretty slam dunk "possession".

Lester Sumrall (when he was alive) in the Philippines with a well documented case:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Possession_of_Clarita_Villanueva

When our assistant pastor went to Cuba and was preaching, a man came to him and said, "I want to be delivered from this devil that is in me". Lee asked "How do you know you have a devil"? and the man said "Because he is here and when he lifted his shirt his belly unnaturally undulated back and forth.

Before Lee knew what he was doing, he grabbed the man, cast the devil out and the man fell backwards.

When he got up he jumped on Lee and in tears cried "thank you, thank you, thank you" - got saved and filled with God's presence.

So.. I guess you have to be led by the Holy Spirit of God to know one way or the other unless it is obvious.
 

exchemist

Veteran Member
Do you believe in demonic or any other kind of possession? What does your religion say about it? How can it be differentiated from mental illness?
I am sure that the biblical notion of possession was what we would now see as some kind of psychotic episode - or else a fit. There was no medicine in those days.

There are still some clerics in mainstream Christianity that go in for exorcising ghosts and demons, but it is becoming a niche sport, I think. ;) Some of it may be done to reassure the frightened parishioner, rather than as a result of firm belief in the reality of such things.
 
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The Hammer

[REDACTED]
Premium Member
Do you believe in demonic or any other kind of possession? What does your religion say about it? How can it be differentiated from mental illness?

Demonic, no. Spirit possession, yes. Spirits can enter the body through the nose and mouth, via the breath. This causes any untold number of things to happen based on the wishes of the Spirit, or the caster of said Spirit; as Powerful Seidkonas can send forth their Spirit or Mind in order to manipulate enemies, or benefit another.

Edit: https://www.brutenorse.com/blog/2018/02/spirits-premonitions-and-psychic.html
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
Personally no belief in it. AFAIK Hinduism as a whole doesn’t hold with it either. In Hindu ontology and theology it doesn’t make sense, actually, it’s contradictory.
 

Left Coast

This Is Water
Staff member
Premium Member
Personally no belief in it. AFAIK Hinduism as a whole doesn’t hold with it either. In Hindu ontology and theology it doesn’t make sense, actually, it’s contradictory.

Say more about that, I didn't realize.
 

Left Coast

This Is Water
Staff member
Premium Member
Do you believe in demonic or any other kind of possession? What does your religion say about it? How can it be differentiated from mental illness?

I know that demons (or what gets translated as "demons") are present in some Buddhist myths or stories, but I'm not sure to what degree they were regarded as 'real' as opposed to metaphors or personifications of vices and so forth. I've never heard of possession within Buddhist traditions, don't know for sure.

I don't personally believe in demons as actual immaterial or supernatural beings of some sort. Generally "demon-possessed" people seem to be mentally ill, with manifestations of "possession" that match their religious and cultural upbringing or surroundings.
 

Jeremiah Ames

Well-Known Member
Do you believe in demonic or any other kind of possession? What does your religion say about it? How can it be differentiated from mental illness?
I think spirits speak to us constantly. This is how thoughts come into our head.
But they cannot “possess” us, unless we allow it.

imo
 

VoidCat

Pronouns: he/him/they/them
Rewording deleted last comment. I am more scared of angels then I am of demons. Don't know why just the whole fact of angels announcing be not afraid first...just they seem scarier to me for some reason. Demon possession I don't think happens. Spirit possession maybe.
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
Personally no belief in it. AFAIK Hinduism as a whole doesn’t hold with it either. In Hindu ontology and theology it doesn’t make sense, actually, it’s contradictory.

I might add that beings equivalent to the Abrahamic concepts of demons don’t exist in Hinduism. Beings that are translated as demons are actually other races or classes of beings. The words for them, rākṣasa (m.) and rākṣasī (f.) are incorrectly translated as “demon”. However, there are a number of very pious rākṣasāḥ, e.g. Trijaṭā, Vibhīṣaṇa, Prahlāda who were devoted to the Gods, and even aided them.
 

Eddi

Agnostic
Premium Member
Do you believe in demonic or any other kind of possession? What does your religion say about it? How can it be differentiated from mental illness?
I have been haunted by a demon since 2004

I prefer the term "haunted" to "possessed"

I have written a book about this and posted extensively about it on RF

If you or anyone else want to know more feel free to PM me :)
 
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