Download or read book Demonic Possessions in History written by Anita Croy and published by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. This book was released on 2019-07-15 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Possession by a malevolent spirit sounds like a horrific nightmare or bizarre fiction, but history has certainly shown that it isn't such a far-fetched concept. The fear of these possessions stems from Christianity and other religions. They had treacherous repercussions, such as witch hunts in Europe and the United States, and attempted exorcisms. Murderers even used the guise of demonic possession as an excuse for their crimes. Readers poring through these engrossing, extensive accounts can decide for themselves what may have a ring of truth to it.
Download or read book The Penguin Book of Exorcisms written by Joseph P. Laycock and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2020-09-08 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Haunting accounts of real-life exorcisms through the centuries and around the world, from ancient Egypt and the biblical Middle East to colonial America and twentieth-century South Africa A Penguin Classic Levitation. Feats of superhuman strength. Speaking in tongues. A hateful, glowing stare. The signs of spirit possession have been documented for thousands of years and across religions and cultures, even into our time: In 2019 the Vatican convened 250 priests from 50 countries for a weeklong seminar on exorcism. The Penguin Book of Exorcisms brings together the most astonishing accounts: Saint Anthony set upon by demons in the form of a lion, a bull, and a panther, who are no match for his devotion and prayer; the Prophet Muhammad casting an enemy of God out of a young boy; fox spirits in medieval China and Japan; a headless bear assaulting a woman in sixteenth-century England; the possession in the French town of Loudun of an entire convent of Ursuline nuns; a Zulu woman who floated to a height of five feet almost daily; a previously unpublished account of an exorcism in Earling, Iowa, in 1928--an important inspiration for the movie The Exorcist; poltergeist activity at a home in Maryland in 1949--the basis for William Peter Blatty's novel The Exorcist; a Filipina girl "bitten by devils"; and a rare example of a priest's letter requesting permission of a bishop to perform an exorcism--after witnessing a boy walk backward up a wall. Fifty-seven percent of Americans profess to believe in demonic possession; after reading this book, you may too. For more than seventy-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 2,000 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Download or read book Spirit Possession around the World written by Joseph P. Laycock and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2015-05-26 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a fascinating historical and cultural overview of traditional beliefs about spirit possession and exorcism around the world, from Europe to Asia and the Middle East to the Americas. Possession and exorcism are elements that occur in nearly every culture. Why is belief in spiritual possession so universal? This accessible reference volume offers a broad sample of the traditions and cultures involving possession and exorcism, presenting thoughts on this widely popular topic by experts from the fields of anthropology, sociology, religious studies, history, neuroscience, forensics, and theology. The entries cover the subject of possession and exorcism across all inhabited continents, from the Bronze Age to the 21st century, providing information that is accessible and intriguing as well as scholarly and authoritative. Beyond addressing the Christian tradition of possession and exorcism, Pentecostalism, and "New Age" and less widely known Western concepts about possession and exorcism, this work examines ideas about possession and exorcism from other world religions and the indigenous cultures of Asia, Africa, and the Americas. It also covers historic cases of possession and presents biographies of famous theologians, exorcists, and possessed individuals. High school and undergraduate readers will learn about world history, religious and spiritual traditions, and world cultures through a topic that figures prominently in popular culture and modern entertainment. Bibliographies that accompany each entry as well as a selected, general bibliography serve to help students locate print and electronic sources of additional information.
Download or read book Hauntings Possessions and Exorcisms written by Adam C. Blai and published by Emmaus Road Publishing. This book was released on 2017-08-01 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do you fight an enemy you can’t see? In this field guide to defense against the demonic, Adam Blai, an expert in religious demonology and exorcism for the diocese of Pittsburgh, shares information and advice gained over years of extensive experience with the paranormal. Review the scriptural evidence about demons—who were cast down to earth, not hell—and the tricks they play to try to gain influence in our lives. You’ll also discover the tools the Church has developed for us to combat and resist the forces of evil. Written in an easy-to-read style, this book is perfect for the Catholic looking to learn more about the invisible forces hell-bent on the destruction of your soul—and how to claim the victory Christ has already won.
