Showing posts with label possession. Show all posts
Showing posts with label possession. Show all posts
Monday, December 17, 2012
Blaming Satan
Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association, has stated that Satan was behind last week's murders in Newtown, Connecticut.
Tragic events like the mass murder of schoolchildren certainly have an evil aura, and it isn't out of line to label the killer's actions as evil, in my opinion.
But to attribute the killer's actions directly to Satan, as Wildmon has done, is problematic. First of all, it's entirely possible that Adam Lanza had an emotional or mental disorder that interfered with his ability to feel empathy for others, manage his emotions, or control his impulses. The notion that mental illness is caused by demonic infestation or Satanic influence, promoted by Alex Jones and others, is positively Medieval and has no place in an informed, educated society like our own. It will not benefit the mentally ill, their caregivers, mental health professionals, or family members to fob the blame off on the Devil. If Lanza was not mentally ill, then he was fully responsible for his crimes, and no one else (including Satan) deserves even a shred of the blame for what he chose to do.
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Some anti-occult nonsense
- After their failed bid to cast their daughter as the girl martyr of Columbine, the parents of Cassie Bernall are now giving public addresses in which they describe their daughter as a Satanic would-be murderer (because she wrote angry study hall letters and had some "occult" stuff in her bedroom). I don't quite understand how disparaging their murdered daughter will accomplish...well, anything.
- A very strange anti-occult site called Satan's Fake Apocalypse asks some very strange questions, like "Criss Angel: Black Magician or Illusionist?" (is this where Sheldon got his info?), and "Was Bertrand Russell Possessed?". Other articles include "Programming Kids for Satanism with Video Games", "SRA: the appalling and pervasive reality hidden in plain sight", and "Demonic possession: sociopathy on steroids". A blog post by the same person asserts that kidnapping-for-ransom victim Eduardo Valesca was probably abducted by Satanists. Something to do with Satanists controlling the real estate market, and the "fact" that letters usually featured on maps of Mexico convert to the number sequence 9969, which translates to 666 if you remove a 9 and invert the others (without inverting the 6). This person believes his former housemates were ritualistically torturing him with sleep deprivation because they belonged to a Lucis Trust offshoot known as Triangles, which he read about in one of the Satanic panic pamphlets Lyndon LaRouche's organization cranked out in the '80s. Evidence for this plot included triangular decals on one roomie's vehicle, a bag of Mission Triangle tortilla chips left on a countertop, and a secret code employed on Lucis Trust websites. He "translated" these websites, "which was one of the more mentally draining efforts of my life because they were deliberately written to be highly ambiguous".
Thursday, January 22, 2009
A Funny/Sad Post...
at the Above Top Secret forum caught my attention. I'm not sure what to make of it. It's probably just some kid goofing, but then again, there is some serious delusion and derangement going on at this particular forum, so one never knows....
"I have been doing some research and a friend of mine and I want to capture a demon, well former angel, and we don't want to do anything too stupid."
Too late.
"We have blessed weapons for fighting it should things get to out of hand."
Um. 'Kay.
"But we have only found one way of containing it ..... allowing it to temporarily enter my body."
Evidently they don't have any Tupperware on hand.
"I know I am stronger than it because I spent quite some time in japan training my mind and body. We also know that we cannot kill it only 'Bannish It [sic]' temporarily. The problem is I'm not sure of the best way to call it,so I was hoping that one of the demontologists on here could help us. Thank You."
When in doubt, turn to online demonologists. Good thinking.
"I have been doing some research and a friend of mine and I want to capture a demon, well former angel, and we don't want to do anything too stupid."
Too late.
"We have blessed weapons for fighting it should things get to out of hand."
Um. 'Kay.
"But we have only found one way of containing it ..... allowing it to temporarily enter my body."
Evidently they don't have any Tupperware on hand.
"I know I am stronger than it because I spent quite some time in japan training my mind and body. We also know that we cannot kill it only 'Bannish It [sic]' temporarily. The problem is I'm not sure of the best way to call it,so I was hoping that one of the demontologists on here could help us. Thank You."
When in doubt, turn to online demonologists. Good thinking.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
The Efficiency of Demons
This is about the strangest theory related to demonic possession I've ever encountered. The author suspects the number of humans now vastly exceeds the number of demons, so demons are time-sharing when they possess people.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Vatican Exorcist Says World Leaders Possessed
Vatican exorcist Gabriele Amorth believes some of history's worst dictators and radicals weren't just megomaniacal a**holes; they were possessed by demons who made them do it.
During a recent interview on Vatican Radio, the Vatican's official exorcist, Father Gabriele Amorth, repeated his long-held suspicions that Hitler and Stalin were demonically and/or Satanically possessed while they committed their atrocities. (1) At other times he has implied that Karl Marx became possessed sometime after writing Das Kapital; apparently, publishing half-baked ideas leaves you open to diabolic possession. We'd all better watch out for that, eh?
