Do Christians actually believe in demonic possession?

dilbert2

Considering all we know about mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, epilepsy etc. and how they can affect a persons personality or physical capacity, are there still actually religious people who believe that invisible demonic forces can gain control of a persons body, when the supposed demonically possessed victim is suffering from a as of yet un-medicated neurological or medical condition such as the two noted above.

flutterflye

Maybe in America, but I doubt most normal christians believe that nowadays.

Gummy Panda

You can not ignore the taint of chaos

bitemybanger

What do ye mean invisable demonic forces. i can see mine perfectly:(

uch

I'm like a Demon when i'm Bursting

Arawn

If it's in that fantasy novel they believe is real they sort of have to

Bipolar Joe

I think they're called Scientologists, now.

pragmatic1

Arawn wrote: »

If it's in that fantasy novel they believe is real they sort of have to

Or else they're not good Christians.

Kevin Duffy

Do Christian bankers do demonic respossessions?

Solnskaya

Yes, yes they do. They also believe in the easter bunny and the tooth fairy. If they don't, they are excommunicated and dunked on the dipping chair before being dried off with hells breath and burnt at the stake. It's a big ask, but most do their best. Personally I firmly believe in Demonic posession and have met many posessed persons. One tried to take my parking space in Dunnes today, but I recited a verse from the 2nd book of ***** at him and he skulked off to the cave from whence he sallied.
edit: this post has been demonically posessed and my cnuts has been transformified into a series of demonic asterisks. Proof if proof were needed.

wonderfulname

Well the Vatican still appoints exorcists, and who could forget this hilarious conference?

dilbert2

wonderfulname wrote: »

Well the Vatican still appoints exorcists, and who could forget this hilarious conference?

Blaming clerical child abuse on the devil, what a shower of arseholes they truly are.

Fbjm

Christians believe a lot of things, I've learned to just accept their gullibility and distance myself from it.

Terry

I've been possessed ever since doing a ouija board carved into a gravestone when I was 15.
Any bad I have done since then is because of the spirit of the inhabitant of that grave. I am not to blame for my own actions.

Praise Jesus.

Solnskaya

Terry wrote: »

I've been possessed ever since doing a ouija board carved into a gravestone when I was 15.
Any bad I have done since then is because of the spirit of the inhabitant of that grave. I am not to blame for my own actions.

Praise Jesus.

"I forgive you my child"-Pope Pious the shirt lifterXXXv1.

Give to your local Church collection, think of the children, and their compo.

John Doe1

In the United States of Retardia and some of the more backward african countries, yeah. They are funny like that

Terry

Solnskaya wrote: »

"I forgive you my child"-Pope Pious the shirt lifterXXXv1.

Give to your local Church collection, think of the children, and their compo.

Thank you.
Praise Jesus.

Nodin

Gummy Panda wrote: »

You can not ignore the taint of chaos

'Blessed is a closed mind filled with faith'.

Solnskaya

Terry wrote: »

Thank you.
Praise Jesus.

If Jesus was alive, he'd avoid the Catholic church like a Cavan man avoids buying a round.

PK2008

dilbert2 wrote: »

Considering all we know about mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, epilepsy etc. and how they can affect a persons personality or physical capacity, are there still actually religious people who believe that invisible demonic forces can gain control of a persons body, when the supposed demonically possessed victim is suffering from a as of yet un-medicated neurological or medical condition such as the two noted above.

Yes, no, maybe, I dont know, who cares, why do you care, nobody cares.

Let them believe what they want

Solnskaya

Also, there is the small matter of me and others, knowing feck all about schitzophrenniaie and bi-popular disorder yet believing that I/We are experts in the subject-that is the black swan in the unction. I believe that all schizophrenics are just misguided, and so do I.

starbelgrade

Anyone who doesn't believe in demonic possession should watch this documentary.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDGw1MTEe9k

Crann na Beatha

This post has been deleted.

the purple tin

It wouldn't be so bad being possessed by demons as long as the feckers would pay a bit of rent :mad:

philologos

You could ask over yonder. Personally as a Christian I do. There is a spiritual force that brings us to know God, and there are spiritual forces at work bringing many people away from Him. Given the state of the world, I don't think that's beyond believable for me. Perhaps it is for many if they assume that God doesn't exist.

Perhaps I'm not a normal Christian though

yutta

Solnskaya wrote: »

If Jesus was alive, he'd avoid the Catholic church like a Cavan man avoids buying a round.

Funny that the Catholic Church is the only apostolic church. I wonder what Jesus would think about that?

3ndahalfof6

to be fair I think Dominic has a lot of stuff.

housetypeb

philologos wrote: »

You could ask over yonder. Personally as a Christian I do. There is a spiritual force that brings us to know God, and there are spiritual forces at work bringing many people away from Him. Given the state of the world, I don't think that's beyond believable for me. Perhaps it is for many if they assume that God doesn't exist.

