ExOrCiSm

The National Geographic Channel has this programme on Monday nights titled "Is it Real?" and this week's episode discussed about whether demon possession actually exists.

Can people actually get demon possessed?

What you think? i think it's a topic worth exploring.

My personal belief is yes. The bible teaches us about Jesus commanding the evil spirits out of the demon possessed man and the evil spirits entered the pigs which ran into the water together. The name of the evil spirit is called "Legion".

Let's talk a little bit about legion. According to Tyndale Bible Dictionary, it likens legion to a unit of the Roman army. In NT times, the standard size of the legion was 6000 men. Because it represented a large body of men, the word "legion" came to be used symbolically for an indefinate large number; this use occurs four times in the NT. In the story about the demoniac in the country of the Gerasenes, Jesus asked the man, "What is your name?" and the reply was, "My name is Legion, for we are many." (Mk5:9,15; Lk8:30; cf.Mt 12:45; Lk8:2) ...The word "legion" is... used in the NT... [to represent]... spiritual powers of evil that oppose men.

So we have established that demon possession is real. Then how does it happen to a person?

According to the same source...
some people are demonized by a hereditary curse, which may continue in the third or fourth generation(ex20:5).
The curse of illegitimacy was particularly strong for the bastard could not enter the congregation of Isreal until the tenth generation(Dt23:2)
Curses may also be placed upon someone by spells, incantations, or similar practices such as voodoo or other forms of witchcraft.
Gal 3:13 speaks of redemption from the curse of the law through Christ's having "become a curse" for us. Unusually believers are immune form curses made against them, unless they have grounds to the devil (Eph 4:27). Such grounds include drugs, illicit sex, occultic practices, or any other avenue forbidden in the Bible. Involvement with tarot cards, horoscopes, or any form of fortune telling may give demons opportunity to enter.

Such contacts may seem innocuous, but Satan utilizes the smallest foothold to gain advantage over people.

But what do other people think?

In this episode, there was a case study about this real case in the US. A boy had been toying with the Ouija board to try to contact his aunt. Strange things began happening such as the pictures shifting, the bed making unusual noises, footsteps, immense strength, and moments where he breaks into fits. When the priest conducted a few rounds of exorcism on him, everything went back to normal.

Here are some of the comments i've gathered from the people being interviewed...

"People do not actually get demon possessed. It can all be some form of a mental illness. The boy was known to be a notorious boy and so he might have been putting up a show to get attention. When he got the attention, he was satisfied."

"If it is a mental illness, going through exocism will not make it go away, seeing a psychiatrist would. If it is demon possession then seeing a psychiatrist will not do the trick either, exocism would."

"We have tried to plant false memories into people such as being part of satanic rituals and it worked. People started to remember situations whereby they havent even been through themselves. Therefore, if people say that they've been part of an occultic group or satanic rituals, there is a possibility that they've never actually experienced it before." -Psychiatrist

Bob Larson, a renowned minister in the Christian circle was interviewed as he tried to defend the faith.

So, have you made your stand? Not yet, then i urge you to start thinking about it.

We do know that exorcism was part of Jesus' ministry and he commanded his followers and disciples to do likewise.