The banality of everyday "possession".

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I would prefer to hear from other christians/believers on this matter but obviously I can't control the thread.

One of the things I've experienced almost relentlessly for the last 15 years is the fact that people are empty shells who are very easily possessed by satan. I don't mean in an 'exorcist' projectile vomiting, 180 degree head turning, foul mouthed sense - it's far more likely that there are no signs whatsover, except that there language or behaviour is accusatory or bizarre, and they will often 'tempt', or 'accuse' or harrass me in some way.

A witnessed example in my life would be that I was in a hardware store and another customer at the counter was buying an axe, so he was holding it while standing at the counter, he then went on to hold the axe over my head as though he meant to attack me (this was no joke, people looked shocked and he had a crazy look on his face), and I leaned in as if to make it easier for him and said: "I only fear god" at which point he crumpled and ran. to me this is possession, not insanity. other examples would be like I'm at the post office paying a bill and the staff member becomes extremely obnoxious and bizarre and refuses to do their job. When I return to the same post office another day, the same staff member seems embarrased and apologetic, like they dont' understand their own behaviour on that day and asks me what happened and why.

so...It's been very hard to find any material that substantiates my view that it's an everyday phenomenon, except in vague or metaphorical terms until I stumbled across the following book on the net. It's called The War on Saints. the website is not necessarily stuff I would agree with but they publish the whole book.

http://www.apostasynow.com/wots/Contents.html

any opinions? I believe it's sort of covered in things like the "pilgrims progress" and also in the bible but those are metaphorical rather than realistic pragmatic acceptances of the phenomenon as an everyday thing believers have to deal with.

if people around you tend to get possessed by satan, that's not banal at all. nothing banal about hardware store customers waving axes at you and then crumpling right there in the hardware store when you get all 'the power of christ compels you' at them. not sure about the obnoxious postal worker, tho. that sounds banal enough.

once a street kid jumped in front of me and loudly proclaimed that he needed money to buy beer to worship satan. perhaps he was possessed? i always just figured he needed some beer and had a good sense of humor.

oh and p.s. - apostasy (as in apsotasynow.com - your book you like) means abandoning your faith. like, formally denouncing it and saying 'ha, this was a stupid faith and i'm done with it'. so maybe not the ideal source of info for someone who'd prefer to hear from fellow christian believers?

I think it's the banality of food ( and/or chemical ) intolerance, having its "so-usual noone notices it anymore" effect on people's moods.

You are what you eat, ( aswell as your genes and conditioning obviously ) . And in the case of food intolerance, which tends to produce addiction to the problem food itself, it is rather like being possessed.

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Demonic possession is not "banal," naturally. Nothing banal about a person becoming a demonic sock-puppet. What has become banal, I think, is when people pretend to be demonically possessed for the sake of a movie or TV program. When The Exorcist first hit theatres, it was a fresh idea. But now it's now old hat.


You never hear of angelic possession, do you?

i get sick of having to deal with satan's puppets everywhere i go. that's why i became a semi recluse. it's just such an everyday phenomenon for me if i mix with people. it took me 3 years to work up the courage to ask the question 'demon, what is your name?' and i half expected people to laugh at me and say i was crazy, but they always give the name 'rupert' in a blank voice. it's not really banal, no, it still shocks me. these days i don't even bother asking the demon what its name is, i just reply to it's accusations and slander with standard christian responses and keep it as short as possible, walk away, knowing it was 'rupert'. is that what other christians do?

as for angelic possession i presume that's possible too. if everyone is really just an empty space available for possession by either god or satan, (those who fail to choose god as their puppet master are automatically controlled by satan) then it's certainly possible, but that would be a positive experience, things would go well, so naturally there's nothing to complain about.

Who is this Rupert character?

I am intrigued, but I know enough not to study occult/demonology subjects too closely lest I fall under Satan's influence.

'rupert' is the name it always gives. that's the only question i know to ask so i can prove to myself it's a possession. it's been going on for about 15 years, so presumably he's my particular harasser. i don't know much about demons either, just that they're real. i used to be one of those people who think satan isn't real but events have forced me to change my position on that.

it's sort of a 'thorn in your side' thing that keeps me a christian, i spose. it's the second coming that will rid the world of satan and all his works so i think it's just a thing you have to put up with and it will keep you a lifelong christian, how could you not be with this sort of thing going on regularly?

i don't expect it makes much sense to people who haven't experienced it, that's why i was glad to find that book i referred to in the original post. not many people would accept this sort of phenomenon was real.

How long has this been going on?

it started in my late thirties, so something like 15 years, but in hindsight perhaps it goes on all ones life. i only became aware of it in my late thirties because it became it became very relentless and it also happened in front of witnesses. prior to that i think it may have been more subtle, or something you just find bizarre or odd.

This sounds like some sort of delusional disorder. I think you're interpreting unusual events and general weirdness in a more and more convoluted and "spiritual" way. The guy who took the axe sounds like a nutcase, but your reaction was a little weird too (there's no way of gauging what psychopathology drove him to do it from that isolated example).

I think your experiences here, or your interpretation of them, is a perfect example of the psychotic nature of religious thought and experience.

This is great stuff! So Rupert appeared to you in different host bodies at different times & places? Did you ever get a chance to talk to it, communicate with it? Figure out its motivations?

And you say it could not have been anything but spirit possession? Was there any sort of pattern to these phenomena? Sudden coldness?

Give me a PM if you don't want to post any more public replies.

I have to agree with NeantHumain here. Especially with the postal worker example. That just sounds like a bad mood, or PMS at the worst. The axe thing, that could have been a whole raft of things.

It is possible that you are having some sort of spiritual interaction, but I think your beliefs are causing you to assume things. If you want to learn more about this Rupert character, or about the nature of possession in general, I suggest doing experiments. Make note of any physical or behavioral similarities or differences. Don't try to hard to connect the dots though, because your experiences could be just about anything, including your own insanity.

Aren't you just a little bit curious about Rupert?

Me? Yeah, that's why I'd like to see some information from a non-biased source. If Postperson could put down their beliefs and look at the situation objectively, rather than trying to prove their preconceived notions, I would love to hear the results.

Postperson has preconceived notions of his own. So do you. So do I. So does everybody.

I'll not argue against that. However, to learn more about our world, we need to put down our ideas, even if only momentarily, and look at the world with clear eyes. We must strive to eliminate our biases, or we will never know the truth.