Perhaps I'm not a normal Christian though

Yes , you could ask over yonder and have the thread locked at once,
Sometimes that forum looks like a hardware store with all the locks.

alex73

Read screwtape letters. The best way to get people to hell is to make man think the Devil does not exist.

alex73

yutta wrote: »

Funny that the Catholic Church is the only apostolic church. I wonder what Jesus would think about that?

The Catholic Church is not the only Apostolic Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church as full apostolic Succession recognised by the Catholic Church. So does the Coptic Church as far as I remember.

Ghost Buster

John Doe1 wrote: »

In the United States of Retardia and some of the more backward african countries, yeah. They are funny like that

But its in The Bible which is the word of God and The vatican still has exorcists so why do you consider The US and African countries as backwards when it comes to their faith?

Ghost Buster

alex73 wrote: »

Read screwtape letters. The best way to get people to hell is to make man think the Devil does not exist.

And the best way to keep your flock in line is to come up with scare mongering sh1te like this.

44leto

In my experience not only Christians have these bizarre beliefs. I meet so called atheists who also believe in the irrational such as evil, ghosts, spirituality, life after death, luck etc.

I regard belief in demonic possession just as absurd as any of the above.

Ghost Buster

44leto wrote: »

In my experience not only Christians have these bizarre beliefs. I meet so called atheists who also believe in the irrational such as evil, ghosts, spirituality, life after death, luck etc.

I regard belief in demonic possession just as absurd as any of the above.

Ghosts, evil, spirituality etc have nothing to do with atheism so belief in such does dot make these people "so called atheists".

TanG411

bitemybanger wrote: »

What do ye mean invisable demonic forces. i can see mine perfectly:(

See it? I married it.

housetypeb

alex73 wrote: »

Read screwtape letters. The best way to get people to hell is to make man think the Devil does not exist.

So a satirical novel is now considered proof that the devil exists? You must have been scared ****less by the twilight saga.

philologos

Ghost Buster wrote: »

And the best way to keep your flock in line is to come up with scare mongering sh1te like this.

I don't see how it would affect Christians at all. Christians are those who have already accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In so far as one does this and lives by it, one has nothing to fear not even death.

The original post seems only tangental to the posters real objection to Christianity. There are more underlying issues surely other than the belief that there are evil presences in the world? That to me seems pretty obvious from looking at the world around us.

uck51js9zml2yt

philologos wrote: »

Ghost Buster wrote: »

And the best way to keep your flock in line is to come up with scare mongering sh1te like this.

I don't see how it would affect Christians at all. Christians are those who have already accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In so far as one does this and lives by it, one has nothing to fear not even death.

The original post seems only tangental to the posters real objection to Christianity. There are more underlying issues surely other than the belief that there are evil presences in the world? That to me seems pretty obvious from looking at the world around us.

well said ..screwtape letters were insightful .

mcmoustache

Ghost Buster wrote: »

Ghosts, evil, spirituality etc have nothing to do with atheism so belief in such does dot make these people "so called atheists".

While it's true that atheism is nothing more than the lack of belief in god(s), I do find it odd that people can be an atheist and then believe in stuff such as Crystals or Reiki.

Presumably they became atheist by spotting that the whole god stuff is absurd and doesn't stand up to any logical scrutiny*. You'd think then that the same type of scrutiny would get them to conclude that ghosts and all that other guff were bollox too.



*The god suff can stand up to scrutiny but some clever mental gymnastics and compartmentalisation are required.

pragmatic1

44leto wrote: »

In my experience not only Christians have these bizarre beliefs. I meet so called atheists who also believe in the irrational such as evil, ghosts, spirituality, life after death, luck etc.

I regard belief in demonic possession just as absurd as any of the above.

I dont believe in anything supernatural but I do believe in the concept of evil. I think its almost an entirely human trait.

OneArt

mcmoustache wrote: »

While it's true that atheism is nothing more than the lack of belief in god(s), I do find it odd that people can be an atheist and then believe in stuff such as Crystals or Reiki.

Presumably they became atheist by spotting that the whole god stuff is absurd and doesn't stand up to any logical scrutiny*. You'd think then that the same type of scrutiny would get them to conclude that ghosts and all that other guff were bollox too.



*The god suff can stand up to scrutiny but some clever mental gymnastics and compartmentalisation are required.

In fairness, as pseudoscientific Reiki and crystal healing are, they do seem a lot more plausible than the idea of a man sitting on a cloud watching the entire world. At least people attempt to explain it in some way (like Reiki is energy and whatnot) whereas most explanation about God is just "that's how it is".

Not saying either idea is true, its just that certain things do appear more plausible than others.

Batsy

I believe in demons and demonic possession.

The movie "The Exorcist" is based on a true story, except that it was a boy who was possessed in real life rather than a girl.

There was a programme on Quest (Freeview channel 38) at 10pm last night called "True Horror with Anthony Head".

It is a TV series hosted by the actor who recently played Uther Pendragon in the BBC series "Merlin."

