Demon Possession, What Are Your Experiences?

[sethosayher]

Being an ex-pentecostal means I've seen my fair share of batshit insane things. Speaking in tongues, holy-rollers who quite literally collapse to the ground and convulse like madmen...and "demon possession." As far as I'm concerned this is perhaps one of the most deplorable and psychologically scarring ideas in Pentecostal Christianity. When a Pastor told my sister that a demon was trying to enter her, she couldn't get to bed for several days. Sleepless nights are on the mild side of what accusations of demon-possession can do to a person. An example from an article I read:

 

http://www.atheistrev.com/2007/10/ode-to-tony.html

 

"I vividly recall what happened to Tony when his parents realized what he'd been up to. Long before then, I was no longer allowed in his house when his parents were around. That I did not attend their church and looked rather unsavory was more than enough. But now his parents found some of his metal records. After they grounded him for a couple weeks and destroyed every record and tape he owned in front of him, everything seemed to be resolved. He retreated to his room in anger, feeling that he had little choice but to wait out the grounding before seeing his friends again.

 

Late one night after he'd been asleep for hours, Tony was suddenly awakened by dozens of hands grabbing him. His eyes opened to reveal at least 10 faces looming over him. He recognized them as his parents and many people from their church, mostly men. They held him to his bed as he struggled, placing as many men as it took on each arm and leg, with others pinning his shoulders. He could not free himself - there was just too many of them. As his heart raced with terror, the assailants began praying over him. His parents, along with other pastors (ever notice how the crazier church always seem to have an army of pastors?), then began to perform an exorcism. Tony was told that he was possessed by demons and that the group was going to exorcise them by any means necessary. Prayers, threats, and physical abuse would ensue for several hours. They continued until near dawn. Tony was exhausted to the point where he could no longer resist. He broke. He told them what they wanted to hear, even acting out what he thought it must look like for demons to leave one's body. There was nothing else he could do.

 

The next time I saw Tony, I realized the true toll this experience had taken. He was not himself anymore. He was always looking over his shoulder, more uncertain of himself than ever, like a dog who had been beaten one too many times. His facade had crumbled, and he was no longer sure who he was."

[hereticzero]

I think I would run away from home if I were treated like Tony! I'd also file a claim of abuse with the Sheriff's Office. Once 18 and away from home, I'd stay away from home and all my relatives.

 

I went Pentecostal when I left the So. Baptist looking for the True Church® and I've seen my share of weirdness before leaving the church altogether. To me, the gyrations going on from those who practice speaking in tongues and rolling on the floor appear more like the descriptions I've read of demonic possession.

[OpheliaGinger]

I have limited experience with Pentecostals but I know if someone pinned me down trying to exorcise me (other than getting my muscles to use up energy) I would file charges against them.

 

Besides, I always feel better after listening to black metal.

[Redbeard]

I have limited experience with Pentecostals but I know if someone pinned me down trying to exorcise me (other than getting my muscles to use up energy) I would file charges against them.

 

 

Yup.

 

I really wonder how often things like this are reported.

[♦ Fuego ♦]

I posted about this before, but there were three times I remember dealing with this in church. All were in the context of a "Nazarene/Free Methodist/random Charismatic" group of pastors and laymen.

 

1. The pastor's wife started going mental during an evening service, talking about how great her talent was and how great her husband was. She played a rambling piece of piano music that she said was from God. The pastor eventually figured out something was weird and told her to stop talking. Not too many days later, (this is how she described it afterward) she had a visible encounter with the devil and said to him in great confidence "I can take you". The next thing she remembered was tearing out her eye, grabbing the family dog, and driving backwards up the local mountain and killing the dog at the top as a sacrifice to the devil. Not the stuff you typically hear a pastor's wife relating!

 

2. Weeks later in the Sunday service, while talking openly about spiritual warfare and the reality of demons, a woman in the congregation let out a screech that sounded like a cross between a wild animal and tearing metal. Even the audio tape of it later made my hair stand on end. She flipped over backwards out of the pew and nearly into the lap of my buddy. We lost about half the congregation after that. The pastor saw this as confirmation that the whole thing was real and was authoritatively, but not theatrically, rebuking the demon.

 

3. After all this, a college-aged woman confessed to being a satanist sent by a local group to curse the pastor's family. This sealed the deal with them regarding the reality of the spiritual warfare.

