Demons and Christians

[Stephen]

Hey, this past week at camp has been very strange for me, and I'm left with a lot of questions (or topics of discussion).

The main thing is, for the past months my friend has been very depressed. He's been walking away alone a lot, talked about suicide more times than I can remember, and sometimes shakes violently for a long time.

At camp saturday night, he was shaking again and had just had a bad day. He went and talked to our youth pastor about it. A few hours later he was back, saying that it had been a demon that was gone for a while now, and he was smiling widely all night.

Today he went to see his councelor, and his councelor told him that he might have the gift of seeing demons, and that he shoudl pray about it. Now he's very excited and happy.

My question is, is this a legitimate place to be? Should everyone be convincing him that he has been possessed by a demon, talking about a spiritual gift of cite that excites him, etc.? I was always under the impression that demons could not possess Christians, and the fact that he has accepted it all so quickly honestly scares me. I'm afraid of him having a false hope.

Anyway, I just wanted your input.

[mossrose]

Stephen, I have never heard of the 'gift of seeing demons", and frankly, who would want that gift if it did exist?

Christians cannot be possessed by Satan or demons.......because they are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and "greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world". But it is easy to blame a lot of stuff on the devil or demons when we don't want to take responsibility for our own actions.

If your friend is depressed, he needs to see a doctor. And I would be very wary of anyone telling him that he is possessed.

There is a study on Satan and his demons here:

http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43637

This is based on Scripture, and I hope it will help you and your friend......

[TuckEverlasting]

Wow. This is a perfect example of what I still hate and fear about Christianity.

Yeah, what :mossrose: said. Even though I believe demons are quite real, I would be very careful about blaming any mental illness on one. Your friend needs to see a doctor, now - depression is serious.

Should everyone be convincing him that he has been possessed by a demon, talking about a spiritual gift of cite that excites him, etc.?

Um, NO. The fact that they are is very disturbing to me, especially if they know about his record of depression and talking about suicide! By the way, I'm serious that he needs to see a doctor. Anyone who has a history of contemplating suicide is going through a very dangerous time.

[suffer for joy]

Hey Stephen, I've had some experience with demonology so I will attempt to answer your questions.

First of all, Satan and his minions can only work by suggestion. A person is oppressed by a spirit when they receive these suggestions, they are possessed when they accept them.

Suicidal thoughts/depression are the result of oppression by a spirit. Of course, those who do not believe in a tripartite-man on this board will disagree.

Your friend needs to seek professional help to delve into the reasons for his depression. It is most likely directly linked to a past event in his life. Demons only go away when 1) We die 2) They are cast out 3) They are driven out.

I suggest that your friend see a psychologist or a demonologist who also specializes in psychology. Either will be able to help drive out those spirits (although the psychologist might not be aware of any spiritual influence on your friend's condition). They will only successfully be removed when your friend's thinking process is transformed to that of Christ, and away from whatever depressed attitude he has had.

A few hours later he was back, saying that it had been a demon that was gone for a while now, and he was smiling widely all night.
Ok, If the demon was gone, why was he still having the symptoms? Like I said above, he needs to seek help, and demons just don't go away for no reason.

Today he went to see his councelor, and his councelor told him that he might have the gift of seeing demons, and that he shoudl pray about it. Now he's very excited and happy.
I think they might be talking about the discernment of spirits.

I'm a bit confused here. What does being possessed by demons have to do with the discernment of spirits? Are you leaving something out here?

I was always under the impression that demons could not possess Christians
Demons certainly can oppress Christians, and they can possess them.

Possession does not only deal with physical manifestation. When a person has accepted the suggestion of suicide from a spirit, they are possessed.

Hope that helps,
sfj

[mossrose]

I can't agree with you, sfj. How can Christians be possessed by any demonic force when the Holy Spirit indwells them? There just isn't room in there for more than one person! And a believer who is being oppressed by an evil spirit simply needs to pray and "resist the devil, and he will flee from you." Because, "greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world".

As far as I am concerned, there is far too much emphasis on Satan and his minions. We should be focusing on Christ, and not on the battle going on around us. We are not meant to be involved in spiritual warfare on an everyday basis except for the living of our own lives in obedience to God. The war is already won, people!

Not everything that happens in a person's life can be blamed on Satan and/or his demons. Sometimes we are just sick. There is no demon of post-nasal drip. (deja-vu, Alien!!) Depression and suicidal thoughts are NOT always the result of oppression by a spirit. Sometimes there are clinical reasons for depression. Chemical imbalances in the brain.....hormonal activity, all sorts of physical reasons.

That is why it is very important that Stephen's friend see a physician very soon.