In the series he travels around the world in search of myths and legends. Last week's episode was about vampires and he went to Transylvania in Romania in search of vampire tales.

Last night's episode was about demonic possession and it was quite disturbing. At the beginning of the programme was some footage of a young Italian girl who was possessed by a demon. She was strapped to a chair whilst priests attempted to perform an exorcism on her. All the time she was screaming loudly and shouting obscenities whilst struggling to break out of the straps. Her face was contorted in a way that made her look pure evil. One of the priests asked her if Satan existed and she (or, rather, the demon) shouted, in Italian: "He exists! He exists!" and then started to scream loudly. It was absolutely disturbing.

Then, for the next half an hour, Anthony related the tale of a 16 year old French girl who, at the end of 1565 and the beginning of 1566, was under demonic possession. She was carried to a church to have an exorcism performed on her. Over the several weeks she was possessed people came from far and wide to watch the exorcism. Witnesses not only saw her screaming and uttering the usual blasphemies but her tongue nearly always lolled out of her mouth and on several occassions, whilst lying down, she arched her back in a way that seemed to be physically impossible. Sometimes her body moved with such force that she broke several of her bones including an arm. Several times the demon in her shouted "This bitch is mine!" and "This whore is mine!" whilst hundreds of people looked on in awe.

On one occasion she stopped moving and just lay still. Then a man's voice that had not been heard before emanated from her even though her lips didn't move. This male voice then shouted out certain secrets that certain members of the watching crowd had and even mentioned their names even though there was no way the girl could have known any of these secrets and the people's names.

After several weeks of possession she eventually became possessed by several demons at the same time, and as the priests managed to get rid of a demon another came along to take its place. Each of these demons had its own personality, spoke different languages and gave the girl different contorted facial expressions.

Eventually all of these demons left her body. Witnesses reported seeing a puff of black smoke emanating from her mouth and, at the same time, the sounds of many voices chattering at the same time. Her possession was then over but her body was left phsically broken.

Ghost Buster

Batsy wrote: »

I believe in demons and demonic possession.

The movie "The Exorcist" is based on a true story, except that it was a boy who was possessed in real life rather than a girl.

There was a programme on Quest (Freeview channel 38) at 10pm last night called "True Horror with Anthony Head".

It is a TV series hosted by the actor who recently played Uther Pendragon in the BBC series "Merlin."

In the series he travels around the world in search of myths and legends. Last week's episode was about vampires and he went to Transylvania in Romania in search of vampire tales.

Last night's episode was about demonic possession and it was quite disturbing. At the beginning of the programme was some footage of a young Italian girl who was possessed by a demon. She was strapped to a chair whilst priests attempted to perform an exorcism on her. All the time she was screaming loudly and shouting obscenities whilst struggling to break out of the straps. Her face was contorted in a way that made her look pure evil. One of the priests asked her if Satan existed and she (or, rather, the demon) shouted, in Italian: "He exists! He exists!" and then started to scream loudly. It was absolutely disturbing.

Then, for the next half an hour, Anthony related the tale of a 16 year old French girl who, at the end of 1565 and the beginning of 1566, was under demonic possession. She was carried to a church to have an exorcism performed on her. Over the several weeks she was possessed people came from far and wide to watch the exorcism. Witnesses not only saw her screaming and uttering the usual blasphemies but her tongue nearly always lolled out of her mouth and on several occassions, whilst lying down, she arched her back in a way that seemed to be physically impossible. Sometimes her body moved with such force that she broke several of her bones including an arm. Several times the demon in her shouted "This bitch is mine!" and "This whore is mine!" whilst hundreds of people looked on in awe.

On one occasion she stopped moving and just lay still. Then a man's voice that had not been heard before emanated from her even though her lips didn't move. This male voice then shouted out certain secrets that certain members of the watching crowd had and even mentioned their names even though there was no way the girl could have known any of these secrets and the people's names.

After several weeks of possession she eventually became possessed by several demons at the same time, and as the priests managed to get rid of a demon another came along to take its place. Each of these demons had its own personality, spoke different languages and gave the girl different contorted facial expressions.

Eventually all of these demons left her body. Witnesses reported seeing a puff of black smoke emanating from her mouth and, at the same time, the sounds of many voices chattering at the same time. Her possession was then over but her body was left phsically broken.

News just in:
Stuff on telly isnt automatically real or true just cos it was on telly......
Just saying...

marcsignal

In a recent case in Foynes, a woman had to call in the Devil to get the Catholic Priest out of her son.

:pac:

Batsy

Ghost Buster wrote: »

News just in:
Stuff on telly isnt automatically real or true just cos it was on telly......
Just saying...

The programme is a factual documentary, not a drama series.

The girl in question was called Nicola Aubrey and the events mentioned in "True Horror with Anthony Head" actually happened. It is a fairly well documented case. In the episode Anthony travels to the French town where it actually happened - Laon - and goes inside the church where the exorcisms took place. A Frenchwoman showed Anthony a document dated from 1566 which actually recounts, in medieval French, the possession of Nicola Aubrey.

