The "Exorcist"...was also taken from a supposedly true story, but it was about a boy...and of course tweaked.....I saw it, but read the book first, and watched a program on the little special effects it had...so it didn't scare me...
Gender: Female Location: somewhere in this pancake
It's quite possible, I think. There has always been the idea that there is more to life than we currently know. There are instances of the unexplained. We either choose to believe these things, or not. Some people investigate them to get to the truth, whatever that may be.
In the case of demonic possessions, it's often difficult for people to say either way, because to say one way or the other would mean affirming a certain belief that the person maay not have. For example, if one says yes, it may be assumed that since this person believes in demons, they believe in the devil, and therefore believe in God. And it goes both ways.
There is the possibility, though, that demons exist seperately from the realm of religion and Christianity, and are beings unto themselves. In which case they would still technically be demons, but the fundamental idea might change. And if this is true, one could hypothesize that since there are evil entities, there must also be good ones. Of course, this goes on the theory that the world must maintain balance in order to keep going.
But, I think I may have strayed a bit off topic. ^_^;; I tend to do that at times.
The point is that most of it is subjective. If you're asking people's opinions, you're going to get various answers, but ones that one might expect coming into it. However, if you go out and do research, and investigate with the intention of disproving it (the idea being that if you go into it trying to disprove, and then CAN'T, you're more likely to be credible), then you might find something extraordinary.
/useless rant. ^_^;;
__________________ "In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move."
--Douglas Adams
"It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence which could support this."
--Bertrand Russell
Gender: Female Location: somewhere in this pancake
What religion do you associate yourself with, Shakyamunison?
__________________ "In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move."
--Douglas Adams
"It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence which could support this."
--Bertrand Russell
Gender: Male Location: Southern Oregon,
Looking at you.
I am a Buddhist.
In Buddhism, there are references to demons and devils. However, I am talking about what I think. I have looked at a lot of references to demons, devils, and angels, and have come to a conclusion that these people of the past knew that something was going on, but couldn't see it. I think they maid these terms to describe what was going on.
Gender: Female Location: somewhere in this pancake
Sounds reasonable enough. But, what I was saying in my first post in this thread was exactly what you have just demonstrated. One can never really say one way or the other if demonic possession is true. I don't really know your full opinion (about demonic possession), so I can't really talk about you specifically as pertaining to the possibility of possession.
What I'm saying is that there's always the possibility of there being something more to it. There's the possibility that demons are in fact tangible beings, but they are in another plane of existence, and therefore we cannot see them. However, they could be powerful enough to transcend that barrier keeping them from our world, in which we would get all the unexplainable things that have happened to people.
I'm not trying to trash anybodies beliefs or anything, I'm only saying that the possibilities are endless.
You probably weren't planning on debating with me, or whatever. So sorry if I offend, or anything. I just get so few intelligent debate partners these days. XD
__________________ "In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move."
--Douglas Adams
"It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence which could support this."
--Bertrand Russell
Gender: Female Location: somewhere in this pancake
Again, one interperetation. I see an infection I say bacteria caused it. You need medicine to cure it. Basically saying the same thing, only in different ways, and with different beliefs behind them.
Also, can you be sure there IS only one reality. There may be several that we just aren't aware of yet. The concept of reality and unreality ultimately limit what cannot be limited. If there ARE other realities, then the possibilites truly ARE endless.
Let me ask you a question:
What is the sound of one hand clapping?
__________________ "In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move."
--Douglas Adams
"It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence which could support this."
--Bertrand Russell
Gender: Female Location: somewhere in this pancake
And so is the nature of Buddhism.
But someone else might answer: The sound of one hand clapping is the sound of a slap in the face. XD
Many different people, many different possibilities. With the idea of nothingness comes the idea of something. How many somethings is the question. ^_~
Dunno if that made much sense... Who knows, I may just be rambling. It made sense to me though. ^_^;;
__________________ "In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move."
--Douglas Adams
"It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence which could support this."
--Bertrand Russell
SpellJammer knows the true story of Emily Rose, it's not as scary as you might think..
The film The Exorcism of Emily Rose is loosely based on a case which occurred in Germany between 1968 and 1976.
Anneliese Michel was a devout 15-year-old when she began experiencing brief uncontrollable fits of shaking. By 1970 she reported seeing flashes of demonic images especially while she was praying.
In 1973, the same year William Friedkin's The Exorcist was first released, her parents asked for an exorcism which was denied.
The film reached Germany in 1974 at the same time Anneliese's condition worsened to the point the bishop finally sanctioned an exorcism. The girl underwent a ritual each week from Sept. 1975 until June 1976 and died during the exorcism on June 30, 1976.
Within months, state prosecutors began building a case of negligent homicide against the priests who performed the exorcisms and members of Anneliese's family.
The case went to trial two years later, with all parties involved found guilty but granted leniency.
Though the Catholic Church has officially decreed the girl was not possessed, hundreds of people from around the world yearly make pilgrimages to her grave.
On Feb. 17 of this year, the Vatican under Pope John Paul II's guidance issued a new text for church-sanctioned exorcisms.
Called Exorcism for the New Millennium, it is the first update of the Catholic Church's stance on demonic possession since 1614.
The Vatican also enrolled 100 priests from around the world in classes on Satanism, demonic possession and exorcism.
Pope John Paul personally performed at least three exorcisms during his papacy and was a firm believer in demonic possession.
In 2000 John Paul had lashed out at "the sensationalism, theatricality and hysteria surrounding exorcisms particularly in Latin America and Africa" and called for the reforms that resulted in the new text.
Before a bishop can sanction an exorcism, doctors and psychiatrists must agree there could be something beyond a medical condition.
__________________ Smile, tommorow is going to be worse..
Gender: Female Location: somewhere in this pancake
Um, no.
I imagine it's not the most fun thing on the planet. It probably pretty much sucks. So.... yeah, definitely not with the demonic possession.
__________________ "In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move."
--Douglas Adams
"It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence which could support this."
--Bertrand Russell
SpellJammer practices very liberal, dangerous witchcraft because it's easier. He's become "almost" possed several times..
Sometimes he can't breathe, he's blue in the face as he has to grasp for air and recollect his thoughts.
Other times he falls into an unwakable sleep, and if he tries to wakeup he gos into convulsions and his eyes roll in the back of his head. People have seen this one happen to him..
Also witnesses have seen SpellJammer have restless nights where he's shaking violantly and his body tempature drops dramaticaly. But then when he wakes up he's fine. And SpellJammer just proclaims "there was an argument."
__________________ Smile, tommorow is going to be worse..
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Sep 14th, 2005 11:31 AM
