Demon possession was EXTREMELY common in Matt. and Mark

PloverWing said:

I'm guessing that you're referring to the first three questions asked of baptismal candidates in our baptismal liturgy:

• Do you renounce Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God?
• Do you renounce the evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God?
• Do you renounce all sinful desires that draw you from the love of God?

to which the answer is, in each case, "I renounce them".

I have found a diversity of opinions among Episcopalians, both lay and clergy, regarding whether these questions refer to nonhuman beings with agency (demons, traditionally viewed) or whether they are a personified description of human evil (demons as mythology). In my day-to-day life, it may not matter whether it's (say) a demon of Greed that's attacking me, or the plain human predisposition to greediness that's tempting me -- I renounce it all. But I acknowledge that it would make a difference if you're trying to decide whether to call in a psychiatrist or an exorcist.

Click to expand...

No, more like these from our Lutheran Rite:

The administrator says:

Depart thou unclean spirit, and give room to the Holy Spirit. Then he signs him/her with a cross on his forehead and breast, and says: Receive the sign of the holy cross both on thy forehead and breast.

And following the flood prayer;

I adjure thee, thou unclean spirit, by the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost that thou come out of and depart from this servant of Jesus Christ, N. — Amen.

Ian Ferrin said:

My opinion is that the demon possessed of the Bible are the same people we would now characterize as schizophrenic's and others with psychotic disorders.

Click to expand...

Hello Ian. Good to meet you. I would present a different perspective.

In the bible demonic possession and mental illness were two different concepts. For example take the book of Samuel. Saul was plagued by an evil spirit (I Samuel 16:14). But in 1 Samuel 21:12-15 David feigns madness.

One clear distinction is that demons can exist outside the body of a person. In Matthew 12:43-45 demons are known to inhabit 'dry places'.
The Scottish Theologian William Barclay held a similar view to yourself but seemed to be challenged by some New Testament passages for example the Gaderene Swine. In Matthew 8:28-34 the account of the demoniac the demons when driven out went into a herd of pigs who hurtled down into the water and were drowned. What kind of mental illness results in the mass drowning of 5,000 pigs?

God Bless You

lismore said:

In the bible demonic possession and mental illness were two different concepts. For example take the book of Samuel. Saul was plagued by an evil spirit (I Samuel 16:14). But in 1 Samuel 21:12-15 David feigns madness.

Click to expand...

David was not mentally ill...

There is no reason to conclude David was not acting out being plagued by the demonic.

lismore said:

One clear distinction is that demons can exist outside the body of a person. In Matthew 12:43-45 demons are known to inhabit 'dry places'.

Click to expand...

From scripture Jesus and the apostles cast demons out of folks.

What exactly are you trying to claim ???

Not all mental illnesses are demonic.

Carl Emerson said:

From scripture Jesus and the apostles cast demons out of folks.

What exactly are you trying to claim ???

Click to expand...

A demon can exist outside a person, a mental illness cannot. One of the reasons why IMHO mental illness and demonization are two distinct concepts. A demon can be transfered into pigs, a mental illness cannot. Another reason. God Bless You

lismore said:

A demon can exist outside a person, a mental illness cannot. One of the reasons why IMHO mental illness and demonization are two distinct concepts. A demon can be transfered into pigs, a mental illness cannot. Another reason. God Bless You

Click to expand...

OK... Gotchya...

Sorry I misunderstood your point.