# Why is Demonic Posession So Rare? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 14, 2009, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-demonic-posession-so-rare/510100 "2009-09-14T22:46:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-demonic-posession-so-rare/510100/41 "2009-09-15T16:52:48Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Actually, I answered the title question conclusively. There are no demons, devils, gods, spirits, fairies, pixies, sprites, or other supernatural entities. There never have been. You still haven’t explained Nancy Grace. Are you seriously claiming that she _isn’t_ demon possessed? Have you seen her _eyes_? The problem here is that there’s no real, factual answer to the question, any more than there’s answer to the question _Who’d win in a mud-wrestling fight between Buffy & Xena?_ Any non-dismissive answer–including the one I posted earlier–is hypothetical and maybe silly. But not as silly as the question in this thread: [You’re Mephistopheles, lord of Hell. Do you want humanity to believe in you?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=532097) ---
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-demonic-posession-so-rare/510100/42 "2009-09-15T16:56:03Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Is it “Moriah- Conquering Wind?” I’ve run into her once on a Christian Universalism board. I love it when she types like Gollum speaks! Yes! I guess shes famous. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-demonic-posession-so-rare/510100/43 "2009-09-15T16:57:10Z")
Some people feel being a Liberal \_is \_ being possessed by demons. Because you think differently from good folk. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-demonic-posession-so-rare/510100/44 "2009-09-15T16:57:31Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Actually, I answered the title question conclusively. There are no demons, devils, gods, spirits, fairies, pixies, sprites, or other supernatural entities. There never have been. And it’s up to those who think there are to provide evidence, not you to prove a negative. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-demonic-posession-so-rare/510100/45 "2009-09-15T17:21:21Z")
> [@Tamara+](#): > > Yes! I guess shes famous. She certainly has a presence throughout the Net. Do you know the origins of her name? ---
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-demonic-posession-so-rare/510100/46 "2009-09-15T17:44:14Z")
If you google it, it will become clear. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-demonic-posession-so-rare/510100/47 "2009-09-15T17:50:06Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > If we accept the phenomenon as genuine, then why is posession by evil spirits so rare? Who says that it’s rare? It seems like every time I pick up a book or open a thread, someone is blaming some phenomenon on widespread demon possession. Of course the word “demon” is rarely used. Instead people use the word “meme”, but the idea is substantially the same: a malicious being with desire and will, which exists but has no physical body, which can take over a person’s mind, which can travel from person to person, and which can only be defeated by submitting to the authorities. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-demonic-posession-so-rare/510100/48 "2009-09-15T17:57:50Z")
Every human being possess a 1024-bit possession index. When a demon attempts a possession, it has to precisely match that code, and if it fails once, it’s forever locked out in a process similar to development of natural immunity. What? It’s just as good as any other explanation. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-demonic-posession-so-rare/510100/49 "2009-09-15T18:01:52Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > Who says that it’s rare? It seems like every time I pick up a book or open a thread, someone is blaming some phenomenon on widespread demon possession. Of course the word “demon” is rarely used. Instead people use the word “meme”, but the idea is substantially the same: a malicious being with desire and will, which exists but has no physical body, which can take over a person’s mind, which can travel from person to person, and which can only be defeated by submitting to the authorities. Not to mock my father, but he believes in demon possession; it’s his standard explanation for inexplicable evil behavior. Usually he’ll trot it out for people like that fellow in California who kidnapped and held captive the little girl for 18 years, or the woman who ate her baby’s brain, and so forth; but I suspect if I pressed him he’d think that homosexuals are demon-possessed too. (He’d say that I’m DECEIVED by the enemy, not possessed by him.) ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-demonic-posession-so-rare/510100/50 "2009-09-15T18:22:01Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > (He’d say that I’m DECEIVED by the enemy, not possessed by him.) This distinction must be a great comfort. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-demonic-posession-so-rare/510100/51 "2009-09-15T18:27:49Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > This distinction must be a great comfort. To him or me? ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-demonic-posession-so-rare/510100/52 "2009-09-15T18:28:07Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Actually, I answered the title question conclusively. There are no demons, devils, gods, spirits, fairies, pixies, sprites, or other supernatural entities. There never have been. This isn’t twitter. There are posts accompanying the titles. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-demonic-posession-so-rare/510100/53 "2009-09-15T18:44:50Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > To him or me? I purposely left the ambiguity for humorous effect. In the real world, I suppose to him, as I can’t imagine that you’d care, and if you did, you’d probably be pissed that you were merely deceived, and didn’t get to host a demon (Hi, come on in, appetizers are on the table, would you prefer white wine or red? Something else? Beer? Blood?) ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-demonic-posession-so-rare/510100/54 "2009-09-15T20:07:02Z")
