The topic of demonic possession is not a new one. In fact, there are multiple passages in the Bible that refer to Jesus exorcising those who were demonically possessed. For example, in Luke 11:14, the verse states, “Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled.” In the context of the Medieval era, demonic possession was still discussed and could be roughly defined as, an individual being possessed by a demon or evil spirit which caused that person to do deviant acts where the only resolution was for an exorcism to be performed. One can’t think of demonic possession as this rather simple definition, but rather, one must look at this topic through multiple lenses that illustrate …show more content…
Emma Cohen, an anthropologist from University of Oxford. In her article, “What is Spirit Possession? Defining, Comparing, and Explaining Two Possession Forms”, she argues that there are two categories of spirit possession and that anthropologists stopped researching spiritual possession too soon. The first one is called executive possession in which there is a transformation or replacement of identity. The other one is called pathogenic possession and deals with illness and misfortune. She notes that the executive possession deals with the representation of identity and the second with contamination. Dr. Cohen also argues that the difference between executive and pathogenic are differentiated according to panhuman cognitive processes. In other words, executive concepts deal with “cognitive tools that deal with the world of intentional agents; the spirit entity is typically represented over the host’s executive control.” (3) Executive possession is when the demon takes host of a person’s body and has control over the person’s physical body as well as mind. Pathogenic is then defined by problems with contamination such as illnesses. Applying these two ideas of spiritual possession into a Medieval context, it becomes clear when discussing Medieval demonic possession that there seems to be more cases of executive possession than pathogenic. That’s because the indicators for demonic possession were less so about being ill, and more related to bodily convulsions and emotional disorders such as depression and melancholy. Furthermore, at the end of her article, Dr. Cohen states that anthropologists and the cognitive sciences need to be working closer together and need to be in “mutual engagement”. (23). In other words, there is a benefit of multiple disciplines working together in order to fully understand the full breadth of demonic
29 January 2014. Manson, Matthew. The “Exorcisms and Possessions”. ShopOfHorrors.com - ShopOfHorrors.com - ShopOfHorrors.com - ShopOfHorrors.com 11 January 2001. Web.
In all of human history, people have written about inhuman beings, many of which include gods, demons, wizards, sorcerers, sorceresses, and witches. Nowadays mystical beings are seen everywhere in media. Most of society stopped believing in these creatures years ago, but for 17th-century Salem, witchcraft became a living nightmare (Fremon, 1999).
The book Emma Goldman: American Individualist tells the true story of an anarchist’s struggles through, life, love, and standing up for what you believe in. Emma Goldman was born on June 27, 1869 in the city of Kovno located within the Russian Empire (currently known as Kaunas in Lithuania) into a Jewish family. Most men during this time wanted their wives to bear sons; Goldman’s father, Abraham Goldman, was no different. Goldman’s mother was very content with Goldman’s sisters, Helena and Lena, and didn’t want to have any more children. When Goldman was born she was rejected by her father. This rejection affected Goldman throughout her life.
I will try the same with a 3-letter name to see if there is some sort
Shortly after two girls were “touched by an evil hand,” Elizabeth Hubbard, also began to experience fits linked to witchcraft (Nichols par. 2). Elizabeth lived with her great aunt and uncle due to her parents dying when she was young. Her uncle, Dr. Griggs, had previously diagnosed the
In any event, point of view can be the most crucial perspective for the understanding of meaning and importance in a particular situation. This can be demonstrated by reading the accounts of the life of Emma Gudger from two very different perspectives: that written by Emma, "So I Sung To Myself", and another written by James Agee, "The Gudger Family, 1936".
Religion is fraught with stories and myths of otherworldly journeys. There are a variety of reasons; however, the two main ones one may notice are humans’ innate pattern recognition, and our necessity to define and understand the world in which we live. These otherworldly excursions, out-of-body-experiences OBEs, near-death-experiences NDEs, and altered-states-of-consciousness ASCs are side effects of trauma rather than real experiences. In this paper ASC will be the basic reference unless otherwise noted. Therefore, it is prudent to explore those examples of forced ASCs, the causes, and the impacts on the society. An ASC experience within a religion may serve an important purpose in the belief system, yet it is a personal experience of the mind and not a legitimate experience in the real world.
...ossession usually manifested itself after someone else suspected the possession. Why would these women fake being possessed if they knew they were not? These women did not want to break the social norms that women were susceptible to possession, lust, and everything else deemed unsuitable. Denying that one is possessed when others are stating the opposite causes suspicion that one has become bewitched to believe that nothing has occurred. This may be the reason why the Salem Witch Trials affected so many people.
The practice of exorcism can be dated all the way back to the New Testament when Jesus casted out evil spirits. He healed many people, but only a quarter of his miracles were considered exorcisms. The apostles were also exorcists by definition because it was known to be a true sign of discipleship. In ancient cultures, such as Mesopotamia, both physical and psychological sickness was connected to the idea of being possessed. As time passed, others, including Martin Luther who was a German theologian who led a reformation, used this form of casting out of evil spirits. However, by 1600, all Protestants rejected this idea as being superstitious. In the 1900s American evangelicals invigorated exorcism, but it did not catch on until 1970 when the movement swept Protestant and Catholic Churches (Rivenburg).
In all of human history, people have written about inhuman beings, many of which include gods, demons, wizards, sorcerers, and witches. Nowadays, mystical beings are seen everywhere in media. Most of society stopped believing in these creatures years ago, but for 17th century Salem, witchcraft became a living nightmare (Fremon, 1999
For many centuries to the present day, Christians have lived in fear of witches. They were known as to be the devils child who only practiced black magic and thought of as the Christians “persecution”. Witches have been known to mankind since the 1200’s. Throughout the 1400’s, the examination of witches was more focus and moved from the Jews. In the church’s law, it was stated that the belief of existence and practices of witchcraft was “heresy”. Because of what the Christians believed, churches would then torture and hunt down anyone who they thought were witches and killed the many women and only a few of the men. They even made them make the confession of flying through the midnight sky, being in love with the devil himself, practicing black magic and even turning into animals.
Lehmann A. C. & Myers J. E. Magic, Witchcraft and Religion – An anthropological Study of the Supernatural (Fourth Edition) (Mayfield Publishing Company, 1997)
In scripture, we can see that more than once Jesus cast out demons from people and had the power to shut their mouths. In Luke 11:14 one can see the power of Christ over demons, “And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute; when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed.” Another place in scripture that we can see where evil gets its power from is in the book of Job. Satan had to ask for God’s permission to torment Job. We know by this that any authority Satan has, has been given to him by God. God has given him the authority over worldly things as mentioned in John 14:20; however, it is important to remember that Satan cannot do anything that is outside of God’s will and purposes. In 1 John 4:4 we are reminded that as long as we have Christ in us, we ...
The religious leaders of the time did a ceremony to remove the influence of an evil spirit from a person's body. They use chanting spells or torture against a particular object, animal or human could. The method is called exorcism.
Magic, Witchcraft and Religion: An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural by Arthur C. Lehmann and James E. Myers. Fourth Edition (1997), pp 375-420 Published by: Mayfield Publishing Company