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The term "demons" was not always understood
to have the absolutely negative connotation that it
does today. Homer used the terms "demons" and "gods"
more or less interchangeably. Another opinion was
that demons were intermediaries between men and
gods, and that demons had once been men. Plutarch
speaks of "human souls as commencing, first heroes,
then demons, and afterward as advancing to a more
sublime degree." Philo of Byblus seems to draw on
this same tradition when he states that, "The most
ancient of the barbarians, especially the
Phoenicians and Egyptians, from whom other people
derived this custom, accounted those the greatest
gods who had found out things most necessary and
useful in life -- and had been benefactors to
mankind."
There is, of course, a true doctrine about demons or
evil spirits, namely, that portion of Catholic
theology which treats of the creation and fall of
the rebel angels, and of the various ways in which
these fallen spirits are permitted to tempt and
afflict the children of men. But for the most part
these questions will be dealt with elsewhere in this
work. Here, on the contrary, our chief concern is
with the various ethnic, Jewish, and heretical
systems of demonology. These systems are so many
that it will be out of the question to deal with
them all or to set forth their doctrines with
completeness. And indeed a full treatment of these
strange doctrines of demons might well seem somewhat
out of place in these pages. It will be enough to
give some indication of the main features of a few
of the more important systems in various lands and
in distant ages. This may enable the reader to
appreciate the important part played by these ideas
in the course of human history and their influence
on the religion and morals and social life of the
people. At the same time some attempt may be made to
distinguish the scattered elements of truth which
may still be found in this vast fabric of falsehood
— truths of natural religion, recorded experience of
actual facts, even perhaps remnants of revealed
teaching that come from the Jewish and Christian
Scriptures or from primitive tradition. This point
has some importance at the present day, when the
real or apparent agreement between heathen legend
and Christian theology is so often made a ground of
objection against the truth of revealed religion.
Before we get into the warning signs, I want to make
an important point. What follows is a guide; it can
help you to make a determination whether there is a
psychiatric problem or a demonic one. However, it is
not the end all. One should not read an article on
brain tumors and diagnose themselves as having one.
Neither should they look at this article and decide
they are possessed by an evil entity. If you are the
type of person who is very suggestible, I suggest
you do not read any further. The purpose of this
article is to inform people regarding what is out
there. It is not meant to scare the hell out of
anyone. If you feel that you are or may be
possessed, please contact a professional. You can
contact this website or any other site that deals
with the subject of demonic possession. Do not
diagnose yourself.
The line between the posesion in mental illness is
not so vague. There is some gray area but there are
so many things that occur with possession, things
that are taking place around the person, that it is
hard to classify what is taking place as strictly
psychiatric. Those things are called “outward
manifestations.” These are things like moving
objects in the house, voices that are not coming
from the person. There may even be physical assaults
by unseen entities.
What we will do here is produce a list of conditions
that must be met to properly diagnose the problem.
Where there are emotional symptoms or symptoms that
are likely to be a result of mental illness, I will
say so. However, it must be pointed out that many
who are possessed are also mentally ill. It may be a
direct result of the possession; it may be why the
possession took place.
Outward Manifestations
1 Objects move around seemingly by themselves.
2 Objects may disappear and not be found again. (Asporting)
3 Objects may disappear and be found in another
location. (Teleporting)
4 Objects may disappear and later be found where
they originally were.
5 Objects may come from nowhere. (Apports)
6 Knocking, banging or pounding may be heard
throughout the house or in just one room.
7 Objects fly around as if they were thrown from
unseen hands.
8 There may be knocks at the door but no one is ever
there. These are often heard in threes, as this is a
way of mocking the Holy Trinity. Ditto for
doorbells.
9 Religious articles disappear or are destroyed.
They may also be desecrated.
10 Growling may be heard but the source cannot be
located.
11 There may be scratching sounds heard without an
obvious source.
12 There may be foul odors that have no verifiable
source. They may come and go.
13 Odd lights may be seen. They may shoot around a
room.
14 Heavy furniture may move on its own.
15 There may be sightings of people or dark shadows
that may or may not have form.
16 Odd-looking creatures may be seen.
17 Doors and drawers may open and close on their
own.
18 Electrical appliances may turn on or off.
19 Spontaneous fires may start up.
20 Animals may become spooked and stay away from the
targeted person altogether.
21 Animals may growl at something they see but you
do not.
22 Any talk of God or religion may cause an outbreak
of activity.
23 Glass may break for no reason.
24 Sounds of glass breaking may be heard but there
is no evidence of it happening.
25 There may be sudden temperature changes, up and
down although it is usually down. These can be
recorder on a thermometer.
25 A person may suddenly become cold while the
temperature remains constant. A thermometer may
record a one to two degree drop in that person.
26 People may have a feeling of being watched or
that they are not alone.
27 People may hear voices when no one is present.
28 People will often hear their name called only to
find that no one is around. Sometimes, a couple will
each think they heard the other call to them.
29 There may be a sensation of wind blowing even
with the windows closed.
30 Lights will go off or not come on when turned on.
31 Apparent retaliation after some attempt to stop
the activity.
32 Activity starts up when you attempt to say
prayers.
33 Apparent retaliation if a clergyman has been to
the home.
34 Physical attacks. It might be in the form of
punching, scratching, biting, hair pulling, etc.
35 Psychological attacks. The devil knows your
weaknesses and will try to exploit them. Someone who
feels ashamed about something will have an increase
in that emotion. The same is true for depression,
anxiety and anything else you can think of.
36 Sexual assaults. This can run the gamut from
fondling to actual penetration. This can occur in
males as well as females.
37 Levitation of objects or people.
If any such things happen with you contact us
immediately. |