When the events were shown in this episode everthing that was said by the girl (demon, to be more precise) and the priests was an English translation of what they actually said at the time.

Read this:


THE EXORCISM OF NICOLA AUBREY

By Father Michael Muller, C.SS.R.

It is indeed a remarkable fact that, as the devil made use of Luther, an apostate monk, to abolish the Mass and deny the Real Presence; in like manner, God made use of His arch-enemy, the devil, to prove the Real Presence. He repeatedly forced him publicly to profess his firm belief in it, to confound the heretics for their disbelief, and acknowledge himself vanquished by Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. For this purpose, God allowed a certain Mme. Nicola Aubrey, an innocent person, to become possessed by Beelzebub and twenty-nine other evil spirits. The possession took place on the eighth of November, 1565, and lasted until the eighth of February, 1566.

Her parents took her to Father de Motta, a pious priest of Vervins, in order that he might expel the demon by exorcisms of the Church. Father de Motta tried several times to expel the evil spirit by applying the sacred relics of the holy cross, but he could not succeed; Satan would not depart. At last, inspired by the Holy Ghost, he resolved to expel the devil by means of the sacrament of Our Lord's Body and Blood. Whilst Nicola was lying in a state of unnatural lethargy, Father de Motta placed the Blessed Sacrament upon her lips, and instantly the infernal spell was broken; Nicola was restored to consciousness, and received Holy Communion with every mark of devotion.

As soon as Nicola had received the sacred Body of Our Lord, her face became bright and beautiful as the face of an angel, and all who saw her were filled with joy and wonder, and they blessed God from their inmost hearts. With the permission of God, Satan returned and again took possession of Nicola.

As the strange circumstances of Nicola's possession became known everywhere, several Calvinist preachers came with their followers, to "expose this popish cheat," as they said. On their entrance, the devil saluted them mockingly, called them by name, and told them that they had come in obedience to him. One of the preachers took his Protestant prayer book, and began to read it with a very solemn face. The devil laughed at him, and putting on a most comical look, he said: "Ho! Ho! My good friend; do you intend to expel me with your prayers and hymns? Do you think that they will cause me any pain? Don't you know that they are mine? I helped to compose them!"

"I will expel thee in the name of God," said the preacher, solemnly.

"You!" said the devil mockingly. "You will not expel me either in the name of God, or in the name of the devil. Did you ever hear of one devil driving out another?"

"I am not a devil," said the preacher, angrily, "I am a servant of Christ."

"A servant of Christ, indeed!" said Satan, with a sneer. "What! I tell you, you are worse than I am. I believe, and you do not want to believe. Do you suppose that you can expel me from the body of this miserable wretch? Ha! Go first and expel all the devils that are in your own heart!"

The preacher took his leave, somewhat discomfited. On going away, he said, turning up the whites of his eyes, "O Lord, I pray thee, assist this poor creature!"

"And I pray Lucifer," cried the evil spirit, "that he may never leave you, but may always keep you firmly in his power, as he does now. Go about your business, now. You are all mine, and I am your master."

On the arrival of the priest, several of the Protestants went away – they had seen and heard more than they wanted. Others, however, remained; and great was their terror when they saw how the devil writhed and howled in agony, as soon as the Blessed Sacrament was brought near him.

At last the evil spirit departed, leaving Nicola in a state of unnatural trance. While she was in this state, several of the preachers tried to open her eyes, but they found it impossible to do so. The priest then placed the Blessed Sacrament on Nicola's lips, and instantly she was restored to consciousness. Rev. Father de Motta then turned to the astonished preachers, and said: "Go now, ye preachers of the new Gospel; go and relate everywhere what you have seen and heard. Do not deny any longer that Our Lord Jesus Christ is really and truly present in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar. Go now, and let not human respect hinder you from confessing the truth."

During the exorcisms of the following days, the devil was forced to confess that he was not to be expelled at Vervins, and that he had with him twenty-nine devils, among whom were three powerful demons: Cerberus, Astaroth, and Legio. On the third of January, 1566, the bishop arrived at Vervins, and began the exorcism in the church, in the presence of an immense multitude.


"I command thee, in the name and by power of the real presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, to depart instantly," said the bishop to Satan in a solemn voice.

Satan was, at last, expelled the second time by means of the Blessed Sacrament. On leaving, he paralyzed the left arm and right foot of Nicola, and also made her left arm longer than her right; and no power on earth could cure this strange infirmity, until some weeks after, when the devil was at last completely and irrevocably expelled. Nicola was now taken to the celebrated pilgrimage of Our Lady at Liesse, especially since the devil seemed to fear that place so much. Next day Father de Motta began the exorcism in the church of Our Lady at Liesse, in the presence of an immense multitude. He took the Blessed Sacrament in his hand, and, showing it to the demon, he said: "I command thee, in the name of the living God, the great Emmanuel Whom thou seest here present, and in Whom thou believest."