If Amorth traveled back in time to perform exorcisms on Stalin, Marx, Hitler, et. al., would the world be a different place?
Amorth has written several articles and books on exorcism today, and is President of the International Association of Exorcists. He is, in effect, the world's top exorcist, with a reported record of 300,000 exorcisms (the number of his successes isn't noted).
It's always easier to blame the Devil's influence than to face up our natural tendencies for oppression, violence, and hate. It's even easier to blame the world's ills on rebellion against God.
To Amorth, it's simple: the Nazis turned their back on God, became overshadowed by demons, and perpetrated some of the vilest atrocities of the last century on "inferior" people because they were now working for the Devil. (just as the "witches" of the Middle Ages were supposed to be little more than Satan's drudges)
Interesting theory. Mine's a bit different. I think damn near anyone on this planet could become a fascist under the right circumstances, and the Devil's not the responsible party. We are. Time to stop using Old Nick as our collective scapegoat and take responsibility for our own actions and inaction.
Incidentally, Fr. Amorth has also been one of the most vocal opponents of JK Rowling's books, opining: "Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of the darkness, the devil." (1, 2)
Father Amorth, is Ms. Rowling possessed too? If you performed an exorcism on her, would she begin writing cookbooks?
Sources:
1. Nick Pisa, "Hitler and Stalin were possessed by the Devil, says Vatican exorcist", 28 August 2006 London Daily Mail (link)
2. Wikipedia entry on Father Amorth
During a recent interview on Vatican Radio, the Vatican's official exorcist, Father Gabriele Amorth, repeated his long-held suspicions that Hitler and Stalin were demonically and/or Satanically possessed while they committed their atrocities. (1) At other times he has implied that Karl Marx became possessed sometime after writing Das Kapital; apparently, publishing half-baked ideas leaves you open to diabolic possession. We'd all better watch out for that, eh?
If Amorth traveled back in time to perform exorcisms on Stalin, Marx, Hitler, et. al., would the world be a different place?
Amorth has written several articles and books on exorcism today, and is President of the International Association of Exorcists. He is, in effect, the world's top exorcist, with a reported record of 300,000 exorcisms (the number of his successes isn't noted).
It's always easier to blame the Devil's influence than to face up our natural tendencies for oppression, violence, and hate. It's even easier to blame the world's ills on rebellion against God.
To Amorth, it's simple: the Nazis turned their back on God, became overshadowed by demons, and perpetrated some of the vilest atrocities of the last century on "inferior" people because they were now working for the Devil. (just as the "witches" of the Middle Ages were supposed to be little more than Satan's drudges)
Interesting theory. Mine's a bit different. I think damn near anyone on this planet could become a fascist under the right circumstances, and the Devil's not the responsible party. We are. Time to stop using Old Nick as our collective scapegoat and take responsibility for our own actions and inaction.
Incidentally, Fr. Amorth has also been one of the most vocal opponents of JK Rowling's books, opining: "Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of the darkness, the devil." (1, 2)
Father Amorth, is Ms. Rowling possessed too? If you performed an exorcism on her, would she begin writing cookbooks?
Sources:
1. Nick Pisa, "Hitler and Stalin were possessed by the Devil, says Vatican exorcist", 28 August 2006 London Daily Mail (link)
2. Wikipedia entry on Father Amorth
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
The Real "Emily Rose" and Vodun Bunk
The Fatal Exorcism of Anneliese Michel
The Exorcism of Emily Rose is the fictionalized story of a German college student named Anneliese Michel. In the autumn of 1973, she was exhibiting strange behaviour at the University of Wurzberg (she was, like "Emily Rose", 19); lashing out, refusing to eat, throwing tantrums. She was epileptic, but Anneliese's parents consulted a priest instead of a doctor, and the priest recommended exorcism. The bishop reluctantly approved this decision, and two priests were assigned to perform the rite of exorcism on Annaliese - making this (as the trailer for Emily Rose blares) an official Catholic exorcism. The priest who first recommended exorcism, Adolf Rodewyk, was not part of the process, and the advice he gave in his 1963 book Possessed by Satan went unheeded: Clerics should look for medical explanations for "possession" before assuming the worst. Rodewyk's POV is commonly held by today's clerics, but proponents of possession and Hollywood producers insist on turning stories like Anneliese's into simplistic science-vs.-faith fairytales in which cold, ruthless rationalists undermine the beliefs of Everyman at the expense of both.
The exorcism of Anneliese didn't begin until official permission was granted, and went on for several months. It was 1976 and Anneliese was 23 before the process ended - with her death. She had refused to take (or had been denied) water and nourishment for so long that she wasted away to 70 pounds, and died without having seen a doctor.