[Stephen]

I'm a bit confused here. What does being possessed by demons have to do with the discernment of spirits? Are you leaving something out here?
I'm wondering that myself. All I know is that today his professional counselor was talking to him about the gift of discernment and telling him he may be able to see demons. My friend was getting very excited about it; he says this feels more real to him than anything has in a long time.

I should have explained myself better to everyone. My friend is not scared of the idea that a demon had posessed him; he is excited because he says it's gone now. What I'm worried about is that he will believe he is "cured" and when/if he realizes that things have not changed, his faith in God will be shifted because he believed that this was a demon that was cast out. I think that everyone convincing him it was a demon, and his quick acceptance of that, has caused him to believe it without seriously looking into biblical support for it.

[luv1another]

Stephen I agree with suffer to some extent
But I also think he should see a doctor and look at his diet.

first off I believe that Demons can hang around a person and develop strong holds within a Christian... this is a war and if you think about a natural war you will see one side may have a piece of land but the other side can come and claim parts of it. I don't know if it would be called possesion though.
like suffer said we generally allow something in our lives to give satan power for example say drug addiction (as an extreme case) we can be a Christian (or claim to be)and have drug addiction but from that one door you have opened the enemy can claim more and more ground.

secondly yes their is a gift where you can see in the spiritual realm I had a friend who could. I also know of others that can too. I think the gift is discernment. I would say though that your friend does not have this gift... he didn't discern he had a demon or see it did he?
I think these people are leaping in to quickly with this first off there would need to be a history of him having seen or felt the presence of The Holy Spirit and of demonic spirits and this doesn't seem to be the case.

also the talking of suicide scares me to be quite honest... I know from experience that if a demon is talking to him that it could become very real and he may do it.
I know that a demonic spirit may be talking to him since I have been in this position before. I was once an intercessor for a pastor and I opened a door to evil ... before long I was in a depression it was like suddenly a dark cloud decended into and over my life... I actually at one point nearly killed one of my kids and that is way not me.. I know it can be very real and the suicidal thoughts also come satan will give him wonderful ways to kill himself... one that I was told to do was to take my car and drive it into a tree and no one would even know that it was not an accident.
if this friend does not have a history of mental illness and his family doesn''t pray lots stephen thats all that stopped me was two friends praying for me and I didn't even know they were. Also urge him to see a pastor who has been involved with deliverance.

[learning]

I have a cassette tape that I got from a homeschool website, but it is by a Rev. Dr. S. M. Davies, and the topic was 'Conquering Satan's Strongholds'
I don't agree with everything that this minister may believe, like some things to do with Rock music, for instance, but he had good ideas in this tape.

I really liked how he said he didn't believe that Satan or demons could possess a Christian, but they could 'oppress' one. The problem was, he said, sometimes it was hard to tell the difference.

He goes into ways that Satan can try and bring us down, and how we need to stand and battle.

Here's his web site if you wish to look into this further www.drsmdavis.com

But like many said here, we would encourage you to keep an eye out for your friend and have him seek help elsewhere as well. If he is truly free of some oppression, because of prayer, he may be OK. But talk of suicide is not ever something to take lightly. The above suggestions are good, like seeking a Dr. or psychologist, hopefully a Christian one.

addition
I'm giving the link to the homeschool web page where I got this tape, as they have a good description of it and another tape. Just scroll down the left, clik on the Dr. S.M. Davies link, then clik on the 'spiritual Warfare' link, and you'll see descriptions of what the tapes are about, but they also speak of how satan can try and influence our lives.

www.joycenter.on.ca/menujs.html?index.html

(You don't have to purchase anything here, just reading the descriptions here may be helpful)

[Jillyn'Toast]

This doesn't really have anything to do with Stephens problem... but the posts in this thread really helped me understand a few things about the relationship between Christians and demons.

My family has always been very supersticious and occassionally someone will say they see a dead relative or child that wasn't there and claim it was a ghost. In my opinion, ghosts are not real and it's either from God or it isn't. I vote for "isn't" because these sightings don't do anything good, mostly detrimental, and I know they definatey freak me out when I hear about them. I liked what suffer for joy said about opression. I often wonder why my family hangs onto such obviously false visions like this....

[TrinityKicker]

First, I want to say that I have only met one person who I believed to be demon possessed. She turned out to be a Medium.

I have heard of a couple people who have been tormented by demons being able to recognize demonic influence. However, I have never heard of anyone being happy about it.

If a demon was attacking your friend and the demon has been driven out, then you friend ought to be ecstatic. My concern is with the people who are influencing him. If you know and trust them, you should probably go talk to them about it. If you don't know them, then review the description of church elders in the Bible. Ask your friend if these people fit that description.

If they are right, then you should be happy for your friend. If they are wrong, then you have the huge problem of getting your friend to realize and except that.