Demonic Possession: Does it occur in modern times?

Question

Oh and what qualifies "possession?" I have heard of some faiths that believe that everything bad is a demon: ie "demon of lust" demon of laziness."Are this acts possession or just humanity's carnal nature rearing its ugly head?

Answer 1

Licia,

Possession DOES occur in modern times. Let me explain. I am assuming that you are referring to demonic possession, as it is known in Christianity.

Whether you believe in the demonic or not is up to you, but the actual claims of possession and the resolution towards them - exorcisms - still exist today.

I work with the Penn State University's Paranormal Research Society. I have also worked with many Roman Catholic Diocese's across the northeast on claims of possession.

There are many priests who still perform exorcisms, almost on a monthly basis. If you aren't familiar with Catholicism, the Catholic church has branches across the U.S. These are called Dioceses. I am in Pennsylvania, and there are a few dioceses that split up PA. There is the Pittsburgh Diocese which covers most of the western side, and then there is the Philadelphia diocese that covers the eastern side, and then there are some in between. All dioceses in the Catholic Church have an appointed exorcist (or at least should).

Obviously we are now aware of mental illness. The Catholic Church does not ignore this when they look in to a claim of possession. They have to first rule out mental illness and other psychological and physiological factors before it's a candidate for possession. Then evidence needs to be collected.

Just about every exorcist works with a psychologist and medical doctor who will rule out any natural explanation before turning to the supernatural. Sometimes, the Church will bring in a third party, such as our group, to assess the situation and give an official report before they decide to move forward.

Regarding your question, "what qualifies as 'possession,'" this is actually laid out in the Rituale Romanum (a handbook for exorcists in the Catholic Church). Generally, priests look for evidence of the supernatural. Does the possessed have a negative reaction to holy objects? Does the possessed speak languages that are unknown to them? Does the possessed demonstrate supernatural strength? Does the possessed have the ability to give out information that is unknown to them (being able to predict the future, being able to say something about someone that is impossible for the possessed to know)?

There are some faiths that believe anything supernatural is demonic. For example, born again Christians, for the most part, do not believe in ghosts. Anything appearing as a ghost is simply a demon trying to imitate a spirit, according to them.

However, the more tolerant religions DO believe that there are demons assigned to certain sins (example: Demon Of Lust, Demon of Sloth, Laziness, etc.). This doesn't mean they think all laziness is demonic. But consider their viewpoint: if we believe in the heirarchy of angels, doesn't this mean that there might be a heirarchy of demons also? There are assigned Guardian Angels in Catholicism and other Christian denominations. Because Satan is viewed as a fallen angel, many believe that demons are set up the same way, only in the opposite, negative sense. Therefore, there is a Demon of Hate, Pride, Envy, Lust, etc.

Now regarding your question as to whether or not there is actual possession of "humanities carnal nature rearing its ugly head," will always remain a matter for debate. There are some who will tell you that there are demons, and some who will tell you that there are no such things as demons. Both are extreme viewpoints that come with some bias thinking. I do not think we should discount either. Science has not proved everything. Nor has psychology yet to offer the end-all explanation for possession. There are many psychologists who very much believe in possession, and they are far from the quacks you might make them out to be. They have seen things that they cannot explain. Not all claims of possession are genuine. Probably more than 98% are due to lying, mental illness or have medical/natural explanations.

If you want more information on the subject, I refer you to the following:
www.warrens.net (They are Demonologists and well-known for their work)

There are great books in this subject:
"Hostage to the Devil" by Malachi Martin, a former exorcist
"An Exorcist Tells His Tale" by Fr. Gabriel Amorth, Chief Exorcist of Rome
"The Demonologist" by Gerald Brittle (about the Warrens)
"Glimpses of the Devil" by M. Scott Peck (a psychologist)

I hope this helps.

Answer 2

Possession does happen in modern times.

Some of the signs of possession are a person being possessed of impossibly superhuman strength, a person exibiting paranormal powers (telekinesis, pyrokinesis, levitation, etc) possessing knowledge that they could not possibly possess, the ability to speak in a language that they have never studeid and probably never heard (Latin, ancient Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic or other obscure languages) which is the original meanign of someone speaking in tongues. A person having a violent physic aversion to religions symbols of ANY type, usually violent vomiting, or unexplained burns appearing where they were touched by said symbol, skin explosions or boils are also a common sign. If at least a few of those things are not present..a person is most likely NOT possessed...but an expert in the field should be consulted just to be certain. And by EXPERT I mean someone that has truly studied possession, demons, and the like.

Answer 3

I think so. With the following explanations.
The actual term "possession" is not in the Bible. It's "he had a demon". It seems that certain people can have a demon live inside of them. I can't say I understand it, but I have heard enough first-person accounts that I believe it. I don't believe it is as frequent as some would have us believe.
On the other hand I have heard many,many accounts in which I am convinced there was exaggeration, or it was a question of schizophrenia or multiple personality disorder.
Sin is not the result of demon "possession". There is no such thing as a demon of lust or a demon of alcohol. As you say, that is simply our carnal nature (meaning our "me" nature) rearing its ugly head.

Answer 4

Yes, I have seen it first hand. Possession is when a/several demon(s) take over the body of a person. Christians cannot get possessed because the Holy Spirit is living within them.

Answer 5

You can't be possessed by demons because demons don't exist. With the advent of modern medicine, "possession" seems to have pretty much gone the way of the dinosaurs. Now why would that be?

Mental illness, epilepsy, Tourette's...any of these and more could be cause for calling someone "possessed" before we learned that these are disorders caused by genetics, not demons.

I myself don't understand how the people of today can believe in demonic possession. You would think that common sense would win out.

Answer 6

I cannot speak authoritatively, but I have a viewpoint.
Does it occur in modern times? - Yes.
What qualifies possession - when actions, behaviors, thoughts, etc. are not, or no longer are, acts of the will.
acts of possesion or fallen human nature? - both

prayer, the scarament of penance, and spiritual guidance can discern and address these matters

Answer 7

Demon possession is very real.Roman Catholics do exorcisms daily.You can also Goggle Bob Larson,non- catholic performs this day and night.

Answer 8

Yes, spirit possession is real. Some spirit are demonic and some are not.

Answer 9

Check out Bob Larson's web site; he is a modern day exorcist.
I'm not sure of the address but if you type in his name I'm sure you will find it.... good hunting

Answer 10

It absolutely does.....it is very real.

What do you think causes some people to cut themselves and such? It's demonic.......