The priests and her parents were charged with negligent homicide. The priests were found guilty in 1978, but were sentenced only to six month suspended prison sentences for allowing someone in their care to starve to death. To its credit, the German Bishops' Conference ruled that an exorcism could henceforth be performed only if a physician was present.
The symptoms of epilepsy are nearly identical to the "symptoms" of supposed demonic possession.
Audiotapes were made of Anneliese's exorcism. In addition to the usual sounds of possession (growling, clicking, hissing), she spoke in the voices of the various spirits who inhabited her body: Hitler, Judas Iscariot, a murderous Jewish doctor, etc. The tapes are revealing. The accent used for Hitler differed dramatically from his real one, and none of the spirits revealed any knowledge that couldn't be gleaned from textbooks and the Bible. ("Cries of a Woman Possessed: German Court Hears Tapes in Exorcism Death Trial" by Michael Getler, Washington Post, April 21/78, available online here).
Other Sources:
How about Demons?: Possession and Exorcism in the Modern World by Felicitas D. Goodman (Indiana University Press, 1988)
The official The Exorcism of Emily Rose website (www.whathappenedtoemily.com)
The Skeleton Key and Vodun Bunk
Director Iaian Softley's film starring Kate Hudson, The Skeleton Key, is the latest in a looong tradition of films that capitalize on the evil uses of Vodun ("voodoo") magic. I Walked With a Zombie and Wes Craven's The Serpent and the Rainbow (based on a nonfiction book of the same name) are two notable others. In each of these films, the basic premise is Science & Reason vs. Magic & Belief. A skeptic wanders into a hotbed of Vodun activity thinking that magical spells and curses can't possibly harm anyone, and ends up menaced by sinister Vodun practitioners and/or a legion of diabolic supernatural forces. In the end, he/she is forced to admit that Vodun magic is real. The Skeleton Key isn't any different; in the trailer, Kate Hudson's character chants to herself, "It isn't real, it isn't real...", then changes her tune to, "It's all real."
Vodun magic is effective - when it involves the powerful drugs and altered states of consciousness employed by its priests. I don't believe that its practitioners are actually possessed by the loa. And I don't believe that most Voudon magic is practiced with malicious intent, as these movies would have us believe. As with other forms of magic, it's usually practiced with the aim of bringing luck and fortune to practitioners - not death and misery to their enemies. To imply that Lousiana Vodun magicians or Haitian priests are more evil, more duplicitous than the rest of civilization is patently racist, superstitious, and ignorant.
The Exorcism of Emily Rose is the fictionalized story of a German college student named Anneliese Michel. In the autumn of 1973, she was exhibiting strange behaviour at the University of Wurzberg (she was, like "Emily Rose", 19); lashing out, refusing to eat, throwing tantrums. She was epileptic, but Anneliese's parents consulted a priest instead of a doctor, and the priest recommended exorcism. The bishop reluctantly approved this decision, and two priests were assigned to perform the rite of exorcism on Annaliese - making this (as the trailer for Emily Rose blares) an official Catholic exorcism. The priest who first recommended exorcism, Adolf Rodewyk, was not part of the process, and the advice he gave in his 1963 book Possessed by Satan went unheeded: Clerics should look for medical explanations for "possession" before assuming the worst. Rodewyk's POV is commonly held by today's clerics, but proponents of possession and Hollywood producers insist on turning stories like Anneliese's into simplistic science-vs.-faith fairytales in which cold, ruthless rationalists undermine the beliefs of Everyman at the expense of both.
The exorcism of Anneliese didn't begin until official permission was granted, and went on for several months. It was 1976 and Anneliese was 23 before the process ended - with her death. She had refused to take (or had been denied) water and nourishment for so long that she wasted away to 70 pounds, and died without having seen a doctor.
The priests and her parents were charged with negligent homicide. The priests were found guilty in 1978, but were sentenced only to six month suspended prison sentences for allowing someone in their care to starve to death. To its credit, the German Bishops' Conference ruled that an exorcism could henceforth be performed only if a physician was present.
The symptoms of epilepsy are nearly identical to the "symptoms" of supposed demonic possession.
Audiotapes were made of Anneliese's exorcism. In addition to the usual sounds of possession (growling, clicking, hissing), she spoke in the voices of the various spirits who inhabited her body: Hitler, Judas Iscariot, a murderous Jewish doctor, etc. The tapes are revealing. The accent used for Hitler differed dramatically from his real one, and none of the spirits revealed any knowledge that couldn't be gleaned from textbooks and the Bible. ("Cries of a Woman Possessed: German Court Hears Tapes in Exorcism Death Trial" by Michael Getler, Washington Post, April 21/78, available online here).
