View Full Version : Possession
possum37
07-10-2000, 09:20 AM
I've been freaking myself out lately with possession-themed movies & DVDs...alien possession in The Faculty and Invasion of the Body Snatchers...demonic possession in The Exorcist and End of Days...spiritual possession in Stigmata...
This stuff really creeps the heck out of me. As a Catholic, we've got a tradition of believing in demonic possession, and the exorcism of the offending spirit...but as a postmodernist, I'm not sure I actually believe in possession.
But it still creeps me out.
I probably shouldn't have snuck away to read Blatty's book "The Exorcist" (which was a lot creepier than the movie, IMHO) when I was 10.
What are others' opinions? Do possessions happen? Are they psychic, spiritual, demonic, or psychological phenomena?
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My knob tastes funny.
spidergoolash
07-10-2000, 09:33 AM
possum, are catholic priests still trained to peform exorcisms, or is this a thing of the past?
even in the bible, you read about demonic possessions - at least that's my interpretation of it. im(humble)o, i believe possessions happen and that they are demonic. rather frightening if you ask me, especially when wondering how and WHY something like this could happen ...
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"it's easier to stay out than get out"
possum37
07-10-2000, 10:24 AM
Yes and no. Don't you love those kinds of answers? http://www.aliensoup.com/ubb/smilies/smile.gif
To my knowledge, priests aren't regularly trained to perform "The Exorcist" type exorcisms. I believe that some priests do have the know-how to do so, but it's not a common thing.
On the other hand -- the rite of infant baptism does use "exorcising" language...in fact, The Rites calls the prayer "Prayer of Exorcism and Anointing Before Baptism".
"Almighty and ever-living God, you sent your only Son into the world to cast out the power of Satan, spirit of evil, to rescue man from the kingdom of darkness, and bring him into the splendor of yoru kingdom of light. We pray for these children: set them free from original sin, make them temples of your glory, and send your Holy Spirit to dwell within them."
This is done before the infant is anointed with oil, before the water is blesed, before the profession of faith, and before the actual act of "baptism". And the language is totally exorcism-focused. So in a way, with every infant baptism, a priest is performing an exorcism. A similar prayer is said during the rite of baptism for adults, again called "The Prayer of Exorcism".
"Deliver him/her from the powers of darkness and strengthen him/her through the grace of Christ..."
I think that prior to Vatican II any priest could do it, but these rites were revised afterwards.
Ughh...I had to walk into a spooky corner of the library stacks to find those books...I'm *totally* creeped out now...
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My knob tastes funny.
mthrlangl
07-10-2000, 03:49 PM
Personally, I believe in possession. There are some things that you hear or see people doing that they just couldn't do by themselves. (I can't think of any examples right off the top of my head, but I'm sure there are some.) As to why it happens, I have no idea.
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You know, Hobbes, some days even my lucky rocketship underpants don't help. - Calvin
possum37
07-12-2000, 10:52 AM
What about "evil" deeds? I don't just mean someone who kills another person (although personally I think murder *is* evil - another topic for another discussion), but someone like a mass-murderer. Sure, there's probably something mentally wrong with a person like that...do you think there's something darker & more sinister behind it?
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My knob tastes funny.
spidergoolash
07-12-2000, 01:16 PM
yes, i mean, how could one person come up w/something that horrible all "on their own"? you know? think about it. there is definately a sinister force behind it all - i think. it's almost like that person is not in control - but another force is.
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"it's easier to stay out than get out"
mthrlangl
07-12-2000, 01:52 PM
And if they're not controlled by that evil force, then they're darn sure influced an *awful* lot by it. I'm not sure how I'd define God and all that, but I definately believe in good and evil forces.
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You know, Hobbes, some days even my lucky rocketship underpants don't help. - Calvin
possum37
07-31-2000, 01:59 PM
Great, two more "scare the crap out of Poss" type movies...
Bless the Child - http://us.imdb.com/Title?0163983
Lost Souls - http://us.imdb.com/Title?0160484
I think Lost Souls would be the spookier of the two from what I've seen of them. I'm not sure that I'll find the nerve to go out and see either... http://www.aliensoup.com/ubb/smilies/wink.gif
While we're discussing possession...a very sad tale to tell... http://www.rochesternews.com/0731homicide.html is about the cousin and the aunt of one of my staff here at work. The cousin was apparently a bit mentally disturbed and decided to go off his meds. Was he clinically ill? More than likely. I think there might've been a bit more to it than that, though...a possession of some sort...I mean, his own *mother*...
And when you see the grief the family will have to deal with, you can't help but think that there's an evil force at work.
Brrrr.
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My knob tastes funny.
religion HAHAHAHA
I wonder who got bored and came up with the idea of writing these bibles :/
mthrlangl
08-01-2000, 07:12 AM
Hey..no need for that http://www.aliensoup.com/ubb/smilies/indiff.gif Some of us around here *do* happen to put some stock into "those bibles."
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You know, Hobbes, some days even my lucky rocketship underpants don't help. - Calvin
spidergoolash
08-01-2000, 08:55 AM
like i said before, i don't understand how someone could come up w/something that heinous *on their own*. there is more involved, there has to be. this is just my opinion on it, but when you read something like that, it really makes you wonder ... and shiver.
liltaz
08-01-2000, 09:42 AM
I'm with you there...I know people ahve great imaginations, but how they could come up with some of the things that are in the Bible are beyond me.
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A conservative is a liberal who's been mugged.
there is 500 editions of the bible. I assume there isn't much to do at 0001 AC http://www.aliensoup.com/ubb/smilies/smile.gif
mthrlangl
08-01-2000, 04:26 PM
Yes, and the majority of those versions, I would wager, are in different languages or styles (ie. King James, NIV, etc.)
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You know, Hobbes, some days even my lucky rocketship underpants don't help. - Calvin
JHowse
08-03-2000, 01:49 PM
Sorry about that, mthrlangl. Just bringing my experiences to bear on the situation. On the bright side, such dreams haven't happened in a while. http://www.aliensoup.com/ubb/smilies/smile.gif
JHowse
08-03-2000, 11:27 PM
Possesion exists, IMHO. I've seen people change overnight, and I have even felt sudden changes in my behavior from time to time. I also know that evil is capable of trying to do horrible things to you from time to time. I've had terrible, ungodly nightmares in my past where I felt something of the darkest, coldest, most uncaring nature was trying to snuff me out. It was horrid. It was as if something snatched me away just in time.
mthrlangl
08-03-2000, 11:46 PM
Thank you. My office is already cold..I didn't need chills on top of it :/
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You know, Hobbes, some days even my lucky rocketship underpants don't help. - Calvin
spidergoolash
08-08-2000, 10:27 PM
jh - i've had nightmares like that too. damn scary stuff ...
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"it's easier to stay out than get out"
possum37
08-09-2000, 07:36 AM
My gf just had one a couple weeks ago where she felt some really evil forces were, um...I suppose the polite way to put it would be that they were having their way with her without her permission. Ahem.
But anyways - that freaked her out...took a lot of talking to calm her down after that.
I used to have dreams where if I'd look into a mirror, something evil would take me over...I had dreams like that for YEARS (age 7 to my 20's) until I found myself in one dream *making* myself look into the mirror - the weird stuff *tried* to happen, but because I wasn't fighting it, their "possession" of me didn't work. And I haven't had that dream since. http://www.aliensoup.com/ubb/smilies/smile.gif
Thank god. http://www.aliensoup.com/ubb/smilies/smile.gif
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My knob tastes funny.