 

Now, being on the outside looking in, I have a different interpretation for these events.

 

1. The pastor's wife was having a manic episode. I've seen it happen many times now and can recognize it fairly quickly. The person who is normally sedate begins to feel ultra-spiritual, preaches in a very black and white way, has visions, makes bold or dramatic statements, and sometimes does rash things. This can go on for weeks, often with little or no sleep. Then comes the crash. Sleep for days, loss of the voices and visions, a feeling like they are in sin and that God has left them, and perhaps they are damned. To the untrained eye, this all can look very suspicious and can lead the religious to conclude that demons are at work, even when they previously didn't believe in them.

 

2. The woman who shrieked had a long history of mental illness and a troubled life. The easy way to absolve oneself of responsibility for making bad life choices is to blame the devil, or even better outright demon possession. Manifesting publicly is the most effective means of a simultaneous cry for help while pushing the blame off onto the common enemy.

 

3. The young woman was the daughter of another pastor in town. He didn't like my pastor taking her seriously when she said she was a satanist. He felt she was mentally unstable and looking for attention. She was welcomed in as a repentant sinner, but after some months she walked up the mountain with a can of gas and torched herself. She lived, but is scarred for life.

 

There are a lot of sad and mentally disturbed people looking for deliverance, and plenty of superstitious and convincing religious folks that are willing to deliver/abuse in the name of their god. So the cycle goes on.

[Skeptic]

Just out of curiosity, have you seen this thread?

 

Eh, on second thought, I might as well post it here. This'll be a long post, though.

 

I first learned about demons from my mom when I was 3 years old. I woke up one night feeling scared for some reason (maybe I had a nightmare? I don't remember), so I went out to the living room where my mom was and told her that I was scared. Instead of saying something like, "Oh, you just had a nightmare. Go back to sleep," she tells me about demons. I think she might've even told me that they can hurt human beings at that point, or maybe that came later. All I remember after that is laying on the fold-out couch in the living room staring up at the ceiling, too afraid to sleep in case some demon would attack me. After that, I wasn't allowed to do certain things or see certain shows because they would invite demons into the house, supposedly. What made this even worse was that I had quite a bit of difficulty believing in god. So if you believe in demons and you're told to pray to get rid of them, but god doesn't answer your prayers, who's going to save you from the demons? That's pretty much where I was from the time I was a kid until the time when I stopped believing in demons, which wasn't until I was 18. My mom started telling me these outrageous stories about how she had talked to Satan, had seen demons and heard them, and had heard the voice of god.

 

I was around 5 years old when she started with the crazier shit like blessing things with olive oil, etc. I didn't talk about it with anyone, because she explicitly told me not to tell anyone, but I told one friend who I had in Kindergarten. It was a xian school, so I assumed that everyone there believed in demons. She didn't, and when I told her about them and about the stuff my mom told me, it scared the shit out of her. In elementary school, most of my problems came from how I wasn't allowed to do a lot of the same things my peers did because they were "evil", like celebrating Halloween and watching movies like Casper. My parents would say stuff like, "Casper's not a friendly ghost, he's a demon!" Ugh. That's around the time when I started to rebel, especially with regard to religion. I hated going to church. My mom would have to drag me to church after I pulled out every excuse in the book to get out of it. After awhile, I would start to feel awkward during church services and when I heard xian music. That made me wonder if I was possessed. I shoved that notion to the back of my mind, though, and I'm glad that I did because if I had mentioned it to my parents, I might've had to undergo an exorcism.

 

