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The_Professional
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Has demon possession been researched? Did science find anything convincing?
http://www.masslive.com/living/republican/index.ssf?/base/living-2/110577903962460.xmlReaders of "Glimpses of the Devil" might be tempted to ask, "What would possesses a respected psychiatrist to pen a book about his work as an exorcist?" ..."I went to confirm my belief that the devil didn't exist," Peck said. "What happened was that my belief was shaken up - more than shaken up, it was blown to smithereens." [continued]
Ivan Seeking said:Based on what I've seen, most "evidence" is anecdotal and in the domain of the Catholic Church.
arildno said:The "possession" phenomenon occurs just about only within a highly religious community with strict (so-called "moral") principles of living. In particular, those principles seeks a strong regulation of the members sexuality.
Since religion is a load of nonsense, you're right: I feel no obligation to treat it with a respect it doen't deserve.jackle said:Yeah, we don't have a religion forum anymore because the feelings were too strong on all sides.
jackle said:This is far from the case. Almost all "charismatic" christians believe in a literal devil and demon possesion. The main difference between Protestant and Catholic traditions is that Catholics practice "exorcism", while Protestant charismatics call it "deliverance". Demonology also exists in many other world religions. Piles of books have been published on the topic by honest people, but the interpretation of the facts is obviously open to question.
The_Professional said:I've seen footages of people being exorcised, and one of the was a petite young woman who was speaking latin and was being held down by 10 guys. From what I've gathered, possessed victims display an unusual amount of strength and the capacity to speak a diff. language. I'm sure they could study this further and find something
I've also read that on most cases, only less than one percent is really possessed
franznietzsche said:The only part of "possession" that is ever difficult to explain other wise is the ability to start speaking toher languages, particularly dead languages that no one outside of the catholic church would know (and i don't mean lay people either. Papal nuncios study languages such as attic greek and aramaic, in training).
Moonbear said:And if those few who can verify the language also have a bias toward wanting to perpetuate the belief in the supernatural,
Curious3141 said:For me to ever believe that possession is anything but a psychiatric manifestation, unexplainable physical phenomena need to occur.
jackle said:The phenomena that puzzles me is that seemingly ordinary people can wind up blurting out nonsence about being the devil and taking on personalities that are out of their control. Does anyone have any examples of this happening outside exorcisms?
Demon possession is a belief that an individual's body and mind are controlled by a malevolent supernatural entity, usually referred to as a demon. This belief is commonly found in various religions and cultures around the world.
No, demon possession has not been scientifically proven. The concept of demon possession falls under the realm of the supernatural, which is not verifiable through scientific methods.
Yes, there have been some studies and research conducted on the phenomenon of demon possession. However, most of these studies have been limited to case studies and anecdotal evidence, and there is no scientific consensus on the existence of demon possession.
Scientists generally do not support the belief in demon possession as it goes against scientific principles and lacks empirical evidence. They view it as a cultural or religious belief rather than a scientifically verifiable concept.
Yes, in many cases, mental illness can be mistaken for demon possession. Mental health professionals and scientists believe that many cases of supposed demon possession can be explained by psychological and neurological disorders. It is important to seek proper medical and psychological treatment in such cases.