The role of demons in the Florida high school shooting

[2Timothy2:15]

A man possessed by demon cannot possibly prepare his guns and ammo and then drive to school to shoot, he couldnt even aim any guns as his consciousness will be gone and demon speaks from his mouth instead of him.

Its just an excuse to avoid jail and to rcv treatment at mental hospital.

But a demon could take an uber I guess huh. He did take an uber btw

All joking aside. Demon possessed people walk around all the time, some sing in choirs and even stand behind pulpits.

Maybe you forgot the story in the bible where the Apostles were being followed by a possessed woman who was telling people these are the men of God who will tell you the way to salvation. Yet devils were cast out of her...but to the undiscerning she seemed very normal.

Acts 16
Paul and Silas in Prison

16And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: 17The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. 18And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

 

[jmldn2]

I am not saying this 19 year old murderer had a demon but I am saying that demons are real. Evil is real. The problems with this kid were multiple and the questions and answers to what he did are many and complex.

 

[JoeP222w]

There are so many things to think and pray about after a tragedy like this. The topic I'm bringing up here I do not view as the first or necessarily even most important issue related to this shooting. Certainly things like praying for the families of victims and healing of the injured and emotional healing for all who were there is more important.

But this issue is also important. It has been reported in the news that the shooter claimed to hear voices in his head and some have identified these voices as being demonic.

This raises some discussion topics.

What do you think about this?
How might demons gain such influence in a person's life?
Can Christians be oppressed and influenced by demons?
What can we do about it?

It is possible that the shooter had demonic influence or even possession. However, in my opinion, far too often in these situations, we overlook or suppress the truth of the obvious. The primary cause of these shootings (and many others) is the inherently depravity of man's evil heart. As the Bible says, man is born into sin and all the thoughts of man is inherently evil. There is none that do good, no, not one.

The devil and his minions are at work in this world, but we give them for more credit than they deserve for the depraved nature of man's evil heart.

 

[SolomonVII]

The question of the OP really seems to be how prominent do we believe demons to be in ordinary life? The same could be asked of God and his angels too actually.
The reason the question is important is that if the problem of evil is predicated on the existence of demonic spiritual forces, then the answer to that problem may also lie in the realm of the spiritual.

If it is a question of psychiatric illness, well then there is a pill for that. If psychological, then therapy, if done out of habit, then behavioral retraining.

But if such acts of evil arise out of the ravaging influences of dark spiritual forces in our lives, then the solution to dark is to let in the light. The solution to nihilistic disbelief lies in having ones heart opened to a life of faith.

Having the language to describe the actual truth of a situation is important. Without access to the kind of language that describes a spiritual malaise, which in the Christian world has been the language of angels and demons, we do no have access to the epistemic tools required for a solution.

Myself, I don't think that there is a pill for this.

 

[cfdude]

"The role of demons in the Florida high school shooting" to many, suggests a dichotomy of blame for those who want to falsely argue. The truth is actually the opposite. Evil people obey evil spirits. It's not as if innocent people are some how being duped into committing evil by an evil spirit. It's an either/or fallacy to say it's either demons or the kid who did the evil. There is another option and that is that they were working together.

What this means overall is that people are choosing evil more and more in this country. Guns don't murder people, people who love evil murder other people. The arrogance of this enlightened nation to blame everything but the evil person has always been the problem, even in the Bible. The same sin of pride that makes a person believe they can murder others is the same sin of pride that allows the murderer an excuse to somehow minimize the evil. We think we know better than God on how to solve the sin problem.

People are listening to and obeying the wrong spirit but since He's rejected it's only going to get worse. People can't even admit evil exists for fear of sounding unintelligent. What do we make of a person who destroys the bodies and lives of people for his own self gratification? What right does he have to take what God made? He should have rejected the voices but didn't. He chose to do evil.

 

[mark kennedy]

There are so many things to think and pray about after a tragedy like this. The topic I'm bringing up here I do not view as the first or necessarily even most important issue related to this shooting. Certainly things like praying for the families of victims and healing of the injured and emotional healing for all who were there is more important.

But this issue is also important. It has been reported in the news that the shooter claimed to hear voices in his head and some have identified these voices as being demonic.

This raises some discussion topics.

What do you think about this?

I've never actually encountered anyone I believed was demon possessed. Cruz making some random statement he was demonically possessed or influenced sounds like he had mental issues. Don't get me wrong I think demonic possession is real, met a Baptist preacher who encountered two demon possessed people during a home visit. He followed the NT formula of demanding the demon to leave in the name of Christ, successfully exercising the demon. Then he finds out her husband was possessed as well.

How might demons gain such influence in a person's life?

Usually by getting involved in the occult. I've heard it said that the demon's influence can be tied to an object, some kind of a amulet or figure. Generally it's advisable to get rid of an occultic books or objects.

Can Christians be oppressed and influenced by demons?

Of course, I've known a number of Christians tell me of a visitation, it's sometimes called. I've always been told to plead the blood of Christ and that the name of Christ should be claimed in warding off such encounters.