> **[Signs and wonders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Wave_of_the_Holy_Spirit)** > > Signs and wonders refers to experiences that are perceived to be miraculous as being normative in the modern Christian experience, and is a phrase associated with groups that are a part of modern charismatic movements and Pentecostalism. This phrase is seen multiple times throughout the Bible to describe the activities of the early church, and is historically recorded as continuing, at least in practice, since the time of Christ. The phrase is primarily derived from Old and New Testament refer A ... Aha! Right, these guys, they believe the world, literally, towns, rivers, peoples, counties, are possessed by demons right now. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-demonic-posession-so-rare/510100/55 "2009-09-15T20:52:14Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Not to mock my father, but he believes in demon possession; it’s his standard explanation for inexplicable evil behavior. Usually he’ll trot it out for people like that fellow in California who kidnapped and held captive the little girl for 18 years, or the woman who ate her baby’s brain, and so forth; but I suspect if I pressed him he’d think that homosexuals are demon-possessed too. > > (He’d say that I’m DECEIVED by the enemy, not possessed by him.) I recall a Chick tract (no longer on his website, apparently) where the secular-humanist teacher Ms. Hinn is teaching tolerance by introducing a “perfectly normal” gay couple to Little Suzie’s elementary-school class. Each man has a small insectoid demon wrapped around his neck, and when they kiss, their demons kiss (the demons are apparently invisible to everyone but the reader and Little Suzie). ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-demonic-posession-so-rare/510100/56 "2009-09-15T22:08:14Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > This isn’t twitter. There are posts accompanying the titles. Quite, and the OP’s first line was: > [@ralph124c](#): > > If we accept the phenomenon as genuine, then why is posession by evil spirits so rare? I thought that was the question we were answering, a “what if” proposition. > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > If I recall aright, the senior priest in The Exorcist averred that the point of Regan’s possession wasn’t her damnation–she was obviously blameless–but to cause the persons around her–her mother, obviously, and maybe even the priests sent to help her–to commit the sin of despair. Regan was just the instrument; the demon could also have caused her to die horribly, but apparently found this more amusing. Ahh… one of the old-time serious craftsman type demons as Crowley considers them, the sort that would spend decades tempting a priest into sin (unlike Crowley’s flashy modern methods of bringing down cellphone networks… or turning the M25 ring road into a giant infernal prayer wheel). Love that book – Pratchett signed my copy with “We made the devil do it”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MeDrewNotYou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@MeDrewNotYou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeDrewNotYou)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-demonic-posession-so-rare/510100/57 "2009-09-16T00:07:45Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > [Comedy Central The Daily Show Fan Page](http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-may-27-2008/matt-taibbi) > > Watch out for that demon of handwriting analysis… it’s a doozy. I knew it! Forensic ‘scientists’ and their ‘examining’ of ‘evidence’ is all a tool of the enemy! If the Secret Service has a lot of these Hagee guys employed, I might just take up counterfeiting… 😉 That also reminds me. If you can stomach the link I posted earlier, look around for a list of demons to cast out. I remember that somewhere they tell you to invest in a good thesaurus and when casting out lust, you should also cast out carnality, libido, and any other synonyms you can find. Tricksy demons! > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I recall a Chick tract (no longer on his website, apparently) where the secular-humanist teacher Ms. Hinn is teaching tolerance by introducing a “perfectly normal” gay couple to Little Suzie’s elementary-school class. Each man has a small insectoid demon wrapped around his neck, and when they kiss, their demons kiss (the demons are apparently invisible to everyone but the reader and Little Suzie). I remember that one! I thought the demons were kinda cute, though. Does that make me a godless sodomite? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-demonic-posession-so-rare/510100.md?page=2)