"Ah, yes!" shrieked the demon, "I believe in Him." And the devil howled again as he made this confession, for it was wrung from him by the power of Almighty God.

"I command thee, then, in His Name," said the priest, "to quit this body instantly."

At these words, and especially at the sight of the Blessed Sacrament, the devil suffered the most frightful torture. At one moment the body of Nicola was rolled up like a ball; then again she became fearfully swollen. At one time her face was unnaturally lengthened, then excessively widened, and sometimes it was as red as scarlet. Her eyes, at times, protruded horribly, and then again sunk deeply into her skull. Her tongue hung down to her chin; it was sometimes black, sometimes red, and sometimes spotted like a toad. The priest still continued to urge and torture Satan. "Accursed spirit!" he cried, "I command thee, in the Name and by the real presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ here in the Blessed Sacrament, to depart instantly from the body of this poor creature.

"Ah, yes!" cried Satan, howling wildly, "twenty-six of my companions shall leave this instant, for they are forced to do so."

The people in the church now began to pray with great fervor. Suddenly Nicola's limbs began to crack, as if every bone in her body were breaking; a pestilential vapor came forth from her mouth, and twenty-six devils departed from her, never more to return. Nicola then fell into an unnatural swoon, from which she was aroused only by the Blessed Sacrament. On recovering her senses, and receiving holy communion, Nicola's face shone like the face of an angel. The priest still continued to urge the demon, and used every means to expel him.

"I will not leave, unless commanded by the bishop of Leon," answered the demon, angrily.

Nicola was now taken to Pierrepont, where one of the demons, name Legio, was expelled by means of the Blessed Sacrament. Next morning Nicola was brought to the church. Scarcely had she quitted the house, when the devil again took possession of her. The bishop who was requested to exorcise Nicola, prepared himself for this terrible task by prayer and fasting, and other works of penance. On arrival of Nicola in the Church, the exorcism began. "How many are you in this body?" asked the bishop.

"There are three of us," answered the evil spirit.

"What are your names?"

"Beelzebub, Cerberus, and Astaroth."

"What has become of the others?" asked the bishop.

"They have been expelled," answered Satan.

"Who expelled them?"

"Ha!" cried the devil, gnashing his teeth, "it was He whom you hold in your hand, there on the paten." The devil meant our dear Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.

The bishop then held the Blessed Sacrament near the face of Nicola. The demon writhed and howled in agony. "Ah, yes! I will go, I will go!" he shrieked, "but I shall return."

Suddenly Nicola became stiff and motionless as marble. The bishop then touched her lips with the Blessed Sacrament, and in an instant she was fully restored to consciousness. She received holy communion, and her countenance now shone with a wondrous, supernatural beauty. Next day Nicola was brought again to the Church, and the exorcism began as usual. The bishop took the Blessed Sacrament in his hand, held it near the face of Nicola, and said:

"I command thee in the name of the living God, and by the real presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ here in the sacrament of the altar, to depart instantly from the body of this creature of God, and never more to return."

"No! No!" shrieked the devil, "I will not go. My hour is not yet come."

"I command thee to depart. Go forth, impure, accursed spirit! Go forth!" and the bishop held the Blessed Sacrament close to Nicola's face.

"Stop! stop!", shrieked Satan; "let me go! I will depart – but I shall return." And instantly Nicola fell into the most frightful convulsions. A black smoke was seen issuing from her mouth, and she fell again into a swoon.

During her stay in Leon, Nicola was carefully examined by Catholic and Protestant physicians. Her left arm, which had been paralyzed by the devil, was found entirely without feeling. The doctors cut into the arm with a sharp knife; they burnt it with fire; they drove pins and needles under the nails of the fingers; but Nicola felt not pain; her arm was utterly insensible. Once, while Nicola was lying in a state of unnatural lethargy, the doctors gave her some bread soaked in wine (it was what the Protestants call their communion, or Lord's Supper); they rubbed her limbs briskly; they threw water in her face; they pierced her tongue until the blood flowed; they tried every possible means to arouse her, but in vain! Nicola remained cold and motionless as marble. At last, the priest touched the lips of Nicola with the Blessed Sacrament, and instantly she was restored to consciousness, and began to praise God.

The miracle was so clear, so palpable, that one of the doctors, who was a bigoted Calvinist, immediately renounced his errors, and became a Catholic. Several times, also, the Protestants touched Nicola's face with a host which was not consecrated, and which, consequently, was only bread, but Satan was not the least tormented by this. He only ridiculed their efforts.

On the twenty-seventh of January, the bishop, after having walked in solemn procession with the clergy and the faithful, began the exorcism in church, in the presence of a vast multitude of Protestants and Catholics. The bishop now held the Blessed Sacrament close to the face of Nicola. Suddenly a wild, unearthly yell rings through the air -- a black, heavy smoke issues from the mouth of Nicola. The demon Astaroth is expelled forever. During the exorcism which took place on the first of February, the bishop said:

"O accursed spirit! Since neither prayer, nor the holy gospels, neither the exorcisms of the Church, nor the holy relics, can compel thee to depart, I will now show thee thy Lord and Master, and by His power I command thee."

