THE TRUTH AND REALITY OF POSSESSION AND OBSESSION BY THE DEVIL PROVED
FROM SCRIPTURE.
But the possibility, the verity and reality of the obsessions and
possessions of the devil are indubitable, and proved by the Scripture
and by the authority of the Church, the Fathers, the Jews, and the
pagans. Jesus Christ and the apostles believed this truth, and taught
it publicly. The Saviour gives us a proof of his mission that he cures
the possessed; he refutