Why is demon possession a strictly Christian phenomena?

Question

While in Judaism, however, there is no belief in a supernatural evil and no belief that demon possession is possible?

Rabbi Peter Rubenstein from New York’s Central Synagogue, says, “… Every human has two inclinations, one to do evil and one to do good…. Our hope is the individual tries to access the inclination to do good. There is a balance." But, he said, evil is done "when we enter that other side.”

So where did this whole "demon possession" phenomena come from? If Jews never had it, and still don't have it, then it can't be from their god. To my knowledge, there's never been an agnostic or atheist that has ever felt the need to have their kids exorcised. Same with the Pagans and Wiccans and Buddhists and Heathens. As far as I know, only people with a christian background are affected by demon possession, or even believe in it.

Why wasn't there ever any demon possession in the Old Testament? Is it just another christian invention used to scare people into believing?

Answer 1

Christians seem to have their own ideas of and relationship to Satan and devils and demons. Other religions have ideas of spiritual possession, either by gods or spirits, such as the spirits of the dead (Jewish folklore -dybbuk) (Voodoo- possession by a loa or deity). This can be good or bad. In Bible Saul consults a "witch" who "channels" info from I believe a dead person to answer his question.

Answer 2

I think it's more of a christian invention used to try to justify bad behaviour. "The devil made me do it" or "the demons took control of me" excuses have been used so many times. It's like the christian's "get out of jail free" card to throw at naive & superstitious christians to avoid being judged as a freak, sicko, or bad person. People will continue to give money to these organizations if they believe a person's wrong-doing is all the work of some evil spirit who briefly took control over their body and mind.

It's a scapegoat for misbehaviour. A primitive belief to explain things that they are too feeble-minded to explain. People used to believe sneezing was a sign of demonic possession. They've gotten a little bit (but only a little bit) smarter about it.... now it's pretty much only bad behaviour.

The thing that gets me is they say that speaking in tongues is a sign of a strong relationship with god .... but.... it's also a sign of demonic possession. So, how do you know the difference when it happens?

Answer 3

There are some examples in Jewish literature during OT times - The Book of Tobias and Josephus mentions this.

It's a big part of Shamanic religious beliefs, as well as in Hinduism.

So you missed a few groups in your research. I've not spent much time to find the above, and am certain more can be found with more effort.

In short, it is not strictly a Christian phenomena.

Answer 4

its NOT exclusively a christian phenomena.

there is such a thing as demon posession, its really just not something Judaism deals with becaues ... well basically jews are somewhat immune from this threat. we're protected by God from that particular problem. Jews are also pretty much safe from negative magicks directed at them.

>>"If Jews never had it, and still don't have it, then it can't be from their god"<<

faulty logic. Judaism does not claim to have a monopoly on God or Truth, just because its not something Judaism deals with, does not mean that its not something that exists.

theres simply no reason for Judaism to have any stance on demonic posession, because its not relevant to jews.

that quote has nothing to do with demons, it has to do with personal responsibility for the majority of wrong-acts.

you are incorrect with your assertion that non-christians have never had experiences with demonic posession. atheists would be prone to attributing the signs of it as other things. (inaccurately, why would you assume that such a situation would make itself obvious to those who can't see further than the flesh?)
pagans and wiccans CAN have experiences involving demons, but they have their own way to deal with it without the need for christian exorcisms. and budhists and similar... well I imagine they would be prone to being able to avoid it.

I have been close to a jewish person who had a posession problem (there were some other issues that made them vulnerable despite being jewish) and I've dealt with at least one atheist who had a severe posession problem. and have known a couple pagans who had interactions with such.

now, I AGREE that MANY things that are CALLED demonic posession are in fact nonsense.

its kinda like how the fact that there are worthless "medicines" sold alledging to have certain healing effects... does not mean there are not REAL medicines.

Answer 5

its a catholic thing mostly. most Christians and Jews really don't put much stock in it. i believe it started in the catholic church when some pope or saint drove a demon out of someone but i could be wrong. personally, i think saying you have a demon in you is an excuse to do whatever you want, however bad it may be. i didn't try and strangle her and scream cuss words, i was possessed. my son didn't do drugs and try and hit me, he was possessed. Most of it seems a little far fetched to me. On the other hand, i have listened to tapes of some possessions and heard really odd things like two voices from one girl. so for the most part, i would say its a catholic tool to move the blame from a person to something else.

Answer 6

Demon possession does not happen to Christians, Christian know about it. It was Jesus who informed us about it. It was a Jew that had so many demons in him that he roamed around naked and was a crazy man, until Jesus came along.

When the demons, call legions, came out of him, they went into a herd of pigs what drove themselves into water and were drowned. The man was normal again.

Nobody knew of demons in humans until Jesus educated us about it.

So doesn't it make sense, knowing that Jesus was the first to inform us, that it's christians who understand this problem?

Answer 7

Doesn't have to be an invention, just a reality revealed. The fact that evil was revealed as a nefarious intelligence in the NT was enough to convince the early church that indeed, evil is a real spiritual phenomenon and entity that works to destroy the good works of God, especially his best creation, man.

Answer 8

It is not strictly Christian.
Several Chinese and Japanese, particularly, have instances of demon possesion and exorcism.
Plenty of other cultures have demon possesion as part of them, as well of a way of exorcism.
If anything, it shows that Chritianity is not completely exclusive, that it draws upon other religions.
Demon possesion is really more of a religious thing- if an atheist/agnostic sees their kid acting funny, they take them to the doctor, not call in the preist/shaman/whatever.

Answer 9

It is not .It is all ver the world. In the Bible there were a lot of jewish exorcists.The seven sons of Sceva for example.Voodoo and other religions invite possesion.
Saul was tormented by an evil spirit in Samuel ,Job was oppressed by Satan himself,and there are other cases as well.

Answer 10

I can only speak for my faith as a protestant, but I've never seen evidence of anyone being possessed by a demon. It's really more of a catholic concept, not all Christians believe the same way on every topic.