What can we do about it?

Prayer is usually your best defense, claiming the name of Christ should generally be sufficient. Stay away from anything related to the occult and realize, not every manifestation is going to result in possession. The way I get it early on there is something called the 'circling', where the demon will move objects and make noises. Anyone believing they are being approached in this way is badly in need of prayer. We live in a pretty secular society so most people don't concern themselves with such things.

Approach any claim of this kind of manifestation with caution. Sometimes schizophrenics can hear voices, such cases can be mistaken for demonic influence. Multiple personalities, which are clinically rare but still a possibility. Sometimes people just let their imaginations run away with them.

I think Cruz did what he did because he was mentally disturbed, I think his demons are from his own heart. Still I wouldn't rule it out, just have a hard time accepting that is what caused him to do this cowardly and murderous rampage. I think he was just a moral reprobate.

Grace and peace,
Mark

 

[Andrew Jeremiah]

There is no biblical evidence to support that demons and evil spirits all originate in man.
Evil human attitudes and activity can certainly be inspired by demons, or can welcome demons to enter.
Either way, repentance is needed and the demon must then be cast out, just as Jesus commanded. If not cast out, the demon will remain to corrupt that man's thinking and actions.​

Apart from confused, this is unbiblical.

For the last 40 years I have been casting demons, or evil spirits out of people. The result has been a complete transformation of that person with huge spiritual freedom and an eradication of demonic voices.
I can vouch, not only from scripture, but personal experience that these spirits are separate evil spiritual entities with a life of their own.
If they were nothing but bad attitudes, the Lord would not have described them as being able to enter into other beings.

YOU THINK there is no evidence but there is.

There is INSTRUCTION in everything we have to do - and one of those things is what God says "demons" are.

 

[Andrew Jeremiah]

There is no biblical evidence to support that demons and evil spirits all originate in man.
Evil human attitudes and activity can certainly be inspired by demons, or can welcome demons to enter.
Either way, repentance is needed and the demon must then be cast out, just as Jesus commanded. If not cast out, the demon will remain to corrupt that man's thinking and actions.​

Apart from confused, this is unbiblical.

For the last 40 years I have been casting demons, or evil spirits out of people. The result has been a complete transformation of that person with huge spiritual freedom and an eradication of demonic voices.
I can vouch, not only from scripture, but personal experience that these spirits are separate evil spiritual entities with a life of their own.
If they were nothing but bad attitudes, the Lord would not have described them as being able to enter into other beings.

Let me ask you....

Has the Lord spoken specifically to you to do these things?

 

[Francis Drake]

YOU THINK there is no evidence but there is.

There is INSTRUCTION in everything we have to do - and one of those things is what God says "demons" are.

If that's the case, then present it so we can see it.

 

[Francis Drake]

Let me ask you....

Has the Lord spoken specifically to you to do these things?

Definitely yes, but even Jesus told you to do it 2000 years ago.

 

[salt-n-light]

There are so many things to think and pray about after a tragedy like this. The topic I'm bringing up here I do not view as the first or necessarily even most important issue related to this shooting. Certainly things like praying for the families of victims and healing of the injured and emotional healing for all who were there is more important.

But this issue is also important. It has been reported in the news that the shooter claimed to hear voices in his head and some have identified these voices as being demonic.

This raises some discussion topics.

What do you think about this?
How might demons gain such influence in a person's life?
Can Christians be oppressed and influenced by demons?
What can we do about it?

what do I think about this?
Behold, the wickedness of man.

How might demons gain such influence in a person's life?
When they are void of God, that will always give room for the Devil to rule.

Can christians be oppressed and influenced by demons?
No, because Christ should be dwelling in them. Demons flee at His name.

What can we do about it?
Make disciples when we can, and pray when we can't. Stay vigilant.

 

[R. Hartono]

Maybe you forgot the story the Apostles were being followed by a possessed woman

These are some examples of people possessed by demon, they hv no control over their action :
Matt 17:15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.

Mark 5:5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones
6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,
7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.

The possessed man in Mark 5:6 ran to Jesus and worshipped Him, it was actually the demon who ran to Jesus and cried "What have i to do with Thee.... "

The same thing happened to the fortune teller who followed Paul, she did that out of her control, she yelled "these men are the servants..." obviously not her own voice but the demon said that.
17The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, "These men are the servants of the most high God"

So there's no way a possessed boy could prepare his ammo at home, called an uber cab, told the driver to the school, paid the money,
went into the school and started to aim at people.

The most tricky reason for him to avoid jail is to blame demon's whispering, he will be sent to mental hospital and escape death sentence.

 

[2Timothy2:15]

The same thing happened to the fortune teller who followed Paul, she did that out of her control, she yelled "these men are the servants..." obviously not her own voice but the demon said that.
17The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, "These men are the servants of the most high God"

Well that is not good exegesis. We do not know what the woman's voice sounded like, the bible does not tell us. So to pretend we knew is to add to the scripture. Further, there were possessed people that did not have control but there is stories like the woman of divination who were in control. The Lord is showing us that it is not always obvious.

