Posted on 07/25/2012 4:36:32 PM PDT by stfassisi
What makes a mild mannered, promising young scientist decide to arm himself to the teeth, walk into a suburban movie theater and start killing innocent people at random?
Did he have a bad childhood experience? Doesn't seem that way. Everybody says he was a nice, very smart, shy kid. Maybe a bit of a geek, but there are millions of geeks who don't go on killing sprees. Was he insane? There weren't any warning signs that he was crazy. Was he politically or religiously motivated? No evidence. Was he driven crazy by violent video games? He didn't seem to play more than most kids. Was his mind poisoned by the nihilistic second Batman movie? It was a dark film, but millions saw it and didn't go on a rampage. Was he somehow "possessed" by the Joker character? Some say the demonic Joker drove Heath Ledger to kill himself.
Now it's getting spooky. There was a weird phone message with bizarre guttural voices and moans. Was he demon possessed? Maybe. It happens.
Demonic infestation is a rare, strange and terrible psycho-spiritual affliction. In simple terms, a malevolent, separate intelligence infests the mind and spirit of a person. It takes over the rational faculties and dominates the personality. The phenomenon is real, but anyone who has ever dealt with the problem realizes that the demonic realm is complex. The human person is an intricate organism in which the physical, mental and spiritual aspects are totally interwoven. Therefore, in most cases, trying to diagnose the possibility of demonic influence is extremely difficult.
This is because, in theory, demonic influence in a personality can exist on several different levels. Experts disagree about the terminology and extent of the diabolical influence, and in this arcane discipline, for reasons that will become clear, there are few set rules or guidelines. However, some levels of demonic involvement can be observed.
The first level of demonic influence is temptation. This is not just the mild desire to drink too much, overindulge, or have a sexual dalliance. That's just part of being human. If there is a demonic element, the "temptation" is to do something radically and extremely vile. This can happen in a person's life without any sign of supernatural activity.
The second level of demonic influence is obsession. At this level, there is still no sign of anything paranormal happening. The person starts to give in to the temptation. He may become reclusive and secretive as he becomes obsessed with the evil that he is entertaining. This evil may be in the form of occult activity, violent video games or movies, pornography, drug abuse, sexual perversion, sexual promiscuity, or obsession with power and violence.
The obsession with evil will probably have an addictive element. The personality begins to change. The individual may seem "normal" most of the time, but he'll have "dark moments" when his "inner demons" take over. The difficulty in diagnosing demonic influence is that these same symptoms may indicate substance abuse problems, mental illness, social maladjustment, emotional inadequacy, relationship problems or a complex web of such difficulties. Demonic influence will cause these symptoms, but these symptoms are not necessarily a sign of demonic activity.
In the first two levels of demonic influence, the malevolent spirit is still outside the personality. On the third level, the malevolent spirit seems to enter the whole person in a spiritual, mental and even physical dimension. This level of influence is called infestation. This is the stuff of exorcism movies—when the person exhibits disturbing physical, mental, and spiritual signs of infestation. The individual is "taken over" by the demonic spirit and paranormal phenomena are exhibited. When the signs of preternatural strength are seen, horrible alien voices come from the person, vile blasphemies are heard and perverted and violent actions are witnessed, one can be fairly sure that a demonic infestation is happening. However, many of these symptoms may also be signs of a deep mental or spiritual illness which is not demonic in origin.
The final stage of demonic influence is possession. This is when the malevolent spirit does not manifest itself any longer, but hides within the personality rather like a parasite. The person will appear to return to normal, but there is a shadow within. Even if they do so in a respectable and "normal" manner, they will live only for themselves and the darkness within.
In analyzing these levels of demonic influence, one must remember that each level builds on the former and there may be no sequence, predictability or diagnostic tests. In dealing with the interface between the paranormal realm and the complexities of the human person, the exorcist often feels like he is walking blindfolded through a minefield set in quicksand. He is wrestling with a pool of oily octopuses. He is on the edge of chaos where there is no foothold.