Other Sources:
How about Demons?: Possession and Exorcism in the Modern World by Felicitas D. Goodman (Indiana University Press, 1988)
The official The Exorcism of Emily Rose website (www.whathappenedtoemily.com)
The Skeleton Key and Vodun Bunk
Director Iaian Softley's film starring Kate Hudson, The Skeleton Key, is the latest in a looong tradition of films that capitalize on the evil uses of Vodun ("voodoo") magic. I Walked With a Zombie and Wes Craven's The Serpent and the Rainbow (based on a nonfiction book of the same name) are two notable others. In each of these films, the basic premise is Science & Reason vs. Magic & Belief. A skeptic wanders into a hotbed of Vodun activity thinking that magical spells and curses can't possibly harm anyone, and ends up menaced by sinister Vodun practitioners and/or a legion of diabolic supernatural forces. In the end, he/she is forced to admit that Vodun magic is real. The Skeleton Key isn't any different; in the trailer, Kate Hudson's character chants to herself, "It isn't real, it isn't real...", then changes her tune to, "It's all real."
Vodun magic is effective - when it involves the powerful drugs and altered states of consciousness employed by its priests. I don't believe that its practitioners are actually possessed by the loa. And I don't believe that most Voudon magic is practiced with malicious intent, as these movies would have us believe. As with other forms of magic, it's usually practiced with the aim of bringing luck and fortune to practitioners - not death and misery to their enemies. To imply that Lousiana Vodun magicians or Haitian priests are more evil, more duplicitous than the rest of civilization is patently racist, superstitious, and ignorant.
Monday, January 30, 2006
Canadian Priest Staying Mum About Exorcism Class
Recently, the only Canadian priest to attend the Vatican's new, month-long exorcism course was asked to share some of his knowledge. He said "no".
Father Emanuel Buttigieg, a Calgary priest for 40 years, attended the class so his diocese could benefit from the latest scholarship in demonology, but Bishop Fred Henry issued a prepared statement upon Fr. Buttigieg's return that makes it crystal clear he isn't willing to share that knowledge with anyone else. "As the devil likes to be an object of curiosity and sensationalism...I don't want to give him any more attention than he deserves," Bishop Henry explained. (1)
I don't think talking about the Vatican's exorcism course would be giving the devil his due. On the contrary, it might help restore public confidence in an ancient rite that has been seriously mishandled in recent years. The Exorcism of Emily Rose resurrected the tragic case of Anneliese Michel, a young German woman starved to death in the course of a grueling Catholic exorcism; the two priests later convicted of negligent homicide had ignored Aime's epilepsy. Then, on 15 June 2005, 23-year-old Romanian nun Maricica Irina Cornici was found dead from dehydration and suffocation in her own convent. A priest, believing she was beseiged by demons, had lashed her to a cross and stuffed a rag in her mouth as part of an effort to starve out the evil spirits. (2)
Father Buttigieg, you don't have to give us all the gory details...but please tell us you learned something in Rome!
Sources:
1."Exorcists live among us, but they prefer to keep a low profile" by Niall McKenna, CanWest News Service, Edmonton Journal, Jan. 8/06
2. "Deadly Rituals: Nun Dies During Convent Exorcism" by Benjamin Radford, Skeptical Inquirer, Sept./Oct. 2005
Father Emanuel Buttigieg, a Calgary priest for 40 years, attended the class so his diocese could benefit from the latest scholarship in demonology, but Bishop Fred Henry issued a prepared statement upon Fr. Buttigieg's return that makes it crystal clear he isn't willing to share that knowledge with anyone else. "As the devil likes to be an object of curiosity and sensationalism...I don't want to give him any more attention than he deserves," Bishop Henry explained. (1)
I don't think talking about the Vatican's exorcism course would be giving the devil his due. On the contrary, it might help restore public confidence in an ancient rite that has been seriously mishandled in recent years. The Exorcism of Emily Rose resurrected the tragic case of Anneliese Michel, a young German woman starved to death in the course of a grueling Catholic exorcism; the two priests later convicted of negligent homicide had ignored Aime's epilepsy. Then, on 15 June 2005, 23-year-old Romanian nun Maricica Irina Cornici was found dead from dehydration and suffocation in her own convent. A priest, believing she was beseiged by demons, had lashed her to a cross and stuffed a rag in her mouth as part of an effort to starve out the evil spirits. (2)
Father Buttigieg, you don't have to give us all the gory details...but please tell us you learned something in Rome!
Sources:
1."Exorcists live among us, but they prefer to keep a low profile" by Niall McKenna, CanWest News Service, Edmonton Journal, Jan. 8/06
2. "Deadly Rituals: Nun Dies During Convent Exorcism" by Benjamin Radford, Skeptical Inquirer, Sept./Oct. 2005
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