Summary: Belief in demonic possession has been prevalent across cultures throughout human history. Even now in parts of the world, possession by spirits is taken for granted, and some individuals attempt to confront those spirits on behalf of the suffering. The contrast between Jesus and other healers, then and now, tells us some important things about him.
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33 (ESV)
Witches, Ghosts and Evil Spirits
Each October the people of the Western world allow themselves that brief escape from reality known as Halloween. It’s a pretended retreat into the dark past with its belief in witches, ghosts and other spirits. Some find it fun to imagine such things for a little while, and from a safe distance. But for those who believe they have experienced an attack by malevolent spirits, past or present, the suffering has been unique and painful. Often physical behaviors accompany mental illness in the individual believed to be possessed. One missionary friend told me of a person in Tanzania who was driven by a demon to walk and not stop until he died.
Demon Possession in the Past and Present
Modern psychiatry (“healing of the soul”) actually has its ancient origins in the problem of demonic possession. In Greece, Egypt, and Assyria to name but a few countries, there were people who set out to understand the strange, antisocial actions of certain individuals, and to try to heal them. It was often thought that these individuals’ bodies had been taken over by spirits other than their own, and stronger.
Twentieth Century theologian Rudolf Bultmann said: “…it is impossible to use electric light and the wireless and to avail ourselves of modern medical and surgical discoveries, and at the same time to believe in the New Testament world of demons and spirits.” (Kerygma and Myth: A Theological Debate, p. 5.)
All supposed demonic activity now has a scientific explanation. Possession is really mental illness, or epilepsy. Many would agree, but not all.
Even among psychiatrists and psychologists today there have been exceptions. Among them was Dr. M. Scott Peck. Dr. Peck wrote People of the Lie and Glimpses of the Devil. In these books he took up the issue of evil and how evil works. Peck was a psychiatrist who taught at Case Western Reserve. During his career he became convinced that demonic possession is a reality in the lives of some patients. He was present at several exorcisms held in hospitals.
In Italy, Dr. Simone Morabito was a highly respected physician, nominated for the Nobel Prize in Medicine by the Paris Institute of Sciences. During his career he, like Peck, became convinced of the reality of the demonic. He had cases which simply did not conform to psychiatric theory. There are other such doctors, but this outlook is not mainstream.
Ancient Preventative Medicine for Demonic Entities
In the past the existence of demonic entities was far more accepted as reality. Healers in the past developed their own methods of treatment for the possessed. Preventive medicine might preclude the need to employ more aggressive methods later. The first line of defense was not to become possessed in the first place. Archaeologists have found bowls turned upside down beneath the foundations of excavated houses in Mesopotamia. They are called incantation bowls because of the spells written on them. These bowls are believed to have been demon traps. If you can catch a demon before it catches you, that’s preventive medicine.
Demon Possession in the Old Testament
In Israel the idea of spirit-caused harm can be seen already in the Old Testament stories of King Saul. A spirit was sent by the Lord to trouble him. David played his harp for the King to bring him relief (1 Samuel 16:14-23).
And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him. – 1 Samuel 16:23 (ESV)
David’s son, Solomon, was the wisest person in history, and Josephus wrote:
“God also enabled him [Solomon] to learn that skill which expels demons, which is a science useful and sanative to men. He composed such incantations also by which distempers are alleviated. And he left behind him the manner of using exorcisms, by which they drive away demons, so that they never return.” – Antiquities of the Jews VIII, 45
If you hear a note of confidence in Josephus as to the efficacy of these cures, you are not mistaken. The exorcisms performed among Jews seem to have been considered more effective than those performed by others.
We do not know what Solomon really handed down as means for casting out demons, if anything at all, but we do know some of the means used by people in the centuries after Solomon.
Methods for Demon Expulsion
One method of expelling demons was fumigation. This was treated with a strong, unpleasant smell. In the Book of Tobit, the demon-threatened young man is instructed to burn the heart and liver of a fish. The “reek” drives away the demon Asmodeus, and the angel Raphael captures it and destroys it. That story is reflective of fumigation as a real treatment in ancient times for oppression or possession by evil spirits.
