If demons are real, why is oppression/possession rare?

[Fiona]

I personally believe in demons, possession etc. I am interested in people's thoughts from both believers and non-believers.

IF demons are real entities, and they do have a mission (of sorts) to either influence us, oppress us or possess us, why is it a rare phenomenon? And I say rare, because even the individuals who have studied it, even performed exorcisms, say that genuine cases are rare to come across.

If there are demons, there must surely be thousands (hundreds of thousands? millions?) of them in our realm, so you would expect that more of us would experience this dark side of life...

Could it mean that these forces (demons, satan, nasty spirits) can only effect you if you allow them, to a degree? I have read recently in a book about true life exorcisms that to a degree, all people who become fully possessed did, in some way, co-operate with the demon, either through life-style or actions etc. As most of us wouldn't be inclined to do negative things, maybe that's why we are uneffected.

OR could it be that demonic influence is actually all around us, hence the state of our world, the bad things that seem to happen without reason, without cause, and we are over-looking the demonic in favour of being able to sensibly rationalise these things?

Or do you think it's all non-sense, and that's why most of us would never come across this phenomenon?

Just thought it'd be good to hear some of your opinions.

[Jophiel]

I do not think it is so rare. You will find that most people do not share my opinion, however.

[Bracket]

I tend to believe it's all non-sense, and that's why most of us would never come across this phenomenon. There are some strange cases out there but i don't believe in a heaven or a hell.

[Fiona]

Jophiel - You said you do not think possession is rare. I don't pretend to know a great deal about the subject, but the few factual books/web pages often talk of it being unusual - something like for every thousand people who go to the priest, only one is genuinely possessed (or something like that.)
Do you think many out there are, then, suffering with possession but unaware, or perhaps being treated as mentally ill?
Or are many suffering alone- without anyone knowing?

[Browncoat]

Well, Fiona, I think this is a sticky question.

First we have no general idea how many demons actually exist. Sure, it could be millions, but it would only be a hundred or less.

We also have to be mindful that not all cultures believe in demons and so they are likely to count demonic activity as something else (just as predominantly Christian societies are much more likely to say demon than, say, djini). Because of this any sort of genuine study of demonic activity it limited to a very narrow sampling of the world (eg. Christian societies that believe it is possible for a demon to possess/oppress a human being).

Another big contributing factor is to look at the state of the person who was affected by the demon. It is largely pointed to that demonic forces tend to affect people in very stressful mental situations. I would say that given this, the number of people who would attract a demonic force goes down significantly when compared to the population at large.

It's also worth noting that demonic oppression could also be diagnosed as a negative haunting. If this diagnosis was made, the person could have taken steps according to their beliefs that fought off the presence and then chalked their experience to to a negative human spirit instead of a negative inhuman one.

In truthfulness, without siding with a particular religious point of view, there is relatively little information on demons. Because of this we really so have an incomplete picture of them, their desires and their complete methods of attack. Yes, we anecdotally can piece together a working profile from what documented modern cases we do have... but far less independent work has been done on investigating demons than on investigating ghosts... so who knows... maybe in five or ten years we'll have more information and be able to paint a more complete picture... until then it'll all best guess scenarios and faith.

[scarygirl67]

I believe demons exist...I believe there are a very few cases of full on possession...I think it tends to be an oppression more often than not. And I think oppressions are not so rare.

I have gone back and forth on my beliefs about demons...I used to read and research about it, and the more I read...the more confused I became. And so much misinformation and flat out hoaxes have jaded me more than I ever wanted to be about the subject.

I stopped reading..and I looked around. I saw how negative energy has a full-on playground, (Tornado Slide included!) provided by the human race. I see subtle things every day that show how people are oppressed...by their own demons. I see evil continue because good people do nothing about it.

What I am going to say next comes from my point of view...and I may well not be right. And yes it is a Christian based viewpoint...but trust me when I tell you,many Christians disagree with me.

In my opinion, we (the collective we, not anyone specific) provide the food for the angels God cast out with Lucifer when they wanted to do things their way. We give them what they want...and we don't even see it happening. They have to work very little...we do most of that. I think of it this way:

Every time someone is judged, a demon is fed
Every time someone is violated, a demon is fed
Every time someone kills in God's name, a demon is fed
Every time CERTAIN POLITICIANS open their mouths, a demon is fed
Every time supposed people of God replace God with their own agenda, a demon is fed
Every time there is intolerance, a demon is fed.

And the list goes on.

Each time these things are done....that's a lot of feeding times! So can we really be surprised when there are those who feel oppressed...weighed down..."cursed"....when there is this energy that's out there? Whatever name you call it..I believe it is very real and very powerful...because the human race has allowed it to be.

The reason I believe instances of oppression seem rare is because many people don't realize it's happened...they're too caught up in it. But I don't believe it is targeting anyone in particular...we've done too good a job of doing that to ourselves. In my opinion, cases of full on possession are rare because it simply isn't necessary...why focus on one entree when there is a whole smorgasborg out there?