Is James Holmes demon possessed? It is impossible to say without a detailed diagnosis. Even then, it is a slippery question. We are dealing with a reality that is rubbery. In many ways this is the wrong question. Better to ask, "Was James Holmes taken over by Evil?"
Yes. Something happened to the mild mannered science geek. He turned into a monster. Something twisted in his mind and heart, and Evil made an entry. Evil infested his life. It took him over. Whether the twist was through mental illness, some inner wound or some terrible dark intelligence, we cannot say. The fact that we can't say what went wrong and don't have a neat and tidy answer is the key to understanding the terrible conundrum of evil.
When faced with mindless massacres, we don't have a rational answer—and that is the rational answer. What I mean is that the further one goes down the path of Evil, the more it becomes irrational and mindless. Evil, by its very nature, is a lie, a subterfuge, a deceit and a vast web of contradictions and inconsistencies. Evil is, by it's nature, the darkness and the chaos—where what seems reasonable is only a smoke screen for the absurd, and what seems logical is a pretext for irrationality.
A friend of mine who is an exorcist says this is why the ministry of exorcism is so exhausting and grueling—because the demons constantly lie. Whenever evil is manifested, it wears a mask. The evil ones squirm and hide. They flatter one moment and hiss with rage the next. They are one moment obsequious and aggressive the next. Because they are liars, reason and trust can find no grasp. Pure Evil is random, violent and unpredictable.
Furthermore, Evil is, by it's nature, perverse and twisted. Evil has nothing positive in itself. It can only ever twist, pervert and destroy what is good. Consequently, Evil seeks innocent victims. Goodness is the fuel and fodder for Evil. Evil kills and feasts on the good.
This is why evil feels so bad. We wouldn't mind so much if bad people got gunned down by a vengeful killer. But Evil doesn't work that way. Evil seeks innocent victims. That's why it's evil. We wouldn't feel so bad if vile, genocidal dictators get their just reward and hang, but evil seeks out the helpless old person, the vulnerable woman, the child yet unborn.
All we can do when faced with mindless evil is recognize that it is mindless. The only answer is that there is no answer. The murders in Aurora and the crazed face of James Holmes remind us that real evil is random and meaningless. It is deadly and ruthless and cruel simply to be deadly, ruthless and cruel. All we can do is gaze on in fascinated horror at the senseless suffering.
Then we can pick ourselves up and also remember that goodness always overcomes evil. Evil is the absence of rationality, the absence of good, the absence of love. Evil is the dark compared to light. Evil is cold compared to heat. The cold and dark feel bad, but they are the absence of light and heat. Likewise, Evil is the absence not only of Good, but the outgoing power of Good which theologians call Love.
The true answer to the absurdity of evil is the supernatural rationality of love, for love is the outgoing goodness that counters evil. By "love," I do not mean merely sentimental or erotic love. I mean a power that is positive and creative and dynamic and pro-active in the world—the power which Dante said "moved the Sun and the other stars."
Love is the divine force of rationality and goodness. Love is the force which empowered three murdered men in the cinema in Aurora to shield their girlfriends from harm. Love is the force which makes the meaningless meaningful through the strange power of forgiveness, and which brings sacrifice in the face of insane self-love. Love is the light in the darkness, and Love is the meaning that makes us remember in a compassionate connection that this dark act took place in a town named Aurora, which holds a hopeful meaning: "Daybreak."
Most antipscychotics have no taper.
That’s hardly the case. Where did you come by that misapprehension of reality? Until recently, drug treatment was a rarity in psychiatry.
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Since managed care it is certainly the case. All pscyhiatrists I know that practice bill for med eval or mgmt. No one I know refers to a psychiatrist unless it is for medications.
I admit this theory has crossed my mind more and more in the last decade. unexplained evil. Such as the canibal guy in florida. or the guy in pennsylvania who was anormal guy his whole life and one day guns down a whole school of amish girls? over and over we are hearing about perfectly normal people who just do unexplainable evil....Most times though they either commit suicide or are killed. It will be interesting to see what comes of this guy.