During the exorcism, which took place after Mass, the bishop held the Blessed Sacrament in his hand, and said: "O accursed spirit, arch-enemy of the ever-blessed God! I command thee, by the precious blood of Jesus Christ here present, to depart from this poor woman! Depart accursed, into the everlasting flames of hell!"

At these words, and especially at the sight of the Blessed Sacrament, the demon was so fearfully tormented, and the appearance of Nicola was so hideous and revolting, that the people turned away their eyes in horror. At last a heavy sigh was heard, and a cloud of black smoke issued from the mouth of Nicola. Cerberus was expelled. Again Nicola fell into a death-like swoon, and again she was brought to consciousness only by means of the Blessed Sacrament. During the exorcism which took place on the seventh day of February, the bishop said to Satan:

"Tell me. Why hast thou taken possession of this honest and virtuous Catholic woman?"

"I have done so by permission of God. I have taken possession of her on account of the sins of the people. I have done it to show my Calvinists that there are devils who can take possession of man whenever God permits it. I know they do not want to believe this, but I will show them that I am the devil. I have taken possession of this creature in order to convert them, or to harden them in their sins; and, by the Sacred Blood, I will perform my task."


Read the rest: http://olrl.org/stories/exorcism.shtml

Pace2008

Can you not see that the piece is a blatant piece of Catholic propaganda and, moreover, utter bull****?

gamgsam

I personally know 4 who do believe this.
They exorcised an 17 year old girl who they thought was posessed because of the people she hung out with. 2 of those people were her parents. They also beat her up and tormented her for years, so that will show you the kind of person they are.

It's hard to believe, but these people genuinely thought they were doing the best thing and saving her. They are the most vile people I have ever known.

Ellis Dee

Anyone who believes that there were once two people living in luxury in a lovely garden and they had it made until an English-speaking snake slithered up and persuaded Eve to let Adam get his leg over will believe anything.:):):)

irishgirl19

the church usually have the person claiming to be possessed to have a full pychiatric examination before performing exorcisms,or at least thats what I seen on documentarys on A Haunting

Ghost Buster

Batsy wrote: »

The programme is a factual documentary, not a drama series.

The girl in question was called Nicola Aubrey and the events mentioned in "True Horror with Anthony Head" actually happened. It is a fairly well documented case. In the episode Anthony travels to the French town where it actually happened - Laon - and goes inside the church where the exorcisms took place. A Frenchwoman showed Anthony a document dated from 1566 which actually recounts, in medieval French, the possession of Nicola Aubrey.

When the events were shown in this episode everthing that was said by the girl (demon, to be more precise) and the priests was an English translation of what they actually said at the time.

Read this:


THE EXORCISM OF NICOLA AUBREY

By Father Michael Muller, C.SS.R.

It is indeed a remarkable fact that, as the devil made use of Luther, an apostate monk, to abolish the Mass and deny the Real Presence; in like manner, God made use of His arch-enemy, the devil, to prove the Real Presence. He repeatedly forced him publicly to profess his firm belief in it, to confound the heretics for their disbelief, and acknowledge himself vanquished by Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. For this purpose, God allowed a certain Mme. Nicola Aubrey, an innocent person, to become possessed by Beelzebub and twenty-nine other evil spirits. The possession took place on the eighth of November, 1565, and lasted until the eighth of February, 1566.

Her parents took her to Father de Motta, a pious priest of Vervins, in order that he might expel the demon by exorcisms of the Church. Father de Motta tried several times to expel the evil spirit by applying the sacred relics of the holy cross, but he could not succeed; Satan would not depart. At last, inspired by the Holy Ghost, he resolved to expel the devil by means of the sacrament of Our Lord's Body and Blood. Whilst Nicola was lying in a state of unnatural lethargy, Father de Motta placed the Blessed Sacrament upon her lips, and instantly the infernal spell was broken; Nicola was restored to consciousness, and received Holy Communion with every mark of devotion.

As soon as Nicola had received the sacred Body of Our Lord, her face became bright and beautiful as the face of an angel, and all who saw her were filled with joy and wonder, and they blessed God from their inmost hearts. With the permission of God, Satan returned and again took possession of Nicola.

As the strange circumstances of Nicola's possession became known everywhere, several Calvinist preachers came with their followers, to "expose this popish cheat," as they said. On their entrance, the devil saluted them mockingly, called them by name, and told them that they had come in obedience to him. One of the preachers took his Protestant prayer book, and began to read it with a very solemn face. The devil laughed at him, and putting on a most comical look, he said: "Ho! Ho! My good friend; do you intend to expel me with your prayers and hymns? Do you think that they will cause me any pain? Don't you know that they are mine? I helped to compose them!"