Sorry for the ramble, and these are only my opinions. I'm not an expert, and I am certainly willing to admit where I might be wrong in my assessment of it.

[Fiona]

ScaryGirl- Amazing post! Loved it, and I tend to agree with you.

Quote:The reason I believe instances of oppression seem rare is because many people don't realize it's happened...they're too caught up in it. But I don't believe it is targeting anyone in particular...we've done too good a job of doing that to ourselves. In my opinion, cases of full on possession are rare because it simply isn't necessary...why focus on one entree when there is a whole smorgasborg out there?

What a wonderful and intelligent way of viewing it. There could possibly be thousands (millions?) the world over who are actually experiencing oppression and are totally unaware- the negativity could eventually be normal to them, could be a way of life, and therefore it wouldn't stand out as oppression. We don't know (and this might sound stupid and fanciful) that many of the crimes are not commited under some sort of oppression...Although that's a dodgy area because I don't think that people should be given a "get out of jail free card" by using "the devil made me do it" tactics IF they were fully responsible for their actions. Having said that, if oppression is a true experience, maybe many individuals do commit their evil acts under influence??

And the idea that demons wouldn't neccessarily want to fully possess one person as it makes sense to influence many than to take over one individual sounds possible to me. A really good point.

[Haunted Lady]

Oppression is actually quite commonplace. A string of job losses, divorce, mental illness, depression, poor self esteem, history of abuse whether victim or abuser, drug addiction, alcoholism, a life in continual crisis...these are all indicators of demonic oppression. Recognizing this and understanding who you are in Christ (or any other religious diety of your choosing) releases us from the bondage of oppression.

From Wiki; Oppression is the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner. It can also be defined as an act or instance of oppressing, the state of being oppressed, and the feeling of being heavily burdened, mentally or physically, by troubles, adverse conditions, and anxiety.

Possession is more rare in that people generally seek some sort of guidance or assistance in crisis, whether by spiritual advisor or professional laymans therapuetic means (psychological, medical, addiction services etc.). Either spiritual or therapuetic intervention can hinder oppression before possession comes in full force, and full blown possession is always pre-empted by an oppression period.

You think it's rare? Tell me how many unemployed, criminals, mentally ill, alcoholics, drug addicts, sex addicts, self masochistic, prostitutes, abused individuals, poorly educated, and starving people there are in the world. The list goes on...add them all up, you have mass oppression numbering in the billions.

People who are possessed can exhibit the same symptomatic conditions to an extreme. Just as an example, take the alcoholic who knows they are alcoholic...suffers from Cirrosis and continues to drink. They have lost all ability to be responsible for one's self. Their fate now lies in the hands of the demons within them.

I could make examples of any of the above afflicted individuals. Possession does not always come in the form we have been shown in the movie "The Exorcist". What you see in the movies is quite rare...and generally only occurs when a demon has no other means of remaining by Earthly affliction.

[Browncoat]

(02-01-2010 03:15 PM)Haunted Lady Wrote:  You think it's rare? Tell me how many unemployed, criminals, mentally ill, alcoholics, drug addicts, sex addicts, self masochistic, prostitutes, abused individuals, poorly educated, and starving people there are in the world. The list goes on...add them all up, you have mass oppression numbering in the billions.

Wait, are you implying that everyone who falls under the above symptoms is demonically oppressed?

Doesn't this kind of violate Occam's Razor which would say that instead of supernatural forces, these people are the victims of either their own poor choices or the poor choices of others (counting of course environmental and societal factors).

It seems unrealistic to think that all of societies woes are the result of demonic involvement instead of just blaming run of the mill every day people and making them take responsibility for their lives.

[Haunted Lady]

(02-01-2010 03:23 PM)Browncoat Wrote:  

(02-01-2010 03:15 PM)Haunted Lady Wrote:  You think it's rare? Tell me how many unemployed, criminals, mentally ill, alcoholics, drug addicts, sex addicts, self masochistic, prostitutes, abused individuals, poorly educated, and starving people there are in the world. The list goes on...add them all up, you have mass oppression numbering in the billions.

Wait, are you implying that everyone who falls under the above symptoms is demonically oppressed?

Doesn't this kind of violate Occam's Razor in saying that instead of supernatural forces, these people are the victims of either their own poor choices or the poor choices of others (counting of course environmental and societal factors).

It seems unrealistic to think that all of societies woes are the result of demonic involvement instead of just blaming run of the mill every day people and making them take responsibility for their lives.

If it is not of God it is of Satan.
If it does not belong to the light, it is of the darkness.

Period. There is no further argument or discussion necessary.

Also SG, I believe your response is right on the money. You know, I am putting up a sign in my house TODAY that says PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE DEMONS!