When I was a teenager, the demon shit got worse. My dad started in on it whereas before, it was mostly my mom's craziness. He stopped listening to classic rock, proclaiming that it was the “devil's music” , and he told me that the real reason why they didn't celebrate Halloween was because Satanists would steal trick-or-treaters and use them in Satanic rituals. I developed interests that were "demonic", like watching gory movies and reading books about supernatural things (werewolves, vampires, Harry Potter, etc.) At one point, I started reading about Wicca because I had a friend who was Wiccan. I had a lot of nightmares then. I still couldn't sleep in the dark and I was hypervigilant, especially when we moved into my grandma's house. When we first moved there, I went up to the room I'd be staying in and I was convinced there was a demon in there. I wouldn't go in there, and I absolutely refused to sleep in there, so I slept on the couch in the living room for about a week before my parents had enough and made me sleep in that room. They prayed over everything and put olive oil on the doorframe. It didn't really help at all. None of their stupid antics that they would tell me to do ever helped. They may as well have told me to hop up and down on one foot while trying to lick my elbow. It was complete nonsense. When I was in 11th grade, I decided that I had enough of the demon crap. I tried to strike a deal with god where if he would get rid of the demons, I would worship him. It worked for awhile, but eventually, that facade fell away and I was left where I was before. I was having nightmares all the time, barely able to concentrate in school, pretty depressed and anti-social. I hung out with the Goth kids in school and I was into weird and morbid things, which probably just fed the nightmares. I started having panic attacks in school, and it was during one of these that I saw a friend of mine in the nurse's office because she felt suicidal. She started overturning furniture and screaming that she was going to kill herself while a group of counselors tried to talk her out of it. She eventually did attempt suicide and I started having nightmares about that, which made the demonic shit worse.

 

Eventually, I told someone I was going out with at the time that I had these concerns and he told me that demons don't exist. I mostly thought they were real because they felt real to me, but once I started learning about the human brain and how it can trick itself into believing that things that aren't real are, that helped to convince me that demons actually aren't real. I was kind of concerned about demons with regard to deconversion. The last step in officially “falling away” from xianity was denying the holy spirit, which actually made me feel a lot better. It was after I read a verse about god choosing who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. I got pissed off and thought, “Well, if I'm already damned, I might as well make it official, right?” I've only felt the type of response that I had when I thought I was around a demon once after deconversion. I saw it for what it was and got over it, and I haven't had any problems with "demons" ever since. I'm still bitter about it, though. I might have to call up my mom one day and recite the lord's prayer backwards or something, just to freak her the fuck out.

[par4dcourse]

I possessed a demon once. It' was yellow and all in all a pretty cool car.

What? Possessed by a demon? That's just silly.

[qec]

Well a world renowned exorcist once saved my life, but it had nothing to do with "possession" or the "devil". It had to do with his other specialty, which was not exorcism. According to him I had no problems with "the devil" haha. I still have the letter the Vatican sent me after he died; it was in response to a letter I wrote them describing unfair treatment by the exorcist's diocesan Cardinal.

[OpheliaGinger]

I just love how Christian actually know so little about real Satanists.

 

There is a song called The Reverse Will by Akira Yamaoka (from Silent Hill 2) that has the lord's prayer backwards. It's a really nice song.

[florduh]

It's amazing and sad and scary that people can make a living convincing people to believe in demons, and that they even have one inside them.

[Guest carrion]

Growing up around evangelicals I have seen my fair share of so called demonic happenings and spiritual warfare. My mum has a history of mental illness which she attributed to the devil attacking her because of course the devil doesnt have better things to do. I was once prayed for as I mentioned in a thread I started and my mouth clamped shut, I was told by a member here that this is due to adrenaline and is a common symptom when people freak out at the dentist.

 

A lot of christians get off the on the grandiose battle they are waging in the spirit world as if their life is too boring so they make up an imaginary army in which they are the general. Watching people pray in tongues is so embarrasing they get into a rythm they find comfortable and repeat the same noises continuously, if god exists praying in tongues is probably his practical joke he sits on acloud pissing himself at the christians talking gibberish. My ex step dad use to make this noise ga ga ga ga ga dededede ga ga ga ga dedededede like a baby sucking on the lords omnipotent nipple.

[Japedo]

My very first thread here at ex-C (many moons ago) briefly describes the accusations and nearly every inch of my body being touch with people praying and casting out demons, when I was a teenager, it won't be surprising to learn it was the ASS of God church that I was raised in either. While I no longer harbor that hate and rage that I once did, I still carry scars from it, but the scars are more about how I became me, more then they they are anger toward the evil doers (aka the Ass of God members).

 

The Cult no longer holds power over me as it once did, It's not just or fair, but it is survivable, although there were times I never thought I'd survive the emotional bullshit of fear and constant paranoia of Panic disorder, I did, somehow.

