...continued from part seven.
14. About Those Possessed by Evil Spirits
So-called possession is rightly included among the manifestations of evil spirits among people. The possessed, or those possessed by the evil spirit, are of two kinds: on some of them the evil spirit influences only from the outside, while in others it possesses the internal image, possesses their whole being, makes them utter blasphemies, speak in languages they have not learned at all, reveals to them various secret things, introduces them to various dark subjects of philosophy and theology.
The possibility and reality of possession are beyond any doubt. They are clearly affirmed both by Holy Scripture and by the teaching of the Church. Holy Scripture, on the one hand, tells us many facts of possession, on the other hand, it conveys that Jesus Christ Himself and His apostles recognized the possessed as truly possessed by evil spirits. Saul was possessed by an evil spirit; the evil spirit from time to time aroused in him melancholy, anger and envy in relation to David; or even if Saul became angry for some natural reason, the demon took possession of him and brought him into a rage. The possessed, of whom it is said in the Gospel that they cried out loudly that Jesus is the Christ, that He came to torment them before the time, that He is the Son of God, obviously represent an undoubted example of those possessed by an evil spirit.
Sarah, the daughter of Raguel, who was possessed by the demon Asmodeus, who killed her first seven husbands; those people of whom the Gospel tells us that they were infected with incurable diseases and illnesses, who foamed at the mouth, went berserk, avoided human society, who were so strong and terrible that they had to be bound with chains in order to protect others from their attacks - all these were obviously possessed by an evil spirit.
The Savior, as proof of His heavenly mission, points to His healing of the possessed. He refutes the Pharisees, who said that He casts out demons by the power of Beelzebub; He proves that He casts them out by the power of God. He spoke with the demons that lived in the possessed, threatened them, commanded them to be silent. All this obviously proves that Jesus Christ looked upon the possessed as truly possessed by evil spirits. Like their Divine Teacher, the apostles and the first Christians also looked upon them as possessed by evil spirits.
When the seventy disciples of Christ, returning from their apostolic work, gave an account of their labors to Jesus Christ, they, among other things, told Him that even the demons themselves were subject to them. After His Resurrection, Jesus Christ promised His disciples that they would perform miracles in His name, cast out demons and receive the gift of prophecy. All this was fulfilled literally. The enemies of Christians themselves, the Jews and pagans, since they themselves were eyewitnesses of the miraculous expulsions of demons from the possessed, performed by Jesus Christ, His apostles and Christians in general, did not deny the reality of these expulsions, but only explained them in their own way: some attributed them to the power of the prince of demons, others to the power of magic, the power of certain herbs, etc. The Holy Fathers of the Church of the first centuries, Saint Justin, Tertullian, Lactantius, Saint Cyprian and others speak of the expulsion of demons from the possessed by Christians with such confidence and positivity that there is no room left for doubt as to the reality of what they are saying. They refer to their own enemies as witnesses to the case they are defending, and with firm confidence they challenge them to perform experiments in their own presence on how the power of the faith of Christ expels evil spirits from the possessed, compels them to reveal their true name, to acknowledge that the pagans in their temples worship only demons.
Let us listen, regarding this subject, to the very words of the most enlightened writers of those times when the struggle between Christianity and paganism was still taking place and when those possessed by evil spirits often wandered among Christians.
Arnobius says: "Was there ever a mortal like Jesus? One only has to pronounce His name, and evil spirits flee, soothsayers are silenced, prophet-priests are dumb, and all the art of cunning magicians is put to shame" (Adversus nationes).
Lactantius says: "The disciples of Jesus, by His name and the holy sign of His suffering, cast out unclean spirits. This is proved by the fact that in the presence of Christians magical sacrifices remain without any effect and even the most famous oracles do not give any answers" (Institutiones divinae).
Saint Cyprian wrote to the Roman mayor Demetrius: “Come, see and listen to what is happening in our presence to the gods whom you revere. Conjured and driven out by the power of the Divine Word, they are forced to leave the people possessed by them. Struck by Divine power, with pitiful cries, they proclaim in a human voice the truth of the future Judgment, about which our faith teaches. Come and see for yourself the truth of our words; you will see that the spirits whom you so slavishly admire, whom you so slavishly revere, lie trembling, captive, fettered at our feet. You will see your error especially clearly when you see how your gods, driven out by the power of our command, in your own presence, against their own will, will confess their own deception and lies” (Ad Demetrianum).
"Bring to trial," says Tertullian in one of his works against the pagans, "someone who is really possessed by an evil spirit, and the demon, at the request of every Christian, will publicly confess that he is an evil spirit, just as he formerly publicly gave himself out to be God. Or bring to trial one of those of your people who say that they act only by the Divine power, who, under the influence of foul sacrifices, fall into ecstasy and from time to time hear words that they proclaim at the top of their voices, like oracular utterances..., and if the demon who acts in these people does not confess in the presence of Christians that he is really an evil spirit, and is not thus put to shame, then shed the blood of these Christians. Are clearer proofs, more solid arguments possible?" (Apologeticum).
