A question for atheists ?

Question

So what is your opinion when a person is said to be "posessed" ?
I mean, what do you think about these people when an exorcist does his 'thing' and the demon is then said to be released from the body?

I'd like some convincing opinions.
Thanks.

Answer 1

Many times, the person is just mentally ill. Society once believed that people were crazy because a demon was possessing them. Now we know more about mental health, but there are still some who hold onto this archaic belief.

There is also an element of religion that makes people crazy. Religion plays heavily on emotional manipulation. It tries to make people feel guilty for "wrongs" done, pity for martyrs, group love and bonding, and other more extreme emotions.

If you think that demons are real, you can be convinced that some of your thoughts are demon generated, especially if you attach a lot of emotion to the idea. During a religious fervor, the person will, of course, react emotionally and may plead to have the demons exorcized or just act out what they think the demon would say. The subject might even feel better after such an emotional release, if he/she thinks the demons have been exorcised. And, of course, the subject is the center of attention, which also feels good. All of this can sometimes make for a convincing show.

There has been no real evidence of demon posession, though. It is much more readily explained with simple human psychology.

Answer 2

Personally, I believe that it is only the result of that person's beliefs. There are never any reported demon possessions of Buddhists, and that's because they don't believe in demons or gods. Christians, on the other hand, do believe in such things, and are much more likely to suffer the effects of said possessions. The effect of being released by exorcism may only be temporary, as the root causes of these 'possessions' are usually not addressed during the exorcism, but are merely masked by the placebo affect of believing they have been released. These people need actual psychiatric help. If prayers really worked for these situations, you would be able to cure them from the comfort of your own home, and not have to physically be there to lay hands on them. The same effect can be seen in 'faith healings' and holistic medicine. If you believe you are cured, you will show a better outlook and attitude, but the ailment is still there, and may come back worse than before.

Answer 3

It's all psychological. Either the person has a mental illness, the person seeks attention and sees this an effective method, or they are acting that way because the actions of people around them encourage it. When someone is "exorcised" they stop acting possessed because they feel they are supposed to stop, they know they can no longer get away with this ploy, or they are actually convinced something has changed them. The mentally ill generally would not be affected by "exorcism". They would need professional help.

Answer 4

It is a mental illness. Simple. The results of exorcisms are what is to be expected. If you think the 'demon of cursing' is causing you to curse then the 'exorcist' can convince you that the 'demon' is gone and as a result you will no longer curse... for a bit.

The reality is that religious people often complain about 're-possession' because the problem is not demonic but merely human nature.

Answer 5

It's usually explainable but science and medicine these days. As far as an excersism....the mind a POWERFUL thing. There is a lot we haven't realized it can do yet. The placebo effect can be a powerful things. Its the control factor of a lot of studies the stats always amaze me the number of people who are cured by placebo pills. The fact that ANYONE can be is a testiment to the power of the human brain.

Answer 6

Hello, I am an atheist. My opinion of a person who is said to be "possessed" is that the person thinks they are "possessed" or others think the person is "possessed", however, there being no such thing as demons, there is then no such thing as being possessed. People can "think" all sorts of things about the world, that doesn't make them true or real. People can "think" that a stork brings new babies, that doesn't make it the case. There are many tribes, societies and peoples around the world that believe all sorts of things haunt and affect people's behavior and success in living and then do all sorts of incantations, rituals, and what not to allay the said effects of these alleged spirits. Its all just imaginary things happening in people's minds.

Answer 7

I believe that the vast majority of people ever said to be possessed were in fact mentally ill. I have yet to see one evidence to the contrary,odd that after thousands of years not one independently verified instance where a supposed possessed person was relieved of their symptoms due to an exorcism. Although quite a few have died from it,one of the most famous being Anneliese Michel whose death was the inspiration for the movie "The exorcism of Emily Rose"

AD

Answer 8

I think it's all in their head.

It's possible that they have some sort of sickness and the exorcism acts as a sort of placebo effect.

Or they could be doing it for attention.

If it is serious, they could have a mental illness. They could be schizophrenic or have a displacement disorder. In which case, the "exorcism" would again act as a sort of placebo effect and hopefully cause their problem to go into remission.

Answer 9

Mental illness, of course, in most cases.

Often simply suggestibility. People who believe in gods - or rock idols, or sports teams - often act like they're possessed by something unseen.

In the case of believers, there's a strong motivation to act this way, and believers are used to convincing themselves that their pretend lives are real, so it wouldn't be surprising that they themselves honestly believed their own acts.

Remember "Leanne", the Christian troll who used to come around here with all sorts of wild stories? She turned out to have faked cancer. You can bet that it wasn't just online - that she acted like that in some real life situations as well.

Answer 10

Easy - the mind creates a scenario - and "demonizes" the illness, the concept of possession is extremly old, often attributed to schizophrenics who seem to have episodes where they are not themselves many became extremly violent, and foul mouthed. the priest doing the exorsim attempts to recall the original personality back. it is a stage trick, its like doing a curtain call to get a method actor out of his charecter. its rough but it works.