"I will expel thee in the name of God," said the preacher, solemnly.

"You!" said the devil mockingly. "You will not expel me either in the name of God, or in the name of the devil. Did you ever hear of one devil driving out another?"

"I am not a devil," said the preacher, angrily, "I am a servant of Christ."

"A servant of Christ, indeed!" said Satan, with a sneer. "What! I tell you, you are worse than I am. I believe, and you do not want to believe. Do you suppose that you can expel me from the body of this miserable wretch? Ha! Go first and expel all the devils that are in your own heart!"

The preacher took his leave, somewhat discomfited. On going away, he said, turning up the whites of his eyes, "O Lord, I pray thee, assist this poor creature!"

"And I pray Lucifer," cried the evil spirit, "that he may never leave you, but may always keep you firmly in his power, as he does now. Go about your business, now. You are all mine, and I am your master."

On the arrival of the priest, several of the Protestants went away – they had seen and heard more than they wanted. Others, however, remained; and great was their terror when they saw how the devil writhed and howled in agony, as soon as the Blessed Sacrament was brought near him.

At last the evil spirit departed, leaving Nicola in a state of unnatural trance. While she was in this state, several of the preachers tried to open her eyes, but they found it impossible to do so. The priest then placed the Blessed Sacrament on Nicola's lips, and instantly she was restored to consciousness. Rev. Father de Motta then turned to the astonished preachers, and said: "Go now, ye preachers of the new Gospel; go and relate everywhere what you have seen and heard. Do not deny any longer that Our Lord Jesus Christ is really and truly present in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar. Go now, and let not human respect hinder you from confessing the truth."

During the exorcisms of the following days, the devil was forced to confess that he was not to be expelled at Vervins, and that he had with him twenty-nine devils, among whom were three powerful demons: Cerberus, Astaroth, and Legio. On the third of January, 1566, the bishop arrived at Vervins, and began the exorcism in the church, in the presence of an immense multitude.


"I command thee, in the name and by power of the real presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, to depart instantly," said the bishop to Satan in a solemn voice.

Satan was, at last, expelled the second time by means of the Blessed Sacrament. On leaving, he paralyzed the left arm and right foot of Nicola, and also made her left arm longer than her right; and no power on earth could cure this strange infirmity, until some weeks after, when the devil was at last completely and irrevocably expelled. Nicola was now taken to the celebrated pilgrimage of Our Lady at Liesse, especially since the devil seemed to fear that place so much. Next day Father de Motta began the exorcism in the church of Our Lady at Liesse, in the presence of an immense multitude. He took the Blessed Sacrament in his hand, and, showing it to the demon, he said: "I command thee, in the name of the living God, the great Emmanuel Whom thou seest here present, and in Whom thou believest."

"Ah, yes!" shrieked the demon, "I believe in Him." And the devil howled again as he made this confession, for it was wrung from him by the power of Almighty God.

"I command thee, then, in His Name," said the priest, "to quit this body instantly."

At these words, and especially at the sight of the Blessed Sacrament, the devil suffered the most frightful torture. At one moment the body of Nicola was rolled up like a ball; then again she became fearfully swollen. At one time her face was unnaturally lengthened, then excessively widened, and sometimes it was as red as scarlet. Her eyes, at times, protruded horribly, and then again sunk deeply into her skull. Her tongue hung down to her chin; it was sometimes black, sometimes red, and sometimes spotted like a toad. The priest still continued to urge and torture Satan. "Accursed spirit!" he cried, "I command thee, in the Name and by the real presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ here in the Blessed Sacrament, to depart instantly from the body of this poor creature.

"Ah, yes!" cried Satan, howling wildly, "twenty-six of my companions shall leave this instant, for they are forced to do so."

The people in the church now began to pray with great fervor. Suddenly Nicola's limbs began to crack, as if every bone in her body were breaking; a pestilential vapor came forth from her mouth, and twenty-six devils departed from her, never more to return. Nicola then fell into an unnatural swoon, from which she was aroused only by the Blessed Sacrament. On recovering her senses, and receiving holy communion, Nicola's face shone like the face of an angel. The priest still continued to urge the demon, and used every means to expel him.

"I will not leave, unless commanded by the bishop of Leon," answered the demon, angrily.

Nicola was now taken to Pierrepont, where one of the demons, name Legio, was expelled by means of the Blessed Sacrament. Next morning Nicola was brought to the church. Scarcely had she quitted the house, when the devil again took possession of her. The bishop who was requested to exorcise Nicola, prepared himself for this terrible task by prayer and fasting, and other works of penance. On arrival of Nicola in the Church, the exorcism began. "How many are you in this body?" asked the bishop.

"There are three of us," answered the evil spirit.

"What are your names?"

"Beelzebub, Cerberus, and Astaroth."

"What has become of the others?" asked the bishop.

"They have been expelled," answered Satan.

"Who expelled them?"

