By Susan Duclos
Demonic possession goes mainstream with a scientific journal asking “Schizophrenia or Possession?,” in their June edition.
In a recent article published by the scientific Jounal of Religion and Health, a Turkish researcher discusses schizophrenia, stating “One approach to this hallucination problem is to consider the possibility of a demonic world. Demons are unseen creatures that are believed to exist in all major religions and have the power to possess humans and control their body. Demonic possession can manifest with a range of bizarre behaviors which could be interpreted as a number of different psychotic disorders with delusions and hallucinations. The hallucination in schizophrenia may therefore be an illusion—a false interpretation of a real sensory image formed by demons.”
With multiple stories hitting the mainstream news of demonic possession, (videos below) and the Vatican and variety of other churches around the globe training more excorcists to cast demons out of possessed people, this article seems to suggest that more in the scientific community are considering a spiritual and supernatural war is taking place.
Key quotes from the article:
• In our region, demons are believed to be intelligent and unseen creatures that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. In many aspects of their world, they are very similar to us. They marry, have children, and die. The life span, however, is far greater than ours (Ashour 1989). Through their powers of flying and invisibility, they are the chief component in occult activities. The ability to possess and take over the minds and bodies of humans is also a power which the demons have utilized greatly over the centuries (Littlewood 2004; Gadit and Callanan 2006; Ally and Laher 2008). Most scholars accept that demons can possess people and can take up physical space within a human’s body (Asch 1985). They possess people for many reasons. Sometimes it is because they have been hurt accidentally, but possession may also occur because of love (Ashour 1989; Philips 1997). When the demon enters the human body, they settle in the control center of the body–brain.
• There exist similarities between the clinical symptoms of schizophrenia and demonic possession. Common symptoms in schizophrenia and demonic possession such as hallucinations and delusions may be a result of the fact that demons in the vicinity of the brain may form the symptoms of schizophrenia… The hallucination in schizophrenia may therefore be an illusion—a false interpretation of a real sensory image formed by demons… On the other hand, auditory hallucinations expressed as voices arguing with one another and talking to the patient in the third person may be a result of the presence of more than one demon in the body.
• Above considerations have led to the suggestion that it is time for medical professions to consider the possibility of demonic possession in the etiology of schizophrenia, especially in the cases with hallucinations and delusions. Therefore, it would be useful for medical professions to work together with faith healers to define better treatment pathways for schizophrenia. (Source)
The Journal of Religion & Health makes it very clear they do not take the official position that demons are real but the article was published to promote discussion and debate, but the very fact that researchers are bringing this issue and theory to the mainstream, suggests there is far more going on in the world than what we can see, hear and touch.