 

Those feelings are nurtured and fed to people in order to keep them in the cult. Fear (real or imagined) can literally drive a person mad. If people have been groomed their whole lives to believe that evil can over take them at any moment, over any thought, this state of mind becomes reality to the person it's taught to. There are light and dark forces around every corner, just waiting to trip you up, to force you to fall from gods graces. It becomes such an everyday thing, that to fear comes as natural as breathing. They teach you to hate yourself and call it love, they teach you to fear life and call it walking the straight and narrow path of righteousness. Parents don't put their kids thru the cult because they want to abuse their kids, they put them thru by being told it's gods way, not mans way. God needs the money more then the bill collectors. If you give the last of your worldly possessions god will bless you 100 fold. These types of things easly sway people who are depressed, lonely, wanting some sort of meaning to their life. The only way to rope people into these sorts of dogmas if they aren't raised in it from birth is for the pastors and church elders to depend on natural human weaknesses, such as insecurity's, misdeeds, even crimes in some cases. They rope people in when dispare seems to be one's only friend.

 

It's abuse of the worst kind, not jack diddly anyone can do about it either as Freedom of religion is protected. My sister and I trying to get my mother out of the cult was impossible, we had to wait until she hit rock bottom before she'd willingly come. The state will not intercede, the police will not intercede, it's one of those things that happens everyday that gets passed off as a right, well it is a right, and it's one of the down falls of the right unfortunately. There is nothing stopping an adult form handing over their entire life savings to god. There is nothing stopping an adult who chooses to be fanatical and live in fear of bogymen around every corner. The "law" won't touch it with a 100Ft pole.

 

Watch Jesus Camp for a day in a life at an Ass of God cult, that's one movie that cuts to the bone. Not so much for the dumb ass church leaders, but the poor kids who are living in the fear that I was once in, It's not a happy or fun place. Watch the kids "confess" hate for themselves, and beg to be loved. It's despicable, but unfortunately it's those kids reality, even if it's not true to those on the outside.

 

Looking back at that Anti-T, while the experience was real, I really could have spent a lot more time on my post, it seems rushed. Anyway, I was so happy to find this place when I did, and have been here ever since.

 

My Anti-T story

[Mike D]

I am also from the mental hospital known as the pentecostal church. Speaking in tongues, screaming, hand clapping, flopping on the floor like a fish... gah. As a kid it scared the shit out of me but I had no choice, I was dragged there every Sunday against my will. It never mixed well with my rational side so I just sat quietly and observed.

 

As for demon possession, I have to admit I always found it sort of comical. It seemed to me just to be a combination of mental illness, stress and theatrics all rolled up into one religion induced form of psychosis.

 

Having said that, I don't find it at all funny when people (especially parents) force their delusions on their kids and attempt to "exorcise" them. I think in these cases the kids are in serious danger and should be removed from the home. Fucking deranged douchebags....

[★ Citsonga ★]

An example from an article I read:

 

http://www.atheistrev.com/2007/10/ode-to-tony.html

 

"...Late one night after he'd been asleep for hours, Tony was suddenly awakened by dozens of hands grabbing him. His eyes opened to reveal at least 10 faces looming over him. He recognized them as his parents and many people from their church, mostly men. They held him to his bed as he struggled, placing as many men as it took on each arm and leg, with others pinning his shoulders. He could not free himself - there was just too many of them. As his heart raced with terror, the assailants began praying over him. His parents, along with other pastors (ever notice how the crazier church always seem to have an army of pastors?), then began to perform an exorcism. Tony was told that he was possessed by demons and that the group was going to exorcise them by any means necessary. Prayers, threats, and physical abuse would ensue for several hours. They continued until near dawn. Tony was exhausted to the point where he could no longer resist. He broke. He told them what they wanted to hear, even acting out what he thought it must look like for demons to leave one's body. There was nothing else he could do...."

 

That is indisputably abuse. For adults to act this way is ridiculous.

 

It's abuse of the worst kind, not jack diddly anyone can do about it either as Freedom of religion is protected.

 

Are you serious? I mean, in the case presented above where a bunch of grown adults pinned a kid down like that? I can't imagine how that would be protected as "Freedom of religion."

[qec]

http://www.atheistrev.com/2007/10/ode-to-tony.html

 

Wow. I think had I been in that situation I would have reached for some sharp objects and started slitting throats. It's stuff like this, besides my own shit I went through, that makes me truly hate religious zealots.

[hereticzero]

I possessed a demon once. It' was yellow and all in all a pretty cool car.

What? Possessed by a demon? That's just silly.