Another treatment used smell to draw out, rather than drive out, the demon. Josephus writes of a man named Eleazar who used a ring with a piece of root fastened in the setting. The kind of root was part of that lore supposedly handed down from Solomon. Eleazar placed the ring under the nose of the possessed, and the demon was lured out through the patient’s nostrils. This was done in the presence of the Roman General Vespasian, his sons, his captains and other soldiers (Antiquities 8:2:5). (See more on religious objects)
Words were extremely important for expelling demons. Knowing the names of powerful spirits enlisted the force of those names against the demons. The Greek Magical Papyri, basically a collection of magic spells from ancient times, furnishes an example:
“Hail, God of Abraham; hail, God of Isaac; hail, God of Jacob, Jesus Chrestos, the Holy Spirit, the Son of the Father, who is above the Seven, who is within the Seven. Bring Iao Sabaoth; may your power issue forth from NN, until you drive away this unclean demon satan, who is in him” – (IV. 1231-1239) Papyri graecae magicae: Die griechischen Zauberpapyri. Edited by K. Preisendanz. 3 vol. Leipzig and Berlin: Teubner, 1928-1941.
It is clear from these papyri that the exorcists using these methods rolled the religions together: Greek, Jewish and Christian. What was important was to speak the right words and force the demon out. Using a variety of names helped ensure that one of them would probably work.
Jesus Power Over Demons in the New Testament
Graham Twelftree is a professor of the Bible who has written several books on the subject of exorcism in the New Testament. His name is widely associated with the subject. One of the points Twelftree makes is that Jesus did not depend on magic words, or rings with roots, or scorched fish livers, or palm wood rods, or amulets… He basically said, “Get out!” and it was done. Exorcism, says Twelftree, was a contest of power and authority. Jesus didn’t need to borrow someone else’s authority or props. He stands out as different from all others.
On one occasion Jesus came to his disciples only to find that they could not cure a boy suffering terribly with a demon:
17 And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. 18 And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” 19 And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” 20 And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21 And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” 25 And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28 And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” – Mark 9:17-29 (ESVUK)
Did you notice? This kind could only be driven out by prayer, even for Jesus’ disciples. But Jesus’ authority has no such limit. He ordered the demon gone, and it was gone!
Jesus was not the only Jew of his time to drive out demons. Others of his contemporaries did the same, and at least one used Jesus’ name, though he did not follow Jesus (Mark 9:38, Luke 9:49).
“And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.” – Luke 11:19 (NKJV)
But no one drove out the demons like Jesus did. And no one drove them out in numbers like Jesus did. That is another take-away from comparing Jesus and others who cast out demons. This clearly implies that Jesus was more than a successful practitioner of hidden Solomonic wisdom. He was at war with Satan.
Conclusion
What should a Thinker do? Forget about the Hollywood exorcisms with heads turning 360 degrees. Forget about the undocumented legends about someone somewhere who was possessed and floated in the air. Don’t become an armchair expert who questions medical science unless you have the qualifications to do that. Have a heart for people who suffer with mental illness of any kind—nearly one in five adults. Listen to Karl Barth and others who have warned against paying too much attention to the demonic. It isn’t healthy to give the devil a permanent place in your head, rent-free.
But realize that among the experts in psychiatry are people who still believe that cases of demonic possession exist, though it is rare at least in the West. Realize also that Jesus stood out from any other healer in his ability to expel the malevolent spirits from sufferers, leaving them in their right mind. My friend the missionary confirmed for me what I had heard before from others. When a possessed person on that Tanzanian mission field was exorcised, baptized, and joined a congregation of believers, the demon never returned. There was not a single case. Keep Thinking!
TOP PHOTO: Pazuzu Heads, aimed at protecting against the demoness Lamashtu. The metal ones were meant to be incorporated in jewelry, the one in stone probably to be hung up in the house, especially the bedroom. From Iraq 99-500 BC. (credit: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)
NOTE: Not every view expressed by scholars contributing Thinker articles necessarily reflects the views of Patterns of Evidence. We include perspectives from various sides of debates on biblical matters so that readers can become familiar with the different arguments involved. – Keep Thinking!