Download or read book Demon Possession in Elizabethan England written by Kathleen R. Sands and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2004-10-30 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In October of 1563, 18-year old Anne Mylner was herding cows near her home when she was suddenly enveloped by a white cloud that precipitated a months-long illness characterized by sleeplessness, loss of appetite, convulsions, and bodily swelling. Mylner's was the first of several cases during the reign of Elizabeth I of England that were interpreted as demon possession, a highly emotional experience in which an afflicted person displays behavior indicating a state of religious distress. To most Elizabethans, belief in Satan was as natural as belief in God, and Satan's affliction of mankind was clearly demonstrated in the physical and spiritual distress displayed by virtually every person at some point in his or her life. This book recounts 11 cases of Elizabethan demon possession, documenting the details of each case and providing the cultural context to explain why the diagnosis made sense at the time. Victims included children and adults, servants and masters, Catholics and Protestants, frauds and the genuinely ill. Edmund Kingesfielde's wife, possessed by a demon who caused her to hate her children and to contemplate suicide, was cured when her husband changed his irreverent tavern sign (depicting a devil) for a more seemly design. Alexander Nyndge, possessed by a Catholic demon that spoke with an Irish accent, was cured by his own brother through physical bondage and violence. Agnes Brigges and Rachel Pindar, whose afflictions included vomiting pins, feathers, and other trash, were revealed as frauds and forced to confess publicly, their parents being imprisoned for complicity in the fraud. All these cases attest to a powerful need to ascribe some moral significance to human suffering. Allowing the sufferer to externalize and ultimately evict the demon as the cause of his or her affliction bestowed some measure of hope—no mean feat in a world with such widespread human distress.
Download or read book Believe Not Every Spirit written by Moshe Sluhovsky and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2008-11-15 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From 1400 through 1700, the number of reports of demonic possessions among European women was extraordinarily high. During the same period, a new type of mysticism—popular with women—emerged that greatly affected the risk of possession and, as a result, the practice of exorcism. Many feared that in moments of rapture, women, who had surrendered their souls to divine love, were not experiencing the work of angels, but rather the ravages of demons in disguise. So how then, asks Moshe Sluhovsky, were practitioners of exorcism to distinguish demonic from divine possessions? Drawing on unexplored accounts of mystical schools and spiritual techniques, testimonies of the possessed, and exorcism manuals, Believe Not Every Spirit examines how early modern Europeans dealt with this dilemma. The personal experiences of practitioners, Sluhovsky shows, trumped theological knowledge. Worried that this could lead to a rejection of Catholic rituals, the church reshaped the meaning and practices of exorcism, transforming this healing rite into a means of spiritual interrogation. In its efforts to distinguish between good and evil, the church developed important new explanatory frameworks for the relations between body and soul, interiority and exteriority, and the natural and supernatural.
