Can a person really be possessed by a demon?

[TopazRaven]

If your mind is not aware that the body has been possessed then how is one to know if a demon resides inside them or not. 0.o

[K. Ayato]

Good question. I would suppose that someone who has a demon within them often struggles for control. I've not heard anything that appears to support the idea that a person realizes he/she is possessed upon the demon(s) entering them.

[TopazRaven]

That's just creepy man. Lol.

Edit: Hm, I was even reading some people think evil spirits/demons can live in your computer and possess/infleuence you that way. I think that's just plain silly.

[SnoringFrog]

That's just creepy man. Lol.

Edit: Hm, I was even reading some people think evil spirits/demons can live in your computer and possess/infleuence you that way. I think that's just plain silly.

While that initially sounds laughable, I think it might not be as far-fetched as we'd hope, but I also think the people presenting the idea don't have it correct in thier minds either.

Without personal experience, it's hard to say what sort of interaction with the physical world demons can have, but I had a youth pastor who has had a couple run-ins with something that only makes sense being explained as a demon. Judging from his experiences and those of others that I've heard, I'd say they can interact with the physical world. and if they could do anything like the typical poltergest-type ghost movies show us can, then it's reasonable to assume they could be "in" those objects, and from there could move to you. But even with all of that, I think they'd only be possessing/influencing you that way because you being near the object meant you happened to be near to them, not really because you used the object itself like demons were some sort of contagious disease.

[TopazRaven]

I'm paranoid enough so I'm just gonna ignore the bit about them being in computers though. Lol.

[SnoringFrog]

Yeah, no real need to go around thinking every single object you see is possessed/controlled by a demon. Not to claim to know the ways/methods of demons, but I'm pretty sure they've got better things to do.

[TopazRaven]

I'd think so to. Lol. I really don't think demon posssessen is as common today as it was in the times of the bible. Though I agree with some of the above posters, I think trying to contact spirits or messing with dark magic could definitly get a person in some trouble, wither they intended it or not.

[SnoringFrog]

I would definitely agree that's it not as common now as it was then, at least not in America and other "civilized" nations. I think when you start getting into the more tribal areas of the world you would find a dramatic increase in noticeable demonic activity.

My personal theory on that is that in locations where the local beliefs are more accepting of the supernatural and more firmly rooted in various superstitions and such, it is more effective for demons to work overtly than it would be for them to do so in a place like America, where we have been so desensitized to the reality of the spiritual realm through books and movies and video games. We are much more inclined to doubt anything we hear that sounds supernatural, and we run to the scientific explanations, but go and looks at a small tribe run by a witch doctor and I'm sure that's not true for them at all.

The only real support I have for this is how you seem to hear more of these crazy/unbelieveable/supernatural stories from those regions, and listening to a friend of mine talk about going on a mission trip to India and how they could almost physically feel an evil atmosphere/ambience in the area near some of the temples they were near. Now, that could easily be a self-induced psychological effect, but I'm not inclined to think so with the way she described it.

[TopazRaven]

Definitly sounds spooky. Indeed, I've never actually really believed a demon could come and get me or any person for that matter, but seeing as it is in the bible I'm not going to outright deny it anymore. Still, I don't want it to be something I constantly worry about either though. This is another reason I'm really glad I was born in the US rather then some tribe in a jungle somewhere, no offence meant to them of course.

[SnoringFrog]

But in all of that you can't ignore the fact that can still have influence here.

However, "God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Tim 1:7), so there's no reason to worry. "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Rom 8:31). Despite the reality of demons and what they can do, if we're on God's side we've nothing to worry about. As we see in Job, they can't do anything that He doesn't allow, and we know that if He allows it it must have some function in His plan. In addition, should we find ourselves up against them all we have to do is depend on God. No amount of demons can stand up against God. That's something that helped me cope with their reality a lot. Yes, they have power and influence in our world, likely much more than we would want to admit or know, but what power they have is absolutely nothing in comparison to the power we serve.

[TopazRaven]

Good point. In the lord I trust then! He's the only one I know I'll always be able to count on!

[Rusty Claymore]

Hm, I was even reading some people think evil spirits/demons can live in your computer and possess/infleuence you that way.

Well, duh! Haven't you ever used a Mac? *rimshot* Just kidding! XD Sorry, but that setup was just too good...