"Ha!" cried the devil, gnashing his teeth, "it was He whom you hold in your hand, there on the paten." The devil meant our dear Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.

The bishop then held the Blessed Sacrament near the face of Nicola. The demon writhed and howled in agony. "Ah, yes! I will go, I will go!" he shrieked, "but I shall return."

Suddenly Nicola became stiff and motionless as marble. The bishop then touched her lips with the Blessed Sacrament, and in an instant she was fully restored to consciousness. She received holy communion, and her countenance now shone with a wondrous, supernatural beauty. Next day Nicola was brought again to the Church, and the exorcism began as usual. The bishop took the Blessed Sacrament in his hand, held it near the face of Nicola, and said:

"I command thee in the name of the living God, and by the real presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ here in the sacrament of the altar, to depart instantly from the body of this creature of God, and never more to return."

"No! No!" shrieked the devil, "I will not go. My hour is not yet come."

"I command thee to depart. Go forth, impure, accursed spirit! Go forth!" and the bishop held the Blessed Sacrament close to Nicola's face.

"Stop! stop!", shrieked Satan; "let me go! I will depart – but I shall return." And instantly Nicola fell into the most frightful convulsions. A black smoke was seen issuing from her mouth, and she fell again into a swoon.

During her stay in Leon, Nicola was carefully examined by Catholic and Protestant physicians. Her left arm, which had been paralyzed by the devil, was found entirely without feeling. The doctors cut into the arm with a sharp knife; they burnt it with fire; they drove pins and needles under the nails of the fingers; but Nicola felt not pain; her arm was utterly insensible. Once, while Nicola was lying in a state of unnatural lethargy, the doctors gave her some bread soaked in wine (it was what the Protestants call their communion, or Lord's Supper); they rubbed her limbs briskly; they threw water in her face; they pierced her tongue until the blood flowed; they tried every possible means to arouse her, but in vain! Nicola remained cold and motionless as marble. At last, the priest touched the lips of Nicola with the Blessed Sacrament, and instantly she was restored to consciousness, and began to praise God.

The miracle was so clear, so palpable, that one of the doctors, who was a bigoted Calvinist, immediately renounced his errors, and became a Catholic. Several times, also, the Protestants touched Nicola's face with a host which was not consecrated, and which, consequently, was only bread, but Satan was not the least tormented by this. He only ridiculed their efforts.

On the twenty-seventh of January, the bishop, after having walked in solemn procession with the clergy and the faithful, began the exorcism in church, in the presence of a vast multitude of Protestants and Catholics. The bishop now held the Blessed Sacrament close to the face of Nicola. Suddenly a wild, unearthly yell rings through the air -- a black, heavy smoke issues from the mouth of Nicola. The demon Astaroth is expelled forever. During the exorcism which took place on the first of February, the bishop said:

"O accursed spirit! Since neither prayer, nor the holy gospels, neither the exorcisms of the Church, nor the holy relics, can compel thee to depart, I will now show thee thy Lord and Master, and by His power I command thee."

During the exorcism, which took place after Mass, the bishop held the Blessed Sacrament in his hand, and said: "O accursed spirit, arch-enemy of the ever-blessed God! I command thee, by the precious blood of Jesus Christ here present, to depart from this poor woman! Depart accursed, into the everlasting flames of hell!"

At these words, and especially at the sight of the Blessed Sacrament, the demon was so fearfully tormented, and the appearance of Nicola was so hideous and revolting, that the people turned away their eyes in horror. At last a heavy sigh was heard, and a cloud of black smoke issued from the mouth of Nicola. Cerberus was expelled. Again Nicola fell into a death-like swoon, and again she was brought to consciousness only by means of the Blessed Sacrament. During the exorcism which took place on the seventh day of February, the bishop said to Satan:

"Tell me. Why hast thou taken possession of this honest and virtuous Catholic woman?"

"I have done so by permission of God. I have taken possession of her on account of the sins of the people. I have done it to show my Calvinists that there are devils who can take possession of man whenever God permits it. I know they do not want to believe this, but I will show them that I am the devil. I have taken possession of this creature in order to convert them, or to harden them in their sins; and, by the Sacred Blood, I will perform my task."


Read the rest: http://olrl.org/stories/exorcism.shtml

So let me get this straight:
Its true because its from a document dated 1566, a time where the world was flat, the sun orbited the earth, blood letting was a sound medical practice, alchemy was a noble pursuit, epilepsy was a sign of demonic possession, going about in the night humers was bad for ones health and everyone was a religious nutter.
Oh and its presented by Antony head the guy who played Giles in Buffy and beat up demons and vampires for a living whilst under the guise of a college librarian.
Yes?
There are hundreds of 'factual documentaries' on the satellite channels which are nothing of the sort. This is another one.

Knight who says Meh

Sounds to me like the girl, if anything, had a severe mental disorder and they sliced and diced her arm up. Nice.
BTW I loved Giles in Buffy. Good to see him involved in hard hitting factual documentary making....;)