Are the demonic possessions in the Bible just misdiagnosed mental illness? Did the idea of Satan come from Zoroastrianism? And is it possible to still believe in the demonic, in possessions, and in exorcisms in an age of modern science?
I was motivated to write this article for Catholic Answers Magazine for three reasons:
- On the radio show on Friday (around the 29 minute mark), a 12 year-old girl called in and said she was struggling with her faith after hearing that the idea of the devil was borrowed from Zoroastrianism as a way of explaining evil;
- A Facebook friend shared publicly that one of the major hang-ups they have with accepting Jesus is the idea that He misdiagnosed mental illness as demonic possession; and
- Rudolph Bultmann’s argument that “faith in spirits and demons” is “finished” by modern scientific knowledge, and that:
Likewise, illnesses and their cures have natural causes and do not depend on the work of demons and on exorcising them. Thus, the wonders of the New Testament are also finished as wonders; anyone who seeks to salvage their historicity by recourse to nervous disorders, hypnotic influences, suggestion, and the like only confirms this. Even occultism pretends to be a science. We cannot use electric lights and radios and, in the event of illness, avail ourselves of modern medical and clinical means and at the same time believe in the spirit and wonder world of the New Testament.
So what can one say to objections like that? How do we defend the idea of demons, and possession and exorcisms in 2021? What’s really going on in these biblical stories?
Here’s my response: I’m curious to hear yours!
There’s a favorite quote I have from Theodore Dalrymple’s “Our Culture, What’s Left of It.” Paraphrasing cause I don’t have it on hand, but it basically comes down to, How anyone can not believe in evil or the devil just from a cursory reading of the first half of the twentieth century is tragic.
There’s a tinfoil hat part of me that thinks social psychology and all the other stuff that is facing reproduction crisis has had their hand in the crime of hiding the devil in plain sight.
Everyone who still thinks covid is real and deadly or is pushing the vaxx of the beast is demon possesed.
Hmm, not even sure if this comment deserves a response. But I sit here reading while on home oxygen after being in the hospital for 2 weeks with covid. I was near death twice. I’m lucky to be alive. I’ve had two close friends die of covid and know at least 4 close-friend-of-a-close-friend who have died. All but one of these were 30’s to lower 50’s and very healthy otherwise.
Should have taken horse paste dumbass. I aint taken the mark of the beast just becauae you’re retarded.
Thank you Ana for your excellent reply, we have a similar list among family, friends, and coworkers. I promise to pray for your recovery. We must take care, however, to avoid being diverted from the subject at hand by red herrings.
Good blog Joe! Everything I have read indicates that today`s church goes to great lengths to rule out mental illness before going ahead with an exorcism. Far from ignoring that possibility, I think that church authorities may neglect the risk that demons could mimic mental illness in their victims to get the exorcist to rule out possession. Satan has thousands of years of experience with human mental states so faking madness is possible.
I was encouraged by the words of an older pastor when I was in college, “If someone does not believe in demonic possession or the Devil, then invite them to spend a week in the office of your parish!”
Grace and Peace to you all! I am also lifting up a prayer for Joe and his growing family. May God grant you all some sleep and rest!
Aren’t these just the same old recycled arguments for scientism and atheism?
If you don’t believe in anything other than the physical and are intent on denying spiritual realities then of course your outlook on demonic possession is going to necessarily be self-affirming to your overall belief system.
The whole matter is so utterly obvious both scripturally and practically, that no one who is a serious seeker after truth and possesses a modest degree of curiosity, common sense and intellectual honesty can fail to see the obvious. In fact much of the apparent lunacy of our age becomes explicable only when one learns to recognize the role of the demonic. Finis.