Download or read book Demonic Possession and Exorcism written by Charles River and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2023-11-28 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 21st century, most people associate the idea of the possession of a person or place by a malevolent supernatural entity with the medieval world and particularly with the Catholic Church, but the truth is considerably stranger. Virtually every human culture that has ever existed has talked about both possession and exorcism, a rite or ritual used to free a person or place from possession. The terms used to describe the process of possession and entities thought to be responsible have changed throughout history, but the central theory does not. In certain circumstances, it is said that a person, place, or object may become inhabited by an entity that comes from somewhere else. The outcome is generally negative and sometimes even fatal. The only effective remedy is exorcism, the banishment of the entity involved to the place from which it came. Some branches of modern psychology suggests that possession is simply a form of mental illness and that all these cases can be explained in psychological terms. But, as you will see, there appears to be a remarkable consistency in reports of possessions and even witness reports of possessed people demonstrating remarkable powers and abilities. It is difficult to explain those things purely in terms of psychology. Furthermore, while people might associate possession and exorcism with the past, particularly the medieval world, claims have increased dramatically in the past 50 years. The situation became so serious that in 1990, a group of Roman Catholic priests formed the International Association of Exorcists (IAE). This group lobbied the Vatican to recognize the growth of instances in demonic possession, and in 2004, the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith asked every Catholic diocese to appoint a trained exorcist. Precise figures are very difficult to obtain (the Catholic Church, for example, does not publish official statistics for the number of exorcisms performed by its priests). What is known is that most large Catholic dioceses in North America have access to official exorcists, and these priests receive specialist training to undertake exorcism ministries. No official numbers are available (the Catholic Church does not identify priests who act as exorcists), but it is believed that in 2011, the Catholic Church had around 15 trained exorcists in North America. Today, that number is believed to be well over 100. Perhaps not coincidentally, polls suggest that belief in demons and demonic possession is also rising. One poll conducted in 2019 in America found that 22% of those surveyed believed that demons "definitely exist" while a further 24% believe that such entities "probably exist." Those are staggering numbers in a modern, industrialized, advanced nation. Some people claim that belief in demons and demonic possession has never been higher. Naturally, this increasing belief in demonic possession has also led to an increase in the numbers of exorcisms that priests and others are called to perform. Again, precise figures are not available, but one high-profile exorcist in America, Father Vincent Lampert, the exorcist for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, told a reporter in October 2018 that he had received over 1,700 requests for exorcisms so far that year, the highest number he had ever experienced. Other Catholic priests trained in exorcism rites in North America had said that this aspect of their ministry has become so overwhelming that they can barely cope with requests for exorcisms. All of this makes clear that the concepts of demonic possession and exorcism are not merely topics of interest to historians, but things that are affecting growing numbers of ordinary people around the world right now.
Download or read book Demon Possession written by John Warwick Montgomery and published by Bethany House Publishers. This book was released on 1976 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A collection of demon possession experiences, case histories, studies, and conclusions from a wide range of professional people, including doctors, psychiatrists, scientists, historians, theologians, and college professors.
Download or read book The Devil Within written by Brian Levack and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2013-04-22 with total page 519 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating, wide-ranging survey of the history of demon possession and exorcism through the ages. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the era of the Reformation, thousands of Europeans were thought to be possessed by demons. In response to their horrifying symptoms—violent convulsions, displays of preternatural strength, vomiting of foreign objects, displaying contempt for sacred objects, and others—exorcists were summoned to expel the evil spirits from victims’ bodies. This compelling book focuses on possession and exorcism in the Reformation period, but also reaches back to the fifteenth century and forward to our own times. Entire convents of nuns in French, Italian, and Spanish towns, thirty boys in an Amsterdam orphanage, a small group of young girls in Salem, Massachusetts—these are among the instances of demon possession in the United States and throughout Europe that Brian Levack closely examines, taking into account the diverse interpretations of generations of theologians, biblical scholars, pastors, physicians, anthropologists, psychiatrists, and historians. Challenging the commonly held belief that possession signals physical or mental illness, the author argues that demoniacs and exorcists—consciously or not—are following their various religious cultures, and their performances can only be understood in those contexts. “Riveting [and] readable . . . must-reading for students of history, psychology and religion.” —Publishers Weekly “Levak, a distinguished historian of early modern witchcraft, now sets exorcism in a long historical perspective, providing the most comprehensive and scholarly overview of the theme yet published.” —Peter Marshall, Times Literary Supplement
Download or read book Discerning Spirits written by Nancy Mandeville Caciola and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2015-09-25 with total page 514 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Trance states, prophesying, convulsions, fasting, and other physical manifestations were often regarded as signs that a person was seized by spirits. In a book that sets out the prehistory of the early modern European witch craze, Nancy Caciola shows how medieval people decided whom to venerate as a saint infused with the spirit of God and whom to avoid as a demoniac possessed of an unclean spirit. This process of discrimination, known as the discernment of spirits, was central to the religious culture of Western Europe between 1200 and 1500.Since the outward manifestations of benign and malign possession were indistinguishable, a highly ambiguous set of bodily features and behaviors were carefully scrutinized by observers. Attempts to make decisions about individuals who exhibited supernatural powers were complicated by the fact that the most intense exemplars of lay spirituality were women, and the "fragile sex" was deemed especially vulnerable to the snares of the devil. Assessments of women's spirit possessions often oscillated between divine and demonic interpretations. Ultimately, although a few late medieval women visionaries achieved the prestige of canonization, many more were accused of possession by demons.Caciola analyzes a broad array of sources from saints' lives to medical treatises, exorcists' manuals to miracle accounts, to find that observers came to rely on the discernment of bodies rather than seeking to distinguish between divine and demonic possession in purely spiritual terms.