 

[2Timothy2:15]

The most tricky reason for him to avoid jail is to blame demon's whispering, he will be sent to mental hospital and escape death sentence.

What if he is telling the truth about that. He is going to jail anyhow so the point is moot. But demons are at work today, so much so they convinced people and even Christians they don't even exist.

 

[R. Hartono]

Well that is not good exegesis. We do not know what the woman's voice sounded like, the bible does not tell us. So to pretend we knew is to add to the scripture. Further, there were possessed people that did not have control but there is stories like the woman of divination who were in control. The Lord is showing us that it is not always obvious.

What i meant was the woman's voice was not spoken by her but by the demon, she wouldnt followed Paul either on her own intention.

 

[2Timothy2:15]

What i meant was the woman's voice was not spoken by her but by the demon, she wouldnt followed Paul either on her own intention.

Again you are adding to scripture. We have no idea if she would have followed Paul or not.

What we do know is she was a diviner, one who told fortunes. We know she was possessed. We know she appeared normal for the most part but she was indeed possessed. So you initial statement that people who are possessed always act out of control is incorrect. You should just study it and learn rather than continue to debate things that are not even in scripture.

If you haven't really studied this topic before that is ok, study it now. It is a bit clear that you haven't and that is ok. But there is no logic in continuing to argue a subject that you really have not studied. Furthermore, the Lord may have not called you to or gifted you in spiritual battle at this level and that is ok too, the Lord knows all and he has his reasons. But to go on thinking that possessed people only act out of control is just not reality and surely it is not good bible.

 

[R. Hartono]

Again you are adding to scripture. We have no idea if she would have followed Paul or not.

Please read again :
Acts 16:17 This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.”

Its obviously clear it was not the real girl who followed Paul and shouted but its the demon inside her, so a person possessed by demon cannot possibly be aware of what he is doing.
We cannot blame demon for this killing, the boy was fully conscious.

 

[2Timothy2:15]

Please read again :
Acts 16:17 This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.”

Its obviously clear it was not the real girl who followed Paul and shouted but its the demon inside her, so a person possessed by demon cannot possibly be aware of what he is doing.
We cannot blame demon for this killing, the boy was fully conscious.

Please read again? I am familiar with the story. Never the less, shouting does not equate to out of control behavior. And to put a twist in it, the possessed woman was telling the truth wasn't she. But why would a demon do that? Let's see if you can answer that.

I am not saying the boy was possessed for sure or not. But there were demonic activity at work. Furthermore, you do not know if he was anymore in control of himself than the woman in acts, yet you speculate based on what?

How about Judas? The bible tells us that satan entered into him yet he left totally in control and went and got the Pharisees. No where does it say Judas roamed around foaming at the mouth after that.

 

[R. Hartono]

How about Judas? The bible tells us that satan entered into him yet he left totally in control and went and got the Pharisees.

Dont misunderstand the story of Judas, the devil knows Judas was a greedy man and tempted him with money in exchange for the information about Jesus's whereabouts to the Pharisees Sanhedrin.

Jesus saw Judas will be happy with the devil idea to betray Jesus for money so He said the devil entered him, didnt mean the devil possessed Judas, this has happened to Adam n Eve at the Garden of Eden where the devil tempted them to eat the forbidden snake, the devil didnt possessed Eve but its idea ENTERED her mind and then she sinned.

 

[2Timothy2:15]

Dont misunderstand the story of Judas, the devil knows Judas was a greedy man and tempted him with money in exchange for the information about Jesus's whereabouts to the Pharisees Sanhedrin.

Jesus saw Judas will be happy with the devil idea to betray Jesus for money so He said the devil entered him, didnt mean the devil possessed Judas, this has happened to Adam n Eve at the Garden of Eden where the devil tempted them to eat the forbidden snake, the devil didnt possessed Eve but its idea ENTERED her mind and then she sinned.

Sigh...dude, Judas became completely possessed. Here is the greek word for entered.

Luk 22:3
¶
Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.
εἰσέρχομαι
Transliteration
eiserchomai
Pronunciation
ās-e'r-kho-mī (Key)

Part of Speech
verb
Root Word (Etymology)
From εἰς (G1519) and ἔρχομαι (G2064)
Dictionary Aids
Vine's Expository Dictionary: View Entry

TDNT Reference: 2:676,257

KJV Translation Count — Total: 198x
The KJV translates Strong's G1525 in the following manner: enter (107x), go (22x), come in (19x), go in (18x), enter in (17x), come (14x), arise (1x).
Outline of Biblical Usage [?]

1. to go out or come in: to enter
   1. of men or animals, as into a house or a city
      
      
   2. of Satan taking possession of the body of a person
      
      
   3. of things: as food, that enters into the eater's mouth
2. metaph.
   1. of entrance into any condition, state of things, society, employment
      1. to arise, come into existence, begin to be
         
         
      2. of men, to come before the public
         
         
      3. to come into life
   2. of thoughts that come into the mind