Possessed by Ghosts: Exorcisms in the 21st Century

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Although forbidden in the Hebrew Bible, magic was widely practiced in the late Second Temple Period and well documented in the period following the destruction of the Temple into the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries C.E. [52] [53] Jewish magical papyri were inscriptions on amulets, ostraca and incantation bowls used in Jewish magical practices against shedim and other unclean spirits. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, Jewish methods of exorcism were described in the Book of Tobias. [54] [55]

Possessed by Ghosts: Exorcisms in the 21st Century by Wanda

The New Testament mentions several episodes in which Jesus drove out demons from persons. [7] Whilst most Christians believe that demonic possession is an involuntary affliction, [8] some biblical verses have been interpreted as indicating that possession can be voluntary. For example, Alfred Plummer writes that when Devil entered into Judas Iscariot in John 13:27, this was because Judas had continually agreed to Satan's suggestions to betray Jesus and had wholly submitted to him. [9] Robbins, Joel (2004a). "The globalization of pentecostal and charismatic Christianity". Annual Review of Anthropology. 33: 117–143. doi: 10.1146/annurev.anthro.32.061002.093421. ProQuest 199862299. Zebola [59] is a women's spirit possession dance ritual practised by certain ethnic groups of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is believed to have therapeutic qualities and has been noted in the West as a traditional form of psychotherapy. Uncovering the Power of Hoodoo: An Ancestral Journey". Public Broadcasting Service. PBS . Retrieved 25 May 2023.The concept of spirit possession exists in the culture of modern Rajasthan. Some of the spirits allegedly possessing Rajasthanis are seen as good and beneficial, while others are seen as malevolent. The good spirits are said to include murdered royalty, the underworld god Bhaironji, and Muslim saints & fakirs. Bad spirits are believed to include perpetual debtors who die in debt, stillborn infants, deceased widows, and foreign tourists. The supposedly possessed individual is referred to as a ghorala, or "mount". Possession, even if by a benign spirit, is regarded as undesirable, as it is seen to entail loss of self-control, and violent emotional outbursts. [104]

Spirit possession - Wikipedia

A belief in spirit possession appears among the Xesibe, a Xhosa-speaking people from Transkei, South Africa. The majority of the supposedly possessed are married women. The condition of spirit possession among them is called inwatso. Those who develop the condition of inwatso are regarded as having a special calling to divine the future. They are first treated with sympathy, and then with respect as they allegedly develop their abilities to foretell the future. [70] Hezel, Francis X. (1993). Spirit Possession in Chuuk: Socio-Cultural Interpretation. Vol.11. Micronesian Counselor.But if even the ethicists are preferring censorship and suppression over scholarly debate, we are indeed in living in dark times. With even a minimum of consideration for other perspectives, less dumb certainty is possible. It is surely reasonable to be able to discuss one’s terminological preference for “schizophrenia” or “demonic possession” in transcultural contexts. Mehta, Hemant. "Baptist pastor falsely claims autism is demonic: "My God doesn't make junk" ". Friendly Atheist . Retrieved 18 September 2023. What is most concerning about this argument is not that Irmak believes demonic possession to be worthy of serious consideration in explaining schizophrenia. People hold bizarre beliefs all the time, and it may be that Irmak is well-intentioned; indeed, he dedicates his paper ‘to the American mathematician John Forbes Nash and to all schizophrenic patients’. What I find more disturbing is that the editorial board and peer reviewers of a scholarly publication, in 2014, find this view of mental illness worthy of dissemination. Those who have espoused similarly fanciful hypotheses about other sorts of misfortunes have, in recent years, been lambasted: recall Glenn Hoddle’s claim that disability is a punishment for sins committed in past lives, and William Roache’s apparent suggestion that people wouldn’t be sexually abused unless they had misbehaved ‘in previous lives or whatever’. Such views are dehumanising and disrespectful to, respectively, disabled and sexually abused people, and they shift focus away from serious efforts to improve these people’s lives. Sutherland, Gail Hinich (2013). "Demons and the Demonic in Buddhism". Oxford Bibliographies. doi: 10.1093/OBO/9780195393521-0171 . Retrieved 12 December 2019.

