Demon Possession
Jason Carter wcarter@mediaone.net
Mon, 01 Feb 1999 23:47:11 -0500 (00917952431, 3.0.1.32.19990201234711.00812e70@pop.atl.mediaone.net)
At 08:21 PM 2/1/99 -0800, you wrote:
>
>----------
>>From: "Achilles" <achillesz@usa.net>
>>To: errancy@infidels.org
>>Subject: Re: Demon Possession
>>Date: Mon, Feb 1, 1999, 12:08 PM
>>
>
>>On 1 Feb 99, at 16:14, Matthew Bell wrote:
>>>
>>> <snip>
>>>
>>> > Ed
>>> >
>>> > I'd consider your experience anomalous in that typically the
participants
>>> > in an exorcism all share the same view of the process; i.e. Hindus
exorcise
>>> > Hindus, Christians exorcise Christians, etc.. As I recall, you
mentioned
>>> > conducting an exorcism on a Christian after you were no longer a
Christian.
>>> > If that's right, it'd be extraordinarily rare.
>>>
>>> Matthew Bell
>>> What absolute nonsense!! '....Christians exorcise Christians'. Christians
>>> exorcise whoever happens to be in their opinion possessed whether they be
>>> witches, Hindu's, atheists, etc etc. Further to this I have already
stated my
>>> opinion that Christians cannot be possessed, hence what is there to
exorcise?
>>>
>Ray:
>The predominant Christian religion in the world, namely Roman Catholics,
>exorcise Christians (Catholics) all the time. They were doing it long before
>your brand of Christianity showed up.
CARTER
Exorcisms are a common practice of missionaries to foreign countries,
performed
on people who are not Christian. Bell was right in asserting that Ed's
comment was "absolute nonsense." Once again, to clarify, there is a
difference between
possession, and demonization (having a demon). From current demonology
studies,
(Bubeck, Dickason, and others), they are all in agreement that a Christian
may
have a demon that can be exorcised, though he is not "possessed", in the
sense of the demon owning him or her.
-Jaosn