My brief talk on demon possession

Angels & Demons
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steve
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My brief talk on demon possession

Post by steve » Wed May 07, 2014 12:12 pm

Last night I participated in a secular symposium on "Mental Illness," in Fallbrook, California. I was asked to speak for ten minutes on the subject of "demon possession." I was the only Christian, and the final presenter, on a panel that included a psychiatrist, a psychologist, and a social worker. Each were restricted to ten minutes (strictly timed by a representative from Toastmasters). Since I find it easier to speak for 90 minutes than for 10 minutes on any topic, I had to carefully prepare my speech, and bind myself strictly to my manuscript, which took almost exactly 10 minutes to read. The disclaimers in the first paragraph were ad-libbed, and added to the manuscript after the event. For anyone interested in this talk, I have pasted the manuscript below.


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Good evening,

Like my fellow panelists, I feel that the attempt to treat our topic in ten-minute presentations seems like pouring the ocean into a shot glass. I am more accustomed to giving lengthy lectures on this topic, and, in order to limit myself to ten minutes I will need to be strictly bound, more than I would prefer, to my prepared statements. I apologize in advance for any excessive formality in my presentation due to my need to follow, to the letter, my highly edited manuscript.

Unlike my fellow panelists, I am not a mental health professional. However, I was asked to speak on the subject of demon possession as a possible factor in the diagnosis of certain cases of mental abnormality. I come to you as a layman who has done special research in this field for more than forty years, and have lectured on the topic on four continents. I also come to you as a convinced believer in Christianity, with many years’ experience in ministry to afflicted individuals. I am not ignorant of the fact that what I am presenting is controversial, as many truths are.

In this short presentation, I hope to acquaint you with what is meant by demon possession, why it is important, what symptoms may indicate its presence, and what may be done to relieve those suffering from the condition.

First, by definition, demonization, the Greek word for this ailment, occurs when a human personality is invaded and taken into captivity by one or more of non-material, personal entities, known, in English, as demons or evil spirits.

Many mental health professionals proceed on the assumption that there is no realm of the supernatural, and that all real phenomena are governed by the laws of material nature. This worldview is called naturalism and is not a discovery of science, nor a provable premise from which to reason. It was not believed by the founders of modern science, such as da Vinci, Kepler, Pascal, Galileo or Newton.

Philosophical naturalism is merely a prejudice in vogue in our day. While assumed to be correct by most scientists, it is neither a theory of science nor a necessary presupposition for scientific investigation.

There are realms of scientific investigation in which there is little danger posed by the question of whether or not metaphysical naturalism is true. However, in the treatment of tormented patients, this question cannot be regarded a matter of indifference. If we are assuming a naturalistic worldview, and we happen to be mistaken, we may well find ourselves incapable of relieving patients whose problems are of a non-natural, or a supernatural nature. Obviously, those who gratuitously rule-out the whole realm of the supernatural prior to investigation, deliberately limit their ability to consider all the realistic explanations of the presenting symptoms.

Dr. John White, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, University of Manitoba, has written: “As a psychiatrist I am as much a scientist as an artist. I am trained skeptically to examine hypotheses and to subject them to experiment. But the scientific method, limited enough in dealing even with material realities, collapses altogether in the face of the nonmaterial. To ‘deal with’ demons I must know that they exist and I must also know that they are a factor in Joe Smith’s distress.”

For 6000 years, every society known to anthropologists has exhibited awareness of a phenomenon popularly called “demon possession.” Belief in demon possession is not confined to pagan or animistic tribes, addicted to irrational superstitions. Many of the most striking of known cases have been documented in the modern West, by competent researchers of impeccable credentials. Mental health professionals who have encountered this phenomenon have sometimes given it clinical-sounding names, like demonomania, or demonopathy, or demonosis or the possession syndrome.

Basil Jackson, Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry, Lutheran Hospital of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; writes: “Demonic states (whatever these may prove to be) are presumably to be recognized in their phenomenology by symptoms and signs which, together with the course of the condition, make up the clinical picture as a ‘disease’ or ‘demonic entity.’”

