The Aurora Murders and Demonic Possession?

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."

The late Father John Hardon was an expert on demonology wrote the following....

The evil spirit tries to seduce not only the human mind but also the human will. He entices our wills by releasing our passions. He wants to arouse the passions of the flesh and, what is less obvious, the passions of the soul. Why should he want to do this? What connection is there between passion and sin? The connection is that of cause and effect. Sin always leaves its mark on the sinner. It is like throwing a bottle of nitric acid into a person’s face and burning out his eyes. Every sin we commit weakens our powers of reason and intelligent perception. The more serious the sin and the more often committed, the greater is this induced darkening of man’s most precious possession, which makes him most like God, his ability to think. Sinners do not think, they emote, and then write learned volumes defending their irrationality.

How otherwise explain the crimes of a Stalin or a Hitler, who sent millions to their death in the cold deserts of Siberia and the gas chambers and hot ovens of Germany? How otherwise explain the mania of abortion?

No human beings, unless inspired by the devil, could be so cruel as to murder millions of innocent children. Only demonic hatred or lust for power and pleasure could explain what we are now witnessing in one once civilized country after another.- Father John Hardon

The call for more exorcists is likely based on a combination of things that the church thinks need a serious response.

Many Catholics feel deeply troubled by the evil at work in the world, much of which, perhaps even most of which, is caused by men, who do not deserve the excuse that they are inspired by demons. They are just naturally evil, or have learned to be evil. Often they truly desire to be evil.

Such evil can be overwhelming to a person of faith, and just visiting church and praying is not enough for some. They take it upon themselves to think that they are the reason that evil is visited on them. That they are being punished for their sins, real or imagined, or that they are being tormented by demons.

Truthfully, they need spiritual “house calls”, for a priest to call on them in their home, to drive out that which is in them or their environment that attracts, brings in and sustains evil. Someone with greater spiritual strength than they can muster, an expert of the pure and the impure, who can recognize and expel that which torments them, within and without.

For a priest to attempt such a thing is not easy, because in such a case there are *never* false alarms.

(As an aside, acupuncturists have an axiom that if someone complains of a problem, they have a problem, and if one is not evident, they have not looked hard enough. And when they do find it, it will likely be very serious, as it is strong enough to conceal its true nature. A very fitting analogy in this case.)

For an exorcist, while their emphasis is on the spiritual, they must also contend with the physical, both within and outside the afflicted. Bodily disease and mental illness are not exclusive to spiritual suffering, and a person may look healthy and happy, or horrible, depressed and distraught, and still need deep spiritual healing and protection.

The truth of exorcism is based in its demand, and the Pope is right in enlarging the ranks of exorcists. Even without demons they are essential. With demons, they are at war.

“I’m inclined to think that this is possession. I’m also inclined to think that we’ll be seeing more of this.”

I agree with you on both counts. There is a spiritual battle raging and the dark side is winning (temporarily, of course, the Gates of Hell will not prevail in the end). Just within my own daughters’ (4) circles of friends many of them were never even baptized - in other the words the ranks of the unbaptized are increasing, original sin in the collective is gaining power - not necessarily manifesting in the individual per se(although possibly), but as a collective negative force.

Catholics do not believe that Satan is currently bound. We believe that good and evil will coexist on earth (at war with each other) until the end. The tension that exists on earth between the righteous and the wicked will be resolved only by Christ’s return at the end of time.

I think you're right that this is called amillennialism. I don't know much more about it than that.

The Catholic Church teaches that things will get a whole heck of a lot worse toward the end, when Satan exhibits great power and deceives a great multitude of people.

You could say that compared to what's coming, Satan is "relatively" inactive now, his power is "to some extent" bound. Why do I say that? Because the Gospel can still be preached in most countries, and the total number of Christians in the world has not stopped growing, despite struggle and persecution.

But at some point it's going to get horrendous, and everywhere. God help us.

“Salvation is a totally separate issue from suffering the earthly consequence of one’s actions.”

Nothing is separate from Salvation. Growing toward, or moving away from salvation is a direct consequence of one’s actions. Remember, the individual’s fruit is an indication of the status of their soul.

Tis far better to Love thy enemy. Allowing a soul to torture itself by facing its contradictions and working toward salvation is a far better path than terminating one’s opportunity for soul growth. Life is precious on both ends. Prayerful thoughts to an evil person are more uncomfortable than a bullet.

Excellent quotes. Thank you for sharing.

It really is simple... We are good seeds, placed in this field to grow. Our enemy has planted “weeds” among us who are now sprouting as we approach the harvest. The more we resemble weeds, the easier it is for them to hide and not be seen.

Life is about finding and removing the obstacles to “Love” that exist within us as “Perfect Love” casts out fear. The weeds try to create fear to caste out Love in order that they may hide amongst us.

A light that shines from within casts no shadow, nor does it allow a place for the weeds to hide.

If anything, I am of the opinion that modern Psychology is of the devil in many cases

You are conflating Psychology, especially “Pop Psychology” with Psychiatry. Unlike Psychologists, Psychiatrists are medical doctors, and while both treat people afflicted with mental illness, only a Psychiatrist is qualified to diagnose and treat and medicate for organic metal illnesses like bi-polar disorders and schizophrenia or refer them to a Neurologist to rule out things like brain tumors or other brain abnormalities or diseases that might cause someone to suddenly and uncharacteristically start behaving irrationally or violently.

Are there good Psychologists and Psychiatrists and are there quacks? – sure there are, just as there are in any profession. My point is that jumping to the conclusion that someone who commits such an “Evil” act is doing so because they are possessed by the “Devil” is ignoring the possibility that the person is medically and or psychiatrically ill. Even the Catholic Church, as being a Catholic you must surely know, will refer people exhibiting signs of a psychiatric illness to a qualified psychiatrist and or refer them to an MD to rule out a medical or a true psychiatric illness before even beginning to consider some sort of a “spiritual cause”. But that was not always the case. In a bygone era, people suffering from diseases like Epilepsy and Cerebral Palsy were once considered to be “Demon Possessed” and despite all efforts to “Exorcise” them; it was in vein because they had a very real medical illness and not a “spiritual” one.

This is for you

Thanks! I have nothing against prayer and having been raised Catholic, I am already familiar with this prayer. But while prayer is not a bad thing as far as it goes, if I were to suffer from a gunshot wound, while I might pray to for the intersession of St. Michael , I’d also be praying pretty hard for some EMT’s and medical doctors – just saying.

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