Do you believe in demonic forces?

But Shane what is the difference between person A who doesn't believe it arguing to the death and person B who does believe it, arguing to the death?

Same thing, you just both have different beliefs and with respect, and I mean that because I like you and I choose not to let people know my beliefs as it's none of their business (so I could be person A or B), no-one in 38 years on this Earth, especially on this forum, has ever shown me any impossible to dismiss evidence of demonic forces, heaven, or anything else.

Not saying they don't exist, just no impossible to dismiss evidence.

If their was, there would never be any discussions on it. Again, not being horrible to you or arguing, just stating what I've seen and everyone has the right to believe or not believe, because that's what it is, a belief.

Here you go

I have put a lot of effort into previous threads like this and got some good observations and discussions out of them along with the comedy and re-buffs which I can choose to ignore. It's a public forum, people can say what they like up to a point where the mods will step in. I have to accept that. I am also guilty of leading threads astray as well.

So what do I think about demons.

I struggle with the concept of good and evil for a start, due to the fact I have had some unexplainable glimpses and experiences in the past that have led me to conclude that their is a strong possibility (to my mind) that we all survive the death of the body and last forever. As far as deities, supreme beings are concerned I'm not even going there.

So, I also conclude that their is no good and evil as people here see it because "here" is just a stage of occupancy. It's like we are in a film, no one really gets hurt, it's an illusion of EXPERIENCE. While here though we get into it and go along with the illusion of it all but ultimately we are always safe and secure, unbreakable. While we go through the body suffering from perceived evil doing we chose to have the possibility of that experience, we are always in control of what we choose.

If you want less of it, while here, if you live in the ghetto, move out, get as far away from others and the experiences of human interaction as you can. But that's not the point of you being here is it. You chose to experience the perceived good and bad experiences of the film your in, the roller-coaster ride.

Then we come to demons. By consensus the whole human race spread across the globe has uniformly reported elemental beings like fairies, pixies, elves, goatiedwarfs and a whole raft of creatures. They may have given them different names but have depicted them, drawn and painted them since time immemorial. People spread widely across the planet who never got to meet have seen the same things.

If I entertain life after death then I must also accept the possibility of multipule dimensions or states of being to occupy. Also other creatures.

So demons are just other creatures are close to our levels of occupancy (like the elementals) They may be somewhat aware of our beliefs and have allowed themselves to be affected by them. They hang about looking for ways in to our realm which is not their true nature and the best way to experience it is to occupy or semi occupy or share our bodies.

Now much of the experiences of possessions recorded are now known to be just split or multiple personalities of bio-mechanical malfunctions or abnormalities of our brains.

A small percentage however are well documented, some recent cases have been filmed. The ones where their are physical effects, things flying across the room, people being attacked coldness and other manifestations leading up to and during the exorcism are of course the most compelling ones. People who have been perfectly normal suddenly have these dramatic personality changes.

The interesting thing is this, after the exorcism is over, if it has worked people are immediately returned to normal and do not return to that state. This must rule out ongoing bio-mechanical abnormalities.

So what of the exorcism itself, several hundred years ago their was a fight (almost) between Catholic and Protestant methods. It was centered mostly on one case. (cant remember the name of the person) The Catholic methods won out and because of that the Protestant church largely bowed out from doing it.

Now, how about the religious fervor that goes on, the constant naming of the deities the priests are representing, it seems to affect the person who they are exorcising probably depending on their own level of belief as well as the being itself. The being often says he is the devil and is affected by the priests naming of names consistant with their beliefs like it is afraid of them.

It is my opinion that it is just down to the strength of will and resolve of the human being possessed and the strength of will of the priests doing the exorcism, re-inforced by firm belief in deities, although only a prop, it does the trick. The demon or whatever you want to call it is just a being that wants to be a part of the human world for it's own ends but ultimately it does not belong there, it's not its natural state. So, it can be driven out.

All this is me speculating and rationalizing what I think it is and how it works, based on what I know and believe and thus to me is a sort of logical although intangible exercise.

Only if you try to get me out from behind it.


Terra

Only depends on what I eat the day before.

I don't take classes, I just do the stretches at home.

Same here unless I am in a nude yoga sort of mood.

I find it distasteful that you call your inflamed hemorrhoids "The boys".

The view was OK, but I thought the price you charged for the DVD was ridiculous. I'm tired of hearing "I had to sit in that darn tree for 6 hours, to get the best view through the window" from you.