How much confidence, how much conviction in this solemn speech! How numerous and well-known must have been the cases when Christians, appearing publicly before the worshippers of that power which produced pagan miracles, forced it to acknowledge (its insignificance)! What a victory over ancient magic, then, Christians won even before they proved by their own death that the name of their God conquers all the magical powers of hell!
"There is hardly a single Father of the Church," says one learned writer, "who did not attribute to Christians the power in the name of Christ to cast out demons. All the believers of the first centuries were convinced of the reality of this power; no truth was clearer or more indubitable among them, or more widely known. And it is impossible to point out a single pagan, even among those who were primarily hostile to the Christian religion, who, I will not say, was not fully convinced that Christians really cast out demons, as they spoke of this in their writings, but who suspected Christians of deception and completely denied the reality of the facts of this expulsion" (Jean François Baltus, Suite De La Reponse A L'Histoire Des Oracles, 1708).
The constant existence in the Church of exorcisms against the possessed constitutes a new proof of the real existence of the possessed; it proves that the Church and her ministers have always recognized the reality of possession, since they have always used these prayers against it. Even the Jewish exorcists of evil spirits healed the possessed in the name of Christ; they also believed that Jesus Christ could give this healing. They also sometimes pronounced the name of Solomon and used the incantations supposedly instituted by this king, as well as various roots and herbs; but all this produced only something similar to what a skilled physician does when he cures hypochondriacs, the insane, and people who imagine that they are possessed by an evil spirit, or what a wise spiritual father does when he calms and brings to a more normal state those tormented by conscience, deeply shaken by the consciousness of their sinfulness, and tormented by the fear of hellish torments of the soul.
The possessed, who were healed by Jesus Christ and Christians, were really possessed by an evil spirit, who could be healed only by Divine power, by the name of Jesus Christ, by the power of incantations. The son of a Jewish priest, Sceva, wanted to cast out a demon from a possessed man in the name of Jesus Christ, preached by Paul; the possessed man rushed at him, saying that he knew Christ and Paul, but was not afraid of him, and the Jew was almost strangled by the evil spirit. It is necessary to strictly distinguish between real possessed people and imaginary ones, as well as real doctors of possession from deceivers. It is possible and there are also possessed people who only pretend to be possessed in order to arouse compassion for themselves and receive alms. It is possible and there are also exorcists who only abuse the name of Christ for the purpose of deception. There are also such deceivers who persuade others to pretend to be possessed with the aim of acquiring glory for themselves through their supposed healing. (See the book Treatise on the Apparitions of Spirits and on Vampires or Revenants, by Augustin Calmet, translated from German, 1877).
PART NINE
14. About Those Possessed by Evil Spirits
So-called possession is rightly included among the manifestations of evil spirits among people. The possessed, or those possessed by the evil spirit, are of two kinds: on some of them the evil spirit influences only from the outside, while in others it possesses the internal image, possesses their whole being, makes them utter blasphemies, speak in languages they have not learned at all, reveals to them various secret things, introduces them to various dark subjects of philosophy and theology.
The possibility and reality of possession are beyond any doubt. They are clearly affirmed both by Holy Scripture and by the teaching of the Church. Holy Scripture, on the one hand, tells us many facts of possession, on the other hand, it conveys that Jesus Christ Himself and His apostles recognized the possessed as truly possessed by evil spirits. Saul was possessed by an evil spirit; the evil spirit from time to time aroused in him melancholy, anger and envy in relation to David; or even if Saul became angry for some natural reason, the demon took possession of him and brought him into a rage. The possessed, of whom it is said in the Gospel that they cried out loudly that Jesus is the Christ, that He came to torment them before the time, that He is the Son of God, obviously represent an undoubted example of those possessed by an evil spirit.
Sarah, the daughter of Raguel, who was possessed by the demon Asmodeus, who killed her first seven husbands; those people of whom the Gospel tells us that they were infected with incurable diseases and illnesses, who foamed at the mouth, went berserk, avoided human society, who were so strong and terrible that they had to be bound with chains in order to protect others from their attacks - all these were obviously possessed by an evil spirit.
The Savior, as proof of His heavenly mission, points to His healing of the possessed. He refutes the Pharisees, who said that He casts out demons by the power of Beelzebub; He proves that He casts them out by the power of God. He spoke with the demons that lived in the possessed, threatened them, commanded them to be silent. All this obviously proves that Jesus Christ looked upon the possessed as truly possessed by evil spirits. Like their Divine Teacher, the apostles and the first Christians also looked upon them as possessed by evil spirits.
When the seventy disciples of Christ, returning from their apostolic work, gave an account of their labors to Jesus Christ, they, among other things, told Him that even the demons themselves were subject to them. After His Resurrection, Jesus Christ promised His disciples that they would perform miracles in His name, cast out demons and receive the gift of prophecy. All this was fulfilled literally. The enemies of Christians themselves, the Jews and pagans, since they themselves were eyewitnesses of the miraculous expulsions of demons from the possessed, performed by Jesus Christ, His apostles and Christians in general, did not deny the reality of these expulsions, but only explained them in their own way: some attributed them to the power of the prince of demons, others to the power of magic, the power of certain herbs, etc. The Holy Fathers of the Church of the first centuries, Saint Justin, Tertullian, Lactantius, Saint Cyprian and others speak of the expulsion of demons from the possessed by Christians with such confidence and positivity that there is no room left for doubt as to the reality of what they are saying. They refer to their own enemies as witnesses to the case they are defending, and with firm confidence they challenge them to perform experiments in their own presence on how the power of the faith of Christ expels evil spirits from the possessed, compels them to reveal their true name, to acknowledge that the pagans in their temples worship only demons.