Many years ago my demon was a rice-burner a Yamaha 650 with a competition clutch. I had crash bars and foot pegs. It was as closest thing to a Harley I could afford at the time. At 115 mph it was such a sweet ride you had a floating sensation and you couldn't help but ride with a shit-eaten grin! Andrenaline pumping and the bike just had a floating sensation. Then I got a different kind of ride by a gal I passed but stopped at the same gas station. She commented about that shit-eating grin, she could see it with her outside mirror as I approached her car to pass, and matched mine with one of her own and after several beers later we decided the best course of action was to see if we could spontaneously combust from prolonged mutual friction, if you know what I mean. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. I know she treated me like a demon that afternoon.

 

Three years later I was cruising through Wyoming and had to stop at a construction zone. There was a sweet blond that was working flag. I stopped my bike and we talked waiting for the escort car to show up. She said she was getting tired of standing in the hot weather. I told her to jump on the back and I would take her as far north as I was travelling, Montana. She said she would think about it. I sat there and then the car showed up. I started up my bike and told her to jump on. She hesitated and then changed her mind and decided regretfolly to stay. I told her I would be back in a few weeks and if she were in that same zone I would stop again. I never saw her again. Years later, my bike committed suicide, locked up and then caught fire. I really miss that bike.

 

I joined the service in 1975 from Fargo, North Dakota, and on one time home on leave I stopped at a diner in Minneapolis, Minnesota, I stopped at one morning. A waitress, cute as a button, waited on me at the counter. It was demonic lust at first sight. We were the only ones in the diner that evening. We talked and laughed for hours. She wanted to leave Minnesota and I did not mind taking her and my heart jumped. An elderly woman came out of the kitchen 3 hours later and she met me at the counter and told me to leave and not come back. Her daughter was sent home and forbidden to leave the house. I argued the lady was old enough to decide for herself--the gal was 19 years old. Bur the old woman would not budge and she threatened to call the highway patrol on me and cause me all kinds of shit if I did not leave. I had to make it back to the Air Base so I drove away heart broken. I came back within two weeks but the diner was closed and I never saw the most beautiful gal I've ever seen in my life who had expressed her desire to elope with me. Love at first sight was something else. I love my wife dearly but she knows that a part of me is still regretful. Women are Satan's minions bewitching me at every turn. That is my experience with demonic possession and, I am willing to let them happen again!

[OpheliaGinger]

It was demonic lust at first sight.

 

That demon lust would probably have ended up being a kastraticron.

[Japedo]

 

Are you serious? I mean, in the case presented above where a bunch of grown adults pinned a kid down like that? I can't imagine how that would be protected as "Freedom of religion."

 

Very rarely will you ever hear of people being arrested for "praying", and that's just what the Xtains call it. Everyone in the cult believes the same, who are they going to tell?

[★ Citsonga ★]

 

Are you serious? I mean, in the case presented above where a bunch of grown adults pinned a kid down like that? I can't imagine how that would be protected as "Freedom of religion."

 

Very rarely will you ever hear of people being arrested for "praying", and that's just what the Xtains call it. Everyone in the cult believes the same, who are they going to tell?

 

But if the child or a concerned friend reported it and there was an investigation, don't you think that the authorities would consider it abuse for a bunch of adults pile themselves on top of a child so he can't move? If they can get away with that activity under the guise of "prayer," that's downright despicable. Religious freedom or not, the authorities should be able to see that as abusive. Not the praying part, but the tackling part.

[Japedo]

I just started on all of this, and I'm trying to find others who have faced their panic attacks head on. If you, or anyone else, wants to share stories of what worked (or didn't), I'd welcome the exchange.

 

Phanta

 

I don't mind sharing at all. I wish you much luck and peace of mind. The best defense is education.

 

I've always been a nervous wreck, even as a child I was always afraid something was going to happen to someone I loved. When my panic disorder was at it's worst, I attribute it to a sort of break down. A lot of stuff going on in my life at that time pertaining to death and potential death. The 3 main things, I was stuck in Boston on 9/11 and couldn't get a hold of my kids or husband. My father was being shipped to the middle east after 9/11 and my sister came down with spinal meningitis around that same time.