Download or read book Spirit Possession and Exorcism written by Patrick McNamara Ph.D. and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2011-04-26 with total page 413 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This two-volume text reviews spirit possession throughout history, analyzes case studies from a cognitive neuroscience perspective, and examines rites for exorcism. From the beginning of civilization to the present day, and across all major religions and cultures, there have been documented cases of people seemingly overtaken by an unseen entity. The invading force—whether good or bad—appears to replace the possessor's soul with the spirit's own persona, resulting in mystifying symptoms such as levitation or other supernatural feats, speaking in tongues, and even horrific and inexplicably accelerated physical distortion and deterioration. This is a two-volume chronological history and examination of spirit possession that addresses its phenomenological, psychological, and neurobiological aspects, and its effects on societies. Volume one reviews spirit possession from the upper Paleolithic era to modern times, while Volume two focuses on case studies and rites of exorcism.
Download or read book Demonic Foes written by Richard Gallagher, M.D. and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2020-10-06 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world’s leading psychiatric authority on demonic possession delves into the hidden world of exorcisms and his own transformation from cynic to believer over the course of his twenty-five-year career. Successful New York psychiatrist Richard Gallagher was skeptical yet intrigued when a hard-nosed, no-nonsense Catholic priest asked him to examine a woman for a possible exorcism. Meeting her, Gallagher was astonished. The woman’s behavior defied logic. In an instant, she could pinpoint a person’s secret weaknesses. She knew how individuals she’d never known had died, including Gallagher’s own mother, who passed away after a lengthy battle with ovarian cancer. She spoke fluently in multiple languages, including Latin—but only when she was in a trance. This was not psychosis, Gallagher concluded. It was, in his scientific estimation, what could only be describe as paranormal ability. The woman wasn’t mentally disturbed—she was possessed. This remarkable case was the first of many that Gallagher would encounter. Sought after today by leaders of all faiths—ministers, priests, rabbis and imams, Gallagher has spent a quarter-century studying demonic activity and exorcisms throughout history and has witnessed more cases than any other psychiatrist in the world today. In this eerie and enthralling book, Gallagher chronicles his most famous cases for the first time, including: A professional who claimed her spiritualist mother had “assigned” her a spirit who “turned on her.” A petite woman—”90 pounds soaking wet”—who threw a 200-pound Lutheran deacon across the room to the horror of onlookers in a church hall; And “Julia,” the so-called Satanic queen and self-described witch, who exhibited “the most harrowing” case, a “once-in-a-century” possession. Going beyond horror movies and novels, Demonic Foes takes you deep into this hidden world, sharing in full details of these true-life tales of demonic possession.