Ancient Israel and even Jesus Christ and His followers were quite familiar with this phenomenon as well. In fact, if the historical records that have come down to us are to be trusted, the exorcism of demons played a large role in the public activities of Jesus Christ and of His followers. This is also true today in many parts of the world, where it is often found that nothing other than the invocation of the Name of Jesus Christ has proven effective against the condition.

My time is severely limited to present the data concerning this phenomenon. While I am no expert on the subject, I have studied it extensively, and my personal experience has included a few cases in which the sufferer was relieved abruptly through Christian exorcism.

Dr. R. Kenneth McAll, Consultant Psychiatrist, in Hampshire, England, was previously a missionary surgeon in China. He writes:
“There is no doubt that the need to recognize [cases of “demonosis”] and deal with them in the appropriate manner is greatly on the increase throughout the modern world. The examples I shall give come from over one hundred and fifty documented cases in which exorcism has been used...
“In the 1930’s when I was a missionary surgeon in the interior of China, devil possession was not uncommon, though the diagnosis could sometimes have been in question. The only treatment offered to those possessed was death by stoning, unless the case occurred within reach of a Christian community in which case the villagers would send for the highly trained and extraordinarily fearless Bible women who would lay hands on the victim, pray and release him. The effect was always immediate.”


Dr. John Nevius, a British medical doctor, did not believe in demon possession prior to his field experience in China. His many encounters there with the phenomenon led him to do extensive research, leading to his writing one of the most authoritative books on demon possession. He was able to catalog and describe certain classical signs of demon possession, such as the following:

"1. The chief differentiating mark of so-called demon possession is the automatic presentation and the persistent and consistent acting out of a new personality.

A. The new personality says he is a demon.

B. He/she uses personal pronouns; first person for the demon, third person for the possessed.

C. The demon uses titles or names.

D. The demon has sentiments, facial expressions and physical manifestations that harmonize with the above.

2. Another differentiating mark of demon possession is the evidence it gives of knowledge and intellectual power not possessed by the subject.

3. Another differentiating mark of demonomania intimately connected with the assumption of a new personality is that with the change of personality there is a complete change of moral character (aversion and hatred to God and especially to Christ).”


Dr. Gary R. Collins, Professor and Chairman, Division of Pastoral Psychology and Counseling, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois, writes:
“A perusal of the literature in this area would suggest, for example, that demons might produce trances, visual or auditory hallucinations, obsessive thoughts, bad language, extreme discomfort in the presence of discussions about Christ…an inability to say the name of Jesus, special powers of telepathy or clairvoyance, instant lying, and mocking at the mention of Christ—all [can be] evidence of demonic involvement.”

The presentation of all that research has turned up, both from clinical and field experience, about the phenomenon of demon possession would require many hours—which, unfortunately, are not available in a forum such as this.

I must conclude with a summary of the facts upon which unprejudiced researchers generally agree. Namely, that there seem to exist malevolent, non-material entities, which sometimes find access into vulnerable patients, and afflict them either physiologically or psychologically. Management of this condition without exorcism sometimes meets with limited success. However, exorcism in the name and authority of Jesus Christ is generally the only approach that can be shown to bring complete and permanent reversal of the symptoms. Thank you.

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Homer
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Re: My brief talk on demon possession

Post by Homer » Wed May 07, 2014 2:59 pm

Well done Steve. Any feedback afterward?

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steve
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Joined: Thu Aug 21, 2008 9:45 pm

Re: My brief talk on demon possession

Post by steve » Wed May 07, 2014 3:35 pm

Not much. There didn't seem to be many Christians in the room. I was encouraged simply at the lack of derision. I was not able to watch the faces of the three other panelists while I spoke, but I assumed that they would have found my comments amusingly naive. There was one Christian couple in the audience who do "deliverance ministry," and spoke briefly to me afterward, saying they appreciated what I had to say. They themselves seemed to be into a number of extrabiblical practices commonly related to that kind of ministry, which I do not put much stock in.

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