Let us listen, regarding this subject, to the very words of the most enlightened writers of those times when the struggle between Christianity and paganism was still taking place and when those possessed by evil spirits often wandered among Christians.
Arnobius says: "Was there ever a mortal like Jesus? One only has to pronounce His name, and evil spirits flee, soothsayers are silenced, prophet-priests are dumb, and all the art of cunning magicians is put to shame" (Adversus nationes).
Lactantius says: "The disciples of Jesus, by His name and the holy sign of His suffering, cast out unclean spirits. This is proved by the fact that in the presence of Christians magical sacrifices remain without any effect and even the most famous oracles do not give any answers" (Institutiones divinae).
Saint Cyprian wrote to the Roman mayor Demetrius: “Come, see and listen to what is happening in our presence to the gods whom you revere. Conjured and driven out by the power of the Divine Word, they are forced to leave the people possessed by them. Struck by Divine power, with pitiful cries, they proclaim in a human voice the truth of the future Judgment, about which our faith teaches. Come and see for yourself the truth of our words; you will see that the spirits whom you so slavishly admire, whom you so slavishly revere, lie trembling, captive, fettered at our feet. You will see your error especially clearly when you see how your gods, driven out by the power of our command, in your own presence, against their own will, will confess their own deception and lies” (Ad Demetrianum).
"Bring to trial," says Tertullian in one of his works against the pagans, "someone who is really possessed by an evil spirit, and the demon, at the request of every Christian, will publicly confess that he is an evil spirit, just as he formerly publicly gave himself out to be God. Or bring to trial one of those of your people who say that they act only by the Divine power, who, under the influence of foul sacrifices, fall into ecstasy and from time to time hear words that they proclaim at the top of their voices, like oracular utterances..., and if the demon who acts in these people does not confess in the presence of Christians that he is really an evil spirit, and is not thus put to shame, then shed the blood of these Christians. Are clearer proofs, more solid arguments possible?" (Apologeticum).
How much confidence, how much conviction in this solemn speech! How numerous and well-known must have been the cases when Christians, appearing publicly before the worshippers of that power which produced pagan miracles, forced it to acknowledge (its insignificance)! What a victory over ancient magic, then, Christians won even before they proved by their own death that the name of their God conquers all the magical powers of hell!
"There is hardly a single Father of the Church," says one learned writer, "who did not attribute to Christians the power in the name of Christ to cast out demons. All the believers of the first centuries were convinced of the reality of this power; no truth was clearer or more indubitable among them, or more widely known. And it is impossible to point out a single pagan, even among those who were primarily hostile to the Christian religion, who, I will not say, was not fully convinced that Christians really cast out demons, as they spoke of this in their writings, but who suspected Christians of deception and completely denied the reality of the facts of this expulsion" (Jean François Baltus, Suite De La Reponse A L'Histoire Des Oracles, 1708).
The constant existence in the Church of exorcisms against the possessed constitutes a new proof of the real existence of the possessed; it proves that the Church and her ministers have always recognized the reality of possession, since they have always used these prayers against it. Even the Jewish exorcists of evil spirits healed the possessed in the name of Christ; they also believed that Jesus Christ could give this healing. They also sometimes pronounced the name of Solomon and used the incantations supposedly instituted by this king, as well as various roots and herbs; but all this produced only something similar to what a skilled physician does when he cures hypochondriacs, the insane, and people who imagine that they are possessed by an evil spirit, or what a wise spiritual father does when he calms and brings to a more normal state those tormented by conscience, deeply shaken by the consciousness of their sinfulness, and tormented by the fear of hellish torments of the soul.
The possessed, who were healed by Jesus Christ and Christians, were really possessed by an evil spirit, who could be healed only by Divine power, by the name of Jesus Christ, by the power of incantations. The son of a Jewish priest, Sceva, wanted to cast out a demon from a possessed man in the name of Jesus Christ, preached by Paul; the possessed man rushed at him, saying that he knew Christ and Paul, but was not afraid of him, and the Jew was almost strangled by the evil spirit. It is necessary to strictly distinguish between real possessed people and imaginary ones, as well as real doctors of possession from deceivers. It is possible and there are also possessed people who only pretend to be possessed in order to arouse compassion for themselves and receive alms. It is possible and there are also exorcists who only abuse the name of Christ for the purpose of deception. There are also such deceivers who persuade others to pretend to be possessed with the aim of acquiring glory for themselves through their supposed healing. (See the book Treatise on the Apparitions of Spirits and on Vampires or Revenants, by Augustin Calmet, translated from German, 1877).
PART NINE