Download or read book Evil Archaeology written by Heather Lynn and published by Disinformation Books. This book was released on 2019 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book investigates the archaeological record for artifacts and evidence of evil entities, revealing how demons from the ancient world may be dwelling among us. It also looks at the history and lore behind real relics, believed to be haunted, and includes historical accounts of demonic possession"--
Download or read book Demonic Possession and Exorcism written by Sarah Ferber and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-01-11 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this highly original study of possession by demons and their exorcism, Sarah Ferber offers a challenging study of one of the most intriguing phenomenon of early modern Europe. Looking also at the present day, she argues that early modern.
Download or read book A History of Anglican Exorcism written by Francis Young and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-06-30 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Exorcism is more widespread in contemporary England than perhaps at any other time in history. The Anglican Church is by no means the main provider of this ritual, which predominantly takes place in independent churches. However, every one of the Church of England dioceses in the country now designates at least one member of its clergy to advise on casting out demons. Such `deliverance ministry' is in theory made available to all those parishioners who desire it. Yet, as Francis Young reveals, present-day exorcism in Anglicanism is an unlikely historical anomaly. It sprang into existence in the 1970s within a church that earlier on had spent whole centuries condemning the expulsion of evil spirits as either Catholic superstition or evangelical excess. This book for the first time tells the full story of the Anglican Church's approach to demonology and the exorcist's ritual since the Reformation in the sixteenth century. The author explains how and why how such a remarkable transformation in the Church's attitude to the rite of exorcism took place, while also setting his subject against the canvas of the wider history of ideas.
Download or read book F cking History written by The Captain and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2020-08-11 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: History that doesn't suck: Smart, crude, and hilariously relevant to modern life. Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it. Too bad it's usually boring as sh*t. Enter The Captain, the ultimate storyteller who brings history to life (and to your life) in this hilarious, intelligent, brutally honest, and crude compendium to events that happened before any of us were born. The entries in this compulsively readable book bridge past and present with topics like getting ghosted, handling haters, and why dog owners rule (sorry, cat people). Along the way you'll get a glimpse of Edith Wharton's sex life, dating rituals in Ancient Greece, catfishing in 500 BC, medieval flirting techniques, and squad goals from Catherine the Great. You'll learn why losing yourself in a relationship will make you crazy--like Joanna of Castile, who went from accomplished badass to Joanna the Mad after obsessing over a guy known as Philip the Handsome. You'll discover how Resting Bitch Face has been embraced throughout history (so wear it proudly). And you'll see why it's never a good idea to f*ck with powerful women--from pirate queens to diehard suffragettes to Cleo-f*cking-patra. People in the past were just like us--so learn from life's losers and emulate the badasses. The Captain shows you how.
Download or read book I Am Not Afraid written by Robert H. Bennett and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While Africa and Madagascar seem like strange and faraway places, the world in which we now live has become much smaller than many of us could ever have imagined. Moreover, even our neighbors visit the local fortuneteller, read the horoscope page in the newspaper, and attend s ances that seek to reach departed friends, lovers, and family members. Consequently, as we begin a journey into faraway places, we may soon find they are not as far away as we may have expected. from Chapter 3 I Am Not Afraid is Rev. Dr. Robert Bennett's fascinating first-hand account of the spiritual warfare found within the Lutheran Church of Madagascar. Is spiritual warfare something new to the Church? Bennett reviews what the Bible, Church Fathers, and contemporary Lutheran leaders have to say. Part One includes recent conversations dealing with spiritual warfare, an introduction into the Malagasy Lutheran Church, and the traditional Malagasy worldview. These are the stories of those who have been rescued from the darkness of sin and brought into the light of the Gospel. Part Two looks to the Bible and the Church for explanation and historical perspective on the spiritual warfare found in the Malagasy Lutheran Church. Is it something only found in the time of Jesus and the apostles? What has the Church said in the past about such activities? Bennett explores the views of Martin Luther and other Lutheran leaders, and finally provides some helpful contemporary material and resources for dealing with spiritual warfare in today's context. Includes a glossary of key terms, transcripts of personal interviews, bibliography, Scripture index, and subject index.
