Are demonic possessions real?

[Valley Oak]

My family saw The Exorcist last night on Netflix. Entertaining, to say the least.

It is also fascinating to know that millions of Americans today still believe in demonic possessions. Are there any stats available? In 1973, when the original film first came out, most Americans believed in demonic possessions. I wonder if the majority still do so today.

The other thing I find interesting is the continuing endorsement of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) of demonic possessions and its practice of conducting exorcisms, to this day. There has to be "very strong justifications" for doing so and it has to be "approved" by the higher ups in the RCC; this only demonstrates how fucking pathetic the RCC is.

The film does an outstanding job of portraying what a demonic possession might look like in the minds of people who believe this nonsense, which is one of the reasons why it has been so successful. There are people today who see this film for the first time and walk away thinking that this kind of thing is real.

Seeing this movie, and the mentality of hundreds of millions of people around the world, it doesn't surprise me that the world is as screwed up as it is. Look at the diatribe that the GOP field is spewing to elect Trump as the next POTUS. It's another consequence of ignorance and superstition at its worst:
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"Christianity holds that possession derives from the Devil, i.e. Satan, or one of his lesser demons."

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Here is a documented example of Catholic priests carrying out an "exorcism" right here in the United States in the 1940s:

"In the late 1940s, priests of the Roman Catholic Church performed a series of exorcisms on an anonymous boy, documented under the pseudonym "Roland Doe" or "Robbie Mannheim". The boy, born circa 1935, was the alleged victim of demonic possession, and the events were recorded by the attending priest, Raymond Bishop. Subsequent supernatural claims surrounding the events went on to inspire the 1971 novel The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty and the 1973 film adaptation.[1]"

Here is a boldfaced assertion by prominent Christians that demonic possessions are real:

Two Christian academics, Terry D. Cooper, a professor of psychology, and Cindy K. Epperson, a professor of sociology, wrote that advocates of possession believe that "although they are not frequent, exorcisms are necessary for casting out the demonic" and "cases of genuine possession cannot be explained by psychiatry". Cooper and Epperson devoted a chapter of their book Evil: Satan, Sin, and Psychology to the case and dismissed skeptical explanations in favor of a theological perspective regarding the nature of evil.^[9]

Exorcism in the Catholic Church:

"Exorcism in the Catholic Church is the use of exorcism in the Roman Catholic faith for those who are believed to be the victims of demonic possession. ...authorization from valid and licit Church authorities, and the faith of the exorcist."^[3]

The Catholic Church revised the Rite of Exorcism in January 1999...the demon may hold control over their physical body...the document Of Exorcisms and Certain Supplications.

...exorcisms...can be exercised only by an ordained priest (or higher prelate), with the express permission of the local bishop, and only after a careful medical examination to exclude the possibility of mental illness.^[4] The Catholic Encyclopedia (1908) enjoined: "Superstition ought not to be confounded with religion..." LOL!

• 1928 — Emma Schmidt underwent a 14-day exorcism performed by Catholic priest Theophilus Riesinger.
  
• 1949 — Roland Doe was allegedly possessed and underwent exorcism. The events later inspired the novel and film The Exorcist.
• 1975-1976 — Anneliese Michel was a woman from Germany who underwent 67 exorcisms, which inspired the films The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Requiem. In a conference several years later, German bishops retracted the claim that she was possessed. ^[15]
• 2015 — Somewhere in May 2015, the Catholic Church secretly exorcised the entire country of Mexico. Its purpose was to help put an end to the ongoing Drug and Cartel War in the country, which had already claimed over 60,000 lives. It was the first ever Catholic exorcism of an entire country.^[16]

[bill shearer]

I don't know how Mexico is doing but Morgan Freeman's Granddaughter did not seem to profit from her experience.

Latest Exorcism Victim - Morgan Freeman's Step-Granddaughter

Evan Bernstein August 17, 2015

E’Dena Hines, the step-granddaughter of actor Morgan Freeman, died of multiple stab wounds at the hands of her boyfriend. The reports from eyewitnesses is that he was attempting an exorcism on her. As covered yesterday by The New York Post:“’Get out, devils! I cast you out, devils! In the name of Jesus Christ, I cast you out!’ ” the suspect screamed, according to George Hudacko, 65, who witnessed the attack from his window in Washington Heights and called 911.

Hines, who was also an actor, was pronounced dead at Harlem Hospital. Her boyfriend and assailant, whose name is not yet available, was arrested and taken to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, officials said.

[Valley Oak]

This 16 year old girl might have survived if her very catholic/religious/ignorant parents had not misdiagnosed their daughter's foaming at the mouth as a demonic possession.

How sad that religious fanaticism, ignorance, and superstition can cause parents to be so incompetent that their own children die as a consequence.

What's worse: The Roman Catholic Church (RCC) continues, to this day, to officially recognize demonic possessions as real and endorses the barbaric practice of exorcisms!

News reports:

"...she suddenly collapsed at her Honduran home and began foaming at the mouth...Her mother thought she was possessed by demons, so she called for an exorcism -- but it didn't work."

Family Breaks Open Teenager's Tomb, Saying They Heard Her 'Screaming' It's not clear whether Neysi Perez, 16, was buried alive.

[arthunter]

I have a friend who thinks that all of the evil in the world is due to demonic possession. This must be a very useful theory for the perpetrators of these crimes as I've never heard of a demonic arrest ....