[Hiryu]

I'm not sure how exactly a computer can be influence by darkness. I could see a poltergeist picking it up and doing crazy stuff with it, but I'm not so sure about it actually working on the inside.

[TopazRaven]

Well, duh! Haven't you ever used a Mac? *rimshot* Just kidding! XD Sorry, but that setup was just too good...

Ahaha! Figures I'm trying to get a Mac laptop to right? xD

I'm not sure how exactly a computer can be influence by darkness. I could see a poltergeist picking it up and doing crazy stuff with it, but I'm not so sure about it actually working on the inside.

The website said a demon can take over anything with a brain. A person, an animal or apparantly a computer. They'll live in the hard drive.

[Rusty Claymore]

The website said a demon can take over anything with a brain.

Personally, I think that's giving compies too much credit. But I can't really say for sure. From the Bible we see that demons for whatever reason deisre physical bodies in this world (see the pig incident). Due to the immense complexity and engeneering of living bodies, compies are probably a lame substitute if anything. But I really don't know. n.n'

[TopazRaven]

I honestly dont't believe in the whole computer bit. We can't blame demons for everything that goes wrong in our lives. I mean think about it also, they say the demons will control you through the computer. That means you are near the computer. It is likley the computer is in your home. Why would the demon want your computer when it could just go at you directly? Wouldn't living in the hard drive be a waste of time? Lol.

[Nate]

The website said a demon can take over anything with a brain.

So then can a demon take over Jesus? He was human and had a brain. Also do angels not have brains?

[TopazRaven]

So then can a demon take over Jesus? He was human and had a brain. Also do angels not have brains?

Aha, good point!

[MasterDias]

The website said a demon can take over anything with a brain. A person, an animal or apparantly a computer. They'll live in the hard drive.

What website was this?
I've heard a lot of things...but I have to say I haven't heard that one before.

[TopazRaven]

What website was this?
I've heard a lot of things...but I have to say I haven't heard that one before.

Well, it was actually a website mentioning another website to be honest. Let me go see if I can find it.

Edit: Here we go, it's the top one, there is some other rather unpleasnt topics there to about demon posession events in the media as well. Apparantly it's a book, not a website. Sorry, I guess I didn't read it right the first time.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_exor7.htm

[Midori]

Rev. Peasboro said: "I learned that many members of my congregation became in touch with a dark force whenever they used their computers. Decent, happily married family men were drawn irresistibly to pornographic websites and forced to witness unspeakable abominations. Housewives who had never expressed an impure thought were entering Internet chat rooms and found themselves spewing foul, debasing language they would never use normally...One woman wept as she confessed to me, 'I feel when I'm on the computer as if someone else or something else just takes over.'"

Oh how I wish my addiction to pornography was caused by dark forces coming out of my computer and controlling my body rather than my own free will. But I'm just not convinced.

[MasterDias]

Alright, this guy has to be pulling stuff out of his rear. I couldn't even find the supposed book he had written anywhere. Additionally, the article almost sounds like something that would be written in The Onion, so yeah, I'm calling hoax.

[TopazRaven]

I looked the guy up on Google, but all I ever seemed able to find was pretty much the same article so I think it's a hoax to. Lol.

[Nate]

http://books.google.com/books?id=CPADAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA47&lpg=PA47&dq=peasboro&source=bl&ots=3k8tbVfqDe&sig=VM-SvigLdQvbflxPKPn2OGYvoFQ&hl=en&ei=TdooTdKZDYGC8gaAysiXAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CDIQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=peasboro&f=false

Weekly World News is a fake newspaper. :p

[Kunoichi]

Lol Yeah demonic possession isn't in computers. That would make an interesting B-rated movie though

[VizSakuretu]

Yes, Jesus Christ casted out demons. So yes it is very possible.

[Cardiche007]

OT: Yes demon possession is real and I believe it still happens today. I do believe its more a rarity then common compared to what you see in movies all the time.

And for whoever mentioned MPD/DID, I have head that some believe that this disorder is demon possession. Going to make myself vulnerable here and say that I am a diagnosed MPD and it isn't demonic. Its psychological.

Just my 2 cents.

There are so many more people in the world today! Demons, I think, are as numerous as they ever were, but people are so much more blind than they ever were! People don't see the demons and the angels like they used to.