 

This will sound outrageous but it's true. The fear controlled me on a chronic level. At my worst I was terrified to leave my house as well as to terrified to sleep. Of course being sleep deprived didn't help. I was put on Paxil CR and Xanx. Fear consumed me at all times, weather it was I was having a heart attack or blood clot, my house was going to catch fire or massive fear harm was going to come to one of my kids or husband. I was embarrassed, angry and just at wits end with myself. I felt bad for my family having to endure a nut case for a wife and mother. For those that don't know what Panic disorder feels like I can only describe it like this. Picture a moment in your life when you were scared. Someone popped out of a dark closet or scared the shit out of you. That feeling of adrenaline and fight or flight is the feeling that over takes a persons body when they have Panic Disorder. Only that adrenaline rush of "fear" doesn't come from anything rational. Your body acts as tho it's in danger, even tho theres no danger to be seen.

 

 

I never went to a counselor or psychiatrist. I went to my regular Doctor. Who told me 3 things that I live by today.

 

 

1) If I had cancer or Diabetes I wouldn't feel like a failure for being sick, Why did I look at my sickness as it was something I could control? He was right, and since I have accepted this is part of who I am, it's much easier to deal with.

 

2) I was upset about being a nutcase, and that my kids and husband had to put up with me and my stupid chronic fears of life. He agreed about me feeling the way that I did but also pointed out that they were also seeing me get help for the problem, and that was also an example.

 

3) I had to learn to rethink things. Not everything is going to be a catastrophe, I had to stop expecting it was going to be. I thought the absolute worst case in near every situation. I had to force myself on a time limit about "what if's" and fear of dying. The massive feeling of Panic (Feeling like you're dying) can only last about 10 minutes or so physically. Of course ones mind can continue on thinking there must be a reason you're feeling like this so there must be something really wrong. If my body/mind felt like I was having an heart attack for example, I'd look at the clock and force myself to do something for 15-20 minutes, If I was really having a heart attack, my chest would still be hurting 15-20 minutes later. A half hour would go by and I'd realize that it was just gas or my mind. I'll read something interesting, or call someone on the phone just to shoot the shit, anything to get my mind off of the what if's. It's takes a lot to ignore extreme feelings of fear, and I wouldn't have been able to ever accomplish that without the meds. They were useful when I needed them.

 

 

My goal was to get off the meds, it took a while but I did it. As of today I'm off all the meds and function normally, well what's normal for me anyways.

 

 

Over the years I learned to listen to my body, I know if I'm sleep deprived I start to get anxious. I know if I have to much Caffeine I start getting nervous. I no longer live by "What If's" and instead focus on what is. I control the fear, the fear no longer controls me. I still freak out a little if I can't get a hold of my family or kids, but not to the point where it controls me to wanting to get into fetal position. It really is mind over matter. I also have to accept I can't control everything, sometimes life just happens.

 

I hope some what what helped me, helps you.

[Japedo]

 

But if the child or a concerned friend reported it and there was an investigation, don't you think that the authorities would consider it abuse for a bunch of adults pile themselves on top of a child so he can't move? If they can get away with that activity under the guise of "prayer," that's downright despicable. Religious freedom or not, the authorities should be able to see that as abusive. Not the praying part, but the tackling part.

 

That's part of how the cult works Citsonga. They don't see it as abuse, they see it as saving the child form 'dark forces'. Trust me, they are not going to call in the goddless authoritys of what they feel god has control over. They do this prayer in the confines of a church or with people from the church, they won't do this these things out in the open where the godless won't understand.

 

If the police were to come, they will all of a sudden play victim and say they were being persecuted for their faith.

 

Trust me, I'm in no way defending them, I wish justice would find it's way to them, I just don't see how it can or will. Police and Politicians don't want the bad press of "attacking a church". they stay away.

[★ Citsonga ★]

 

But if the child or a concerned friend reported it and there was an investigation, don't you think that the authorities would consider it abuse for a bunch of adults pile themselves on top of a child so he can't move? If they can get away with that activity under the guise of "prayer," that's downright despicable. Religious freedom or not, the authorities should be able to see that as abusive. Not the praying part, but the tackling part.

 

That's part of how the cult works Citsonga. They don't see it as abuse, they see it as saving the child form 'dark forces'. Trust me, they are not going to call in the goddless authoritys of what they feel god has control over. They do this prayer in the confines of a church or with people from the church, they won't do this these things out in the open where the godless won't understand.

 

Well, no shit, man. I know that those involved in the "exorcism" aren't going to call the authorities. That's why I specified "the child or a concerned friend." You know, someone who wasn't performing or defending the incident.