Theologically, yes I acknowledge the existence of living supernatural entities that can be invited into one’s mind. The “succubus” can’t go anywhere if not invited.
Thank you.
It might actually be easier to ascribe a human motive to the last minute concentration camp slaughterers than to the Batman movie shooter. Maybe they were angry that their captives were drawing vengeance upon them, however belated, and held a grudge. There would be no other reason, as far as they could see, for those “execrable Jew loving” Allies to storm the camps.
The Batman movie shooter had no reason, even a shortsighted one, to bear a grudge.
///What happens if the exorcist gets rid of the demon and the innocent kid comes back? Is he still responsible?
Yes...he gave into it, just as one who commits a crime while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. He is still responsible, and in no way innocent.
There did not seem to be any score to settle, wickedly or otherwise, for this shooter.
Yes! I agree!
This horrible incident is a simple reminder that all forms of oppression from the enemy, including possesion is for REAL.
Got to remember that, even the Church now is working to bring back in a big way, the practice of exorcism by training more priests to do this practice.
This is why I always think of what Paul said in his famous “putting on the armor of God” teaching, because he knew there were forces that are from the darkness.
That is why, even for those who are in Christian based deliverance prayer ministries, if it is a case of true demonic possesion, they would call out the “big guns” and bring in a Roman Catholic priest who is trained to do exorcism.
Thank you for posting this, stfassisi. I agree with Father Longnecker. I’m inclined to think that this is possession. I’m also inclined to think that we’ll be seeing more of this.
“Please pray for all effected by this evil act. “
Please remember to include Holmes in your prayers. While a prayerful blessing to an evil person is like placing hot coals upon their heads, the energy of a loving prayer can drive the evil from him and redeem his soul. This is not about torturing him, but loving him. If we allow ourselves to hate him, we are lowering ourselves to his level and becoming like him. This is what darkness wants. Our only power over darkness is the love and light that shines through us from our Father.
Remember, it is good to love your friends, but better to love your enemies!
“The Catholic church is first to admit that before demonic activities might even be considered, the situation must be clearly established to *not* be mental illness.”
While it is “true” that before a priest exocist must first determine if the person who is the subject of the said exocism could also be suffering from “mental illness”, would it surprise you that if my memory is correct, Pope Benedict XVI did call for more priests to be trained to be “exocists” a few years back?
In this very difficult and dark age, we do need more trained priests exocists. Also an important reminder of the unity of body, mind, and soul in the human body.
“///What happens if the exorcist gets rid of the demon and the innocent kid comes back? Is he still responsible?
Yes...he gave into it, just as one who commits a crime while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. He is still responsible, and in no way innocent.”
This is about saving his soul. If the soul is saved, it will not matter that he will be incarcerated as his soul will be at peace. Remember, Moses was a murderer. So was Saul who became Paul. Peter cut off the guys ear and denied Jesus. Sometimes the guy upstairs picks the biggest screw ups for his most important work. Go figure.
I just remember Jesus saying in John that He came here not to judge, but to save.
“Got to remember that, even the Church now is working to bring back in a big way, the practice of exorcism by training more priests to do this practice.”
Problem is, this is not a procedure that you train for as it is not done by you when it happens. The only way to be a good exorcist is to realize that they are not doing the exorcism, but the Spirit of Our Father working through them. I’ve done hundreds of them and have encountered situations that would make the events in the movie Exorcist seem like child’s play. If I ever think that I am doing the exorcisms, pride will enter me and inflate my sense of self. When I am full of myself I have no room for God to work through me! Each and every time I am in awe at the power of God and feel deep gratitude for having the opportunity to be a servant.
There is nothing more fulfilling than to see a weed redeem itself and become a light worker. It’s never too late, even after physical death as the last our is not until the harvest.
When it first happened, I mentioned demon possession. Not one of complete control over a person, but one of spiritual attacks pushing him towards the deed. If one opens themselves up to evil, it can be a very powerful force.
Just speaking from my Christian faith tradition.
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