Ghost Affecting or Possessing a Person Symptoms of a Ghost Affecting or Possessing a Person

Lewis, I. M. (1966). "Spirit Possession and Deprivation Cults". Man. 1 (3): 307–329. doi: 10.2307/2796794. JSTOR 2796794. Hamer, John; Hamer, Irene (1966). "Spirit Possession and Its Socio-Psychological Implications among the Sidamo of Southwest Ethiopia". Ethnology. 5 (4): 392–408. doi: 10.2307/3772719. JSTOR 3772719. Malachi, M. (1976). Hostage to the Devil: the possession and exorcism of five living Americans. San Francisco: Harpercollins. p.462. ISBN 0-06-065337-X. Cuneo, Michael (1999). "Exorcism". Contemporary American Religion. Vol.1. Macmillan Reference USA: Gale eBooks. pp.243–245 . Retrieved 3 December 2019.Full disclosure along with more subjective opinions: I am a skeptic, but I very much want to believe in things like spirits, and psychic powers, and hauntings, and energy transfer. Even when I don't believe a story is true, the mystery of it is something I greatly enjoy. There is nothing mysterious about the accounts in this book, because nearly everything reads like a snake-oil spiritualist salesman from the 1850's, including the recurring claims that Client Mysteriously Fully Recovered Overnight! Doctors Baffled! and the consistent undercurrent of victim-blaming and patriarchal reinforcement. Even aside from my extreme skepticism that the author can psychically make tumors disappear, eliminate dementia, cure autism, mend broken bones, etc., often immediately, the way these anecdotes are presented turns into an infomercial of fantastic testimonials from the author's clients. The transphobia and homophobia is not vitriolic, but comes from an assumption that it is abnormal and causing distress to its sufferers, or at the very least, their families. (This was written over ten years ago, in a different country, and I'm sure cultural differences are at play, here.) It is personally distressing to see yet another repetition of the myth that chronic illnesses are 1.) supernaturally based, 2.) intended to teach a karmic lesson, and/or 3.) the fault of the sufferer, really, in the end. We've heard that already, kind of a lot. It is neither helpful nor kind. Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Exorcism". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Ceremonies called Pujas often include the drumming of three to five tappu to invoke the deity to the space. [110] Then, the head pujari receives the God or Goddess into their body, acting as a medium. A mixture of water, turmeric powder, and neem leaves are poured onto the medium, as it is believed that the God's energy heats up the body while the water and turmeric with the neem leaves cools it down again. [111] Puja services are often held once a week. Ong, Aihwa (February 1988). "the production of possession: spirits and the multinational corporation in Malaysia". American Ethnologist. 15 (1): 28–42. doi: 10.1525/ae.1988.15.1.02a00030. S2CID 30121345. {{ cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year ( link)

What Do Ghost Dreams Mean? | Sleep Matters What Do Ghost Dreams Mean? | Sleep Matters

The infliction of demonic torment upon an individual has been chronicled in premodern Protestant literature. In 1597, King James discussed four methods of daemonic influence upon an individual in his book Daemonologie: [19] This is difficult. The author is not hateful or spiteful or antagonistic toward the people she sees as suffering from these ghost- or psyche-induced afflictions, but well-meaning people can further spread harmful myths, stereotypes, and misunderstandings even farther than hateful ones. That is what is happening here. Bullard, A. (2022). Spiritual and Mental Health Crisis in Globalizing Senegal: A History of Transcultural Psychiatry. USA: Taylor & Francis. Yosefi, Maxim. "The origins of the traditional approach towards the jinn of poetic inspiration in tribal Arab culture." Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies. Vol. 49. Archaeopress, 2019.The Urapmin people of the New Guinea Highlands practice a form of group possession known as the "spirit disco" ( Tok Pisin: spirit disko). [112] Men and women gather in church buildings, dancing in circles and jumping up and down while women sing Christian songs; this is called "pulling the [Holy] spirit" ( Tok Pisin: pulim spirit, Urap: Sinik dagamin). [112] [113] The songs' melodies are borrowed from traditional women's songs sung at drum dances (Urap: wat dalamin), and the lyrics are typically in Telefol or other Mountain Ok languages. [113] If successful, some dancers will "get the spirit" (Tok Pisin: kisim spirit), flailing wildly and careening about the dance floor. [112] After an hour or more, those possessed will collapse, the singing will end, and the spirit disco will end with a prayer and, if there is time, a Bible reading and sermon. [112] The body is believed to normally be "heavy" (Urapmin: ilum) with sin, and possession is the process of the Holy Spirit throwing the sins from one's body, making the person "light" ( fong) again. [112] This is a completely new ritual for the Urapmin, who have no indigenous tradition of spirit-possession. [112] Micronesia [ edit ] Official Catholic doctrine affirms that demonic possession can occur as distinguished from mental illness, [18] but stresses that cases of mental illness should not be misdiagnosed as demonic influence. Catholic exorcisms can occur only under the authority of a bishop and in accordance with strict rules; a simple exorcism also occurs during baptism. [1] Thanks Douglas. I think there is much more at stake here than a ‘terminological preference’. Whether or not one thinks that schizophrenia is caused by demonic possession has implications for the way in which it is researched and treated, and attitudes towards the mentally ill. If I read you correctly, you also imply that it is important to take into account cultural factors when deciding how to understand and treat mental illness. I agree 100%. But such efforts should complement scientific methods, not replace them. Oppression, in which there is no loss of consciousness or involuntary action, such as in the biblical Book of Job in which Job was tormented by Satan through a series of misfortunes in business, material possessions, family, and health.