Can a christian be inhabited by a demon?

[Emli]

I understand. I met and spoke with Dr Prince on several occasions during the1970s. His teachings on this and other topics were groundbreaking.

But I have found PRMI teaching to be equally good and to a degree a few decades more mature than Prince's.

That is awesome! Lol, I got star struck when I read that! God was using him for so much. I will look up PRMI, I've never heard of them.

I went to God and asked Him to teach me Himself about deliverance, because I wanted to become as effective as Jesus and Paul. And He did. From Scripture, and He also turned my own deliverance into a teaching experience, and He is still teaching me as I'm helping others. Nothing could ever replace what Jesus has done for me. but I'm not a deliverance minister per se, it's simply what I believe that all Christians should know how to do. Though God won't be using everyone, He can use anyone.

 

[FireDragon76]

Yep. That was the one they said. "They" being a couple of Presbyterian scholars.

Dr Derek Prince said NO place in the Greek NT supported the idea of total possession (ownership).

The Catholic church has centuries of experience with exorcisms. Presbyterians? Not so much.

 

[Dave-W]

The Catholic church has centuries of experience with exorcisms.

Yeah - I know. I have seen what they call an "exorcism." Not impressed. It has been reduced over the centuries from a true and dynamic ministry to a ritualized formula devoid of any discernment.

 

[Emli]

The Catholic church has centuries of experience with exorcisms. Presbyterians? Not so much.

The Catholic church has centuries of experience of hurting people by starving them etc and making demons manifest in them. They aren't properly using Scripture or the power of God, and though they may have been able to cast out a demon at some instances, it's not very effective.

 

[FireDragon76]

The Catholic church has centuries of experience with hurting people by starving them etc and making demons manifest in them.

Starving people? Pentecostals in the US have starved kids to death in the name of riding a child of evil. Brutality in the name of religion is certainly not exclusive to Catholics.

One thing I appreciate about the Catholic approach is that they do not accept every single incidence of aberrant behavior as demonic, they demand that mental health professionals be consulted before exorcism is authorized by a bishop. That is better than Pentecostal and Charismatic churches where suggestible people can be lead to believe they are demon possessed and diverted from getting appropriate help for their problems.

 

[Emli]

Starving people? Pentecostals in the US have starved kids to death in the name of riding a child of evil. Brutality in the name of religion is certainly not exclusive to Catholics.

One thing I appreciate about the Catholic approach is that they do not accept every single incidence of aberrant behavior as demonic, they demand that mental health professionals be consulted before exorcism is authorized by a bishop. That is better than Pentecostal and Charismatic churches where suggestible people can be lead to believe they are demon possessed and diverted from getting appropriate help for their problems.

I'm neither Pentecostal nor Charismatic, or American, so I cannot speak for them. I have a lot of criticism myself about some so-called deliverance ministries, and the methods they use, but mostly, I have seen and heard of people having been set free. And if the Pentecostals have starved people, they must have picked it up from the Catholics.

As I said, I do not believe that everything is a demon, most of our issues are related to the heart, and the first thing I tell anyone I minister to is to pour out their hearts to the Lord and to me if they need it. But if we earnestly seek God, He will lead us, because He keeps His promises. If it's a demon, He will tell us, if it isn't, He will tell us that as well. If we go by our own understanding or by human teachings, we will make a lot of mistakes. And I have seen people delivered and healed, so I know that what the Bible says is true.

 

[Dave-W]

I will look up PRMI, I've never heard of them.

www. prmi. org

Non-clicable to comply with site rules against direct linking to sites who ask for donations.
Just remove the spaces.

 

[Dave-W]

One thing I appreciate about the Catholic approach is that they do not accept every single incidence of aberrant behavior as demonic, they demand that mental health professionals be consulted before exorcism is authorized by a bishop. That is better than Pentecostal and Charismatic churches where suggestible people can be lead to believe they are demon possessed and diverted from getting appropriate help for their problems.

The problem on all sides of this is the same: lack of proper discernment.

Those who say everything is a demon have no discernment.
Those who say there are no demons have no discernment.
Those who starve people have no discernment.
Those who write off true demonic instances as mental health issues have no discernment.

Often demonic issues can precipitate mental or physical health issues. But one needs proper discernment to understand how that works in each individual case as they all are different.

 

[Emli]

www. prmi. org

Non-clicable to comply with site rules against direct linking to sites who ask for donations.
Just remove the spaces.

Okay. Thanks.

 

[Emli]

The problem on all sides of this is the same: lack of proper discernment.

Those who say everything is a demon have no discernment.
Those who say there are no demons have no discernment.
Those who starve people have no discernment.
Those who write off true demonic instances as mental health issues have no discernment.

Often demonic issues can precipitate mental or physical health issues. But one needs proper discernment to understand how that works in each individual case as they all are different.

And of course proper discernment comes from understanding the Word of God, by being led by the Holy Spirit, and as a gift from the Holy Spirit.

 

[Dave-W]

And of course proper discernment comes from understanding the Word of God, by being led by the Holy Spirit, and as a gift from the Holy Spirit.

Correct.

 

[ToBeLoved]

I am LOVING the second half of this thread about discernment.

 

[Francis Drake]

The Catholic church has centuries of experience with exorcisms. Presbyterians? Not so much.

Centuries of religious mumbo jumbo, splashing so called holy water all masquerading as deliverance.

 

[NBB]

And, demons don't need you to be a transgresor or do grave sins to enter sometimes demons can enter because of what seems very stupid reasons or a scare, a trauma or other reasons they get to have an advantage of you, you don't need to be a serial killer to have demons, they want to get advantage of people, and a lot of them can enter when we are a little child.

 

[Dave-W]

And, demons don't need you to be a transgresor or do grave sins to enter sometimes

No they don’t. Many enter before birth.