 

If the police were to come, they will all of a sudden play victim and say they were being persecuted for their faith.

 

Trust me, I'm in no way defending them, I wish justice would find it's way to them, I just don't see how it can or will. Police and Politicians don't want the bad press of "attacking a church". they stay away.

 

That is an utter shame. Someone's freedom of religion should only go as far as they aren't harming someone else. Once there is abuse like this, all bets should be off regarding religious freedom.

 

In fact, haven't there been a few cases where the courts have overruled Jehovah's Witnesses' refusal to allow their children to get blood transfusions? If they can override that, surely they could, in some cases, override these charismatic wackos' abuse of religious freedoms, couldn't they?

 

If not, then holy hell!

[Skeptic]

There is a song called The Reverse Will by Akira Yamaoka (from Silent Hill 2) that has the lord's prayer backwards. It's a really nice song.

 

That's surprisingly up-beat. I was expecting something more like this.

[Zyva]

 

I just started on all of this, and I'm trying to find others who have faced their panic attacks head on. If you, or anyone else, wants to share stories of what worked (or didn't), I'd welcome the exchange.

 

Phanta

 

Hi Phanta, I'll share.

I started having panic attacks around the age of 14, My mother being the fine Christian that she is, had the Pastor from her church over to discuss it and of course he ruled that it was probably caused by some demon or other trying to steal my soul. I found that hilarious, but nobody really cared what I thought. After a couple hours of hands on praying, I got bored and told the idiot that Satan wouldn't steal my soul without God's permission and if God had ordered my soul stolen, then he shouldn't be interfering in God's plan. I threw him some scriptures that proved what I said was true, according to the bible, and he left me alone.

My next stop was the psychiatrist's office. He talked to me for 10 minutes or so and then wrote prescriptions for pills, which I took for a couple of weeks, but I hated the way they made me feel. So I stopped taking them and told my mother that I was cured, I never mentioned my problem to her again.

I went to the library (this was long ago, no internet then) and read everything I could get my hands on about panic attacks and anxiety disorders. Once I figured out that it was just a mental disorder and that I wasn't likely to die from it, I made my own game plan. By this time I was 16, with 2 years of almost daily anxiety-panic attacks behind me.

I decided to ignore them. When the attack would start, I would just continue what I was doing, no matter how panicked I got, they usually didn't last that long, 15-20 minutes tops like Japedo said, and then it was gone.

When someone noticed that there was something going on with me, which wasn't often, I would just be honest and tell them that I was having a panic attack. I can't count the number of times they said, "You too, I thought I was the only one!" It seems that panic attacks are not uncommon.

I spent several years fighting it and the attacks came less and less often. My last attack was in 1989 right after my first child was born, I had an attack trying to drive across a bridge (bridges were huge triggers for me) to see my newborn son who had been life-flighted to the neonatal intensive care unit in Tallahassee (he was 3 months premature).

I sat on the side of the road for maybe 5 minutes crying, wanting to turn back to the safety of home and at the same time desperately wanting to be with my child, then I said, fuck it, I'm going to see my baby. I drove across that bridge at 20 mph with people honking and flipping me off, but I made it across and I haven't had an attack since, but I do still get extremely nervous crossing bridges.

 

To stay on topic, I've attended numerous exorcisms, of different denominations and I've yet to see anything that was the slightest bit supernatural. It's usually either the pastor, preacher, priest etc. preying(pun) on the ignorance and gullibility of the "possessed" or it's the "possessed" preying on the ignorance and conceit of the Preacher.

Either way, it's always fun to watch. Laughing out loud at the theatrics, however is not an accepted reaction to the proceedings regardless of denomination. Just in case anyone ever attends an exorcism.

Some exorcisms become dangerous, thankfully I've not attended one that has. I would have definitely called the authorities if one had become physically dangerous.

Lot's of people, mostly children, have died as a result of exorcisms making the archaic belief in demons dangerous, in my opinion. Google "exorcism kills" to read the stories.

 

I recently had to deal with the youth minister at my son's church, who was teaching these young Baptist's that when they have nightmares it is because demon's are trying to take over their bodies. He also told the young teenagers that when he went to the mall he could see the demon's walking around in human bodies, shopping I suppose.

 

 

Sorry for the long post.

[Guest Davka]

Demons are real. I've seen them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...of course, I was on LSD at the time...