About a year ago, I was working as an RA for the Johns Hopkins CTY program, and at lunch one day I overheard one of the other RA's telling some of my students about her beliefs. Now she was totally out of line, no question, by presenting as truth these hyper-christian beliefs to a bunch of young teenagers, but one of the things she said just shocked me so much, I almost jumped in and told her off in front of them. She said that demons are definitely real. Not only that, but demons can take a human form and walk among us. And that was expanded. She said that you probably know or have met a demon in human form. This scared me because because if you believe that then anyone who acts in an offensive or "evil" way could be labeled a demon, and persecuted as such. If you know someone's a demon, why not try to send them back to hell, right? It also scared me because here she was trying to sell this to 13 and 14 year-olds. She was a frickin' nut, and if I wasn't so shocked at that moment, I would've loved to sit her down and debate, but that's just one more lost oppurtunity now. My question to you is...Christians: Do you believe in literal demons? If so, what are they capable of? If not, have you met people with viewpoints such as what I described?
I will start out with quoting this verse: "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." If it is possible for angels to take human form without us knowing it, I suppose it is possible for demons to do the same. However, I believe demons generally take human form more like the image of "ghosts." And often deceive people in believing that they are harmless spirits of the past. Accroding to the Bible, demons only have one purpose and that is to destroy.
To better answer your questions: 1. Demons are not of this world, but can form to appear as if they are. 2. They are capable of oppressing and posessing humans (Exorcism of Emily Rose provides a good picture of what they can do).
Demons are definately real. Most Christians here ( including me ) have cast atleast one out. Yes, they CAN take on human form, and they CAN deceive people like that. They can also represent themselves as " angels of light ". But there's a way to test any angel if they're the good or evil, ask them " Is Jesus God, took on flesh form, and died, shedding His blood for me in order so I could have forgiveness and be right with God? " A demon will deny it, because they hate the blood, a true angel of light sent from God will definately confirm it, for they love and worship Him too. Yes, people can be deceived by demons. As Christians we are not to be afreid of them because Jesus gave us authority over them and that way " step on snakes and scorpions" and also " whatever we bound in heaven is bound on earth. " Casting them out is simple thanks to the grace and love of our God.... but for people who do not have authority, the demons are dangerous and can kill them if they want. Highest caution. They're extremely strong and able to conquer any human who does not have God's protection. For instance, they can tell people to suicide and go into people who have an open door, and destroy their lives. If we see a demon dressed in human and are able to discern them, we can take authority. " the LORD is my helper, I shall not fear, what can man do to me?" here's literally what the Bible says to one of the topics, more precisely Jesus: Luke 10:17-20 Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name." 18 And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." NKJV Did that answer all your questions? ^^
Hello, just wanted to show what i just saw surfing the forums Libertine said in a post called 'George Bush assassinated': "As much as I disdain Bush, I don't want him assassinated. 1) Killing someone doesn't solve problems-- that's Bush's way. 2) Dick Cheney would be President (as if he isn't already)." To Freakersoup, you said: "anyone who acts in an offensive or "evil" way could be labeled a demon, and persecuted as such" Are you sure we should persecute them if we were to meet them one day or another? (btw I am not saying George(s) Bush is what we could denominate as a demon, that s not what i want to show. That s just thoughts that were close from each other in my head). I could say something about demons too, but.... well, I dunno libertine is back, i didnt missed it
Lib, shut up! We can't let them know about the secret plot to overthro--errr, we can't let them know we're demons! Errr .... uhhhh ....... ... shit?
demons try to control the mind .......hence evil acts ..............killing.................rape... man some people have to fight these demons everyday .........alcaholism ........thoughts of commiting suicide etc etc .
True. Sometimes demons however control the person completely... like in the movie the Exorcism of Emily Rose
I have no clue as to whether or not they are real and neither do I give a shit. I mean I suppose it would be interesting to know one way or the other, but apart from that it is not especially important. The whole topic is a red herring, and some people have been woefully and detrimentally distracted by it. The girl mentioned in the OP for example, the one who told 13 year olds that some people are actually demons. It is a medieval concept that leads to things like, oh witch burnings. Hell, maybe there are demons who possess people and cause all kinds of problems. Unfortunately though, most people who do evil do it of their own voilition without any demonic influence at all. That's the kind of thing we need to concentrate on, not on casting out demons and performing exorcisms and other kinds of cerimonial mumbo-jumbo. So that is one Christian's opinion.
It is demonic influence that is the cause of evil deeds. Who do you think wispers to lie? Who do you think wispers to steal? Who do you think wispers to kill?
So it's not the sinner's fault, it's the demons! Ah, sweet unaccountability! What ever happened to making your own choices? Who wispers to sin? The selfish shortsightedness in man. Not some demon. to answer the question, though I'm not a christian, i'm undecided on spirit-beings and ghosts, but lean towards not believing in them. Never gave it much thought though, it's not important to me.
Wow, you all said a mouthful here. Yes, there's demons. The demons ARE angels. They are the ones who left their natural habitat and followed satan out of Heaven. Remember...the 1/3 of God's children. And, yes, we can cast them out, but remember to be careful if you're not a mature Christian. Look what happened to the guy in the book of Acts. The demons said to him, "Paul, we know, and, Christ we know, but, who are You?" You can safely annoint yourself or someone else with the oil of our people, ( olive oil). Check out James 5. Oh, and, incidentally, there's not one behind every bush! Later people!
I see no evidence for such as being nothing more than myth. No Demons. No Angels. No Gods. No Goblins. No Fairies. No Trolls. However, I am open to evidence if one can produce it.
Unless you've had run in with them, anyone would be wasting their time trying to convince you. It's most likely that if you don't believe in God, you'll never have an experience with a demon. Demons only go after those who believe, either trying to possess their souls or fighten them into submission. The head of the crew knows who to go after.
