Posted on 11/28/2015 8:50:31 AM PST by Salvation
Monsignor Pope OSV column ping!
I had a girlfriend who was bipolar. When she didn’t take her meds, she got crazy. But she didn’t like the meds so she would go for periods of time without them. During one episode, she was in the depressive phase and went to her priest for help. Rather than advise her to get back onto her meds, he told her she was under “spiritual attack.”
Demonic possession is non-denominational, and more common than this article indicates. According to Scripture we will not be rid of them until the end of the age. I have personally witnessed events which would be difficult to explain any other way, and where such phenomena were directly responsive to an ordinary believer in Jesus calling on His name in faith. There is nothing in Scripture to indicate this is the sole province of would-be ecclesiastic specialists. This is the birthright of every legitimate child of God.
Peace,
SR
But there is even differences as the article says, between demonic possession and simply oppression from demons. There are deliverence ministries out there, but I have a lot of times heard that if it is the case of possession, than call a Catholic priest trained in the ritual because of concerns of possible demonic attacks on ordinary Christian ministers.
Spark, yes, eliminate all other causes before an exorcism. Your example of your girlfriend is a good one. However one can be under spiritual attack without being completely taken over by a demonic spirit.
Msgr. Pope is, in my view, totally correct when he says: “But the first step is always to assess each case to determine if there is true possession or perhaps a lesser form of demonic oppression. Sometimes, too, there are natural causes related to behavioral problems and mental or spiritual struggles.”
I remember being at a church retreat 20 years ago where came under an attack. Personal prayer and fighting back get me out of it, but I found out that others noticed the change in me and were also praying for me. Not a classic exorcism, but close enough to work.
Marantha
Yes, discernment is necessary in these cases.
This is what I am trying to say. While there are differing degrees of demonic influence, Jesus is the Big Gun, not the priest, nor any other would-be specialist. Every one born into the family of God has the Holy Spirit residing within them, and just as the Scriptures say, the devil turns and runs from a serious fight. This is one of his greatest deceptions, not unlike the Democrats, that only a certain class of persons with the right ecclesiastical pedigree can do this safely. The truth is no human can do this safely, but every believer has power in the name of Jesus to confront spiritual evil, even at this level. Remember what Jesus said concerning the non-apostle casting out demons in Jesus’ name, that being for Him was the issue, not whether one belonged to the right human association. I take that seriously because I have seen it in action. There was no ritual. There was only an honest and sincere calling on Jesus to deal with a problem the “exorcist” knew he could not deal with on his own. This is for all believers, and it is only our great enemy who wishes us to believe otherwise.
Peace,
SR
....Or of differences between the Catholic and the Protestant approaches to delievernce and exorcism.
Jesus works the exocism via that priest who trained to do exorcism.
Have a good and blessed weekend.
“The truth is no human can do this safely, but every believer has power in the name of Jesus to confront spiritual evil, even at this level.”
Likewise, any armed citizen could take on a group of terrorists, but there are those who specialize in doing such, such as the Unit or SEALs.
The unclean spirit in the above scenario seemed only to be concerned with the “exorcist” calling on Jesus. That’s because the “exorcist” is no one in himself. He’s just the guy who calls 911, and then the real power shows up. I think that’s a great design, BTW. No one can brag about being able to call 911. A child can do it. God does all the heavy lifting, so He gets all the glory. Like I said, a cool design.
Peace,
SR
Deliverances happen in my church quite often. There is evidence of changed lives afterwards. Every name must bow to the name of Jesus.
Thanks for your post # 6. Full demonic possession may be rare, but lesser forms of possession, obsession and influence are not rare.
“This is the birthright of every legitimate child of God.”
Yes. If someone is born again, the Holy Spirit lives in him. A legitimate child of God has the power to rebuke Satan and his demons. It’s important to “fight” including verbiage of Jesus’ blood as a weapon. The demonic world can’t tolerate the blood of Jesus.
Evangelical missionary friends of ours cast out demons frequently on the foreign field.
I’m thinking that the idea that only priests have some special power to exorcise probably rose as a revenue generating scheme, along with indulgences, etc.
M&M, you said: “I’m thinking that the idea that only priests have some special power to exorcise probably rose....”
that may have came later, but the need for training and understanding had to have come first. One needs to know how to deal with such matters, they are not to be taken lightly, otherwise, the exorcist can also become possessed by the demon.
Actually, it could be both. As I am not Roman Catholic, I don’t have a dog in this particular hunt, but consider this:
Your former girlfriend knew that the meds helped her in controlling her condition, yet on numerous occassions, she chose to stop taking them. Why? I submit that it could be satan or one of his minions telling her that she was OK and didn’t need them anymore and that they affected her badly. As I suffer from depression, I know that when one focuses on depressive thoughts, it can change the brain chemistry and neural pathways, so it becomes more difficult to get ‘out’ of the depression. I suspect something similar for bi-polar vis-a-vis the pathways and brain chemistry. I also know that when I am weakened by such negative thoughts, the lies from the evil one multiply.
There IS a spiritual battle going on all around us. satan and his demons hate God and everything to do with God. The Bible tells us that we are created in God’s image, so all satan and his demons see, is God’s image when they encounter us; therefore, humans are hated by satan and his congregation. satan is brighter than any human and knows that a ‘direct’ attack will fail, so the ‘deciever’ attacks through deception, causing doubt about any and everything that is good, or of God.
My Bible tells me that satan ‘comes only to steal, kill and destroy’. I used to wonder how a non-corporeal being could ‘steal, kill, and destroy’, and what it was that he wanted to ‘steal, kill, and destroy’. Among non-Believers, he most wants to steal their chance at Salvation. Amongst Believers, since he can no longer steal their Salvation, he wants to steal and destroy their faith in Jesus and therefore, their joy, and their belief that God is good, making living a ‘task’ rather than a ‘joy’. Look at Job. A righteous man, he lost his family and wealth, and was reduced to living in a trash dump, scraping his pus-oozing sores with broken pot-shards!
In some small way, I can relate to Job, though not much to the ‘righteous’ part, nor scraping my flesh with pot-shards, thank God! In the last four years, I lost my marriage, my career, my credit rating and, likely in January, my house and dogs. I have let satan run amok in my mind at times, doubting God’s love and praying for a quick end to my pitiful existence. Eventually, I realise that God is allowing these trials for a purpose, though I sure wish the ‘testing’ would end soon!
The mind IS a battlefield between God and the deceiver. Sin legally opens the door to attack from satan. I believe that satanic attacks often do lead to illnesses of many varieties, especially the mind.
I write this, perhaps more for me, than for anyone who may read this.
Any believer can rebuke a demon, but a formal exorcism is more than a rebuke. For example, it usually involves demanding that the demon identify himself, which is a dangerous thing to do for the novice.
Also, real demons quite frequently will taunt exorcists and quite often know things that people would rather not have revealed. They're not to be trifled with. While some of the special effects in the movie "The Exorcist" were bogus, the scene of the demon taunting "Fr. Damien" with his deceased mother's voice, and laying a guilt trip on him for his treatment of her, was pretty accurate.
‘’Nobody is charged money for an exorcism’’
Of course not — in this day and age.
Subtle accusation......
as if they did before...
Please quote a source where Catholic priests charged for exorcisms!
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