Have you ever been told you had a demon?

[Lilacleia16]

My Mom actually told me this morning that my fear of water and tactile sensitivity is due to a demon either whispering in my ear or making me feel sensations on my skin. Isn’t that ridiculous?! I feel so invalidated. I think if a demon made me feel skin sensations then it would be something much worse! Have you ever been told something similar or had your experience of life invalidated?

 

[Aspychata]

That's pretty strange. Is your mom on some type of medication, or is she overly religious? I would just laugh, tell her she is a natural comedian.

 

[Misty Avich]

I got called a devil spawn once when I was a child because of my bad behaviour.

 

[TBRS1]

For first, second, and half of third grades I went to a school run by one of the major Christian denominations.

For the sin called "fidgeting," I was told I was full of the devil, would go to hell, needed to repent, and made to sit in the corner with a dunce hat on.

I no longer take that junk seriously.

 

[DaisyRose]

I think that’s her imagination. That sounds very manipulative and misleading. I wouldn’t listen to her.

 

[Aspychata]

My mom calls me pumpkin, but she isn't referring to my body type. If she started calling me devil voodoo child, then l may have had a problem.

 

[Gerontius]

Yes actually! I had gone to a priest at my college and asked about some things because I was depressed and doing very poorly in life alone, not to mention academia.

Priest told me autism was not what I had, that I had Asperger's, and asked the TOTALLY relevant and not at all weird question, "Are ya conservative or a liberal?"

"Well," I said, "I guess I used to be very conservative and my lifestyle is admittedly quite old-fashioned but I think the Democratic party's got my vote - "

He spent the next forty minutes ranting about how I had a demon.

This has been another episode of true stories that could only happen in America.


As with everything in life sometimes the most visible evidence of demons is the people we meet along the way.

 

[Aspychata]

@Gerontius , Very poignant story. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Metalhead]

I am the demon of lust. I lust to own more video games. I am my own demon. I own my demon state. I am trying to find a way to make that profitable so I can retire in luxury.

 

[Harmonie]

That's messed up. Your mother does not live in reality. Very concerning.

(Sorry if that sounds harsh. I have some experience with these kind of people who see demons and witches around every corner and it drives me up a wall)

 

[Judge]

My understanding of "demons" is quite contrary to that of any human.

That allegedly they are beings not of this Earth from a very different plane of existence who for unknown reasons occasionally penetrate this plane of existence. As for connotations of malevolence, I wouldn't know.

 

[Fino]

"Is she religious or on medication?" is a hilarious question to me LOL

 

[NB79]

yeah yeah this sounds so outlandish, but the more you know..... when some things happens the idea of demons is not far fetched, even some people would say they are very real. Is going against current culture but God is not a very far away idea for a lot people, more, millions of sane people say they have experienced things from him and tell witness testimonies about it.

 

[SusanLR]

Yeah, I keep my demon on a chain locked in the basement.

Seriously though, the idea of demonic possession is old as time.
I've never been told that by anyone, although one man said I was a witch
and is actually afraid of me.
Not because I was bad or rude, but because he thought I had some psychic
abilities.

Glad I wasn't around when the witch trials were prevalent.
The things people have done in the name of a God that is supposed to be love!
Oh, OK, I do like black cats.

 

[chincey_james]

There's enough negative realities in this life. We don't need to add demons into the mix to explain anything. The idea of demons is lazily used to punish anyone who dares to be different (or has no choice in the matter). People are free to believe as they please of course, but I personally would not want any interaction with someone who accuses others of being demons.

 

[oregano]

There is actually a strain of "thought" in the far right Evangelical Christian strain of American Christianity that says that autism (and all other disabilities) is caused by demonic possession. Some believe that disability is the result of evil influences that a person has "voluntarily summoned".

America has some real weirdos, and Evangelical Christianity seems to be a magnet for them. If a person wants to believe that Jesus saved their lives/souls, that's their right, and I don't mind. If they want to peacefully approach random people on street corners and tell them to give their hearts to Jesus, that's ok too, although they should consider what Jesus himself said about street preaching, as recorded in the Book of Matthew.

When it gets into screaming at people incessantly that they are full of the Devil and must repent NOW or else they will spend eternity in the lake of fire, that crosses a line. Parents who constantly put the fear of Hell and demons into their kids, or even worse tell a kid that such things as being non-gender-conforming or autistic or mentally ill is possession by the Devil requiring exorcism, that is child abuse IMO.

My father was terrified of Satan for reasons I will never know, and as he sunk deeper into schizophrenia during my college years he started insisting that I was possessed, that he was possessed, that his house was possessed. That wasn't malice, that was mental illness.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

Sorry. Adam Sandler and Kathy Bates, in The Waterboy. Ridiculous.

 

[Greening]

Christians have a long history of demonizing whatever, and whoever, they could, and can, demonize. In this way Christianity can easily be called a demonic and demonizing religion. A religion that creates demons out of others, who just sort of happen to not be or become Christian or are otherwise, in mysterious ways, not part of the Christian god's almighty plan, although he is supposed to be almighty. He has however "given" humans free will, but we are not supposed to use it, because that is somehow wrong, no further explanation there. But "luckily" he has sent his son, who in more mysterious ways, is also him. Born by a virgin, of course, and so similar to other figures in pagan religions that are much older, connected to spring, resurrection and the cycles of life, it is "a bit" suspicious. Christians have, off course, hijacked a lot of holidays and changed their names, and destroyed temples to make them into their own churches, and all of this in the name of their god, who they, for reasons now so obscure and impenetrably hidden, call good. A god by the way who told humans, according to the fictitious book "The Bible", that humans are not allowed to know good from evil, and when the snake offered humans to try to do exactly that, they were damned by this pretty angry figure called "God". He did however "create us in his own image", so if anyone can get any real sense out of that, all I can say is: Well done, well done indeed.

A couple of good book to read connected to this are 'The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World' by Catherine Nixey and 'Anathema Maranatha; Christianity and the Imprecatory Arts' by Martin Duffy.

​

 

[Xinyta]

To add to what @oregano said.

I watched a episode of a old western show called Wagon Train yesterday. It had the very topic we are discussing here about demonizing things one doesn't understand out of fears and delusions because of religious faith.

The girl targeted had clairvoyant visions of near future events and a particualr woman started screaming "witch" because of it.

It escalated to a scene where a guy, posing as a priest, nearly drowned the girl in the water trying to exorcise the supposed 'demon' inside her. To only have this lunacy stopped by the Wagon Master, who gave warnings before about perusing this 'witch' accusation further.

Point being, people will claim anything out of fear of the unknown. Especially back in those times or older, where women were seen as witches for alot of things that are normal today.

 

[Gerontius]

To add to what @oregano said.

I watched a episode of a old western show called Wagon Train yesterday. I had the very topic we are discussing here about demonizing things one doesn't understand out of fears and delusions because of religious faith.

The girl targeted had clairvoyant visions of near future events and a particualr woman started screaming "witch" because of it.

It escalated to a scene where a guy, posing as a priest, nearly drowned the girl in the water trying to exorcise the supposed 'demon' inside her. To only have this lunacy stopped by the Wagon Master, who gave warnings before about perusing this 'witch' accusation further.

Point being, people will claim anything out of fear of the unknown. Especially back in those times or older, where women were seen as witches for alot of things that are normal today.

I remember that episode of Wagon Train. Not a bad episode at all!

I have had some run ins with priests before who were exorcists. This is interesting and seems to genuinely help a small number of people, but I don't think it's good for the priests generally.

It helps me to remember the classical definition of evil as the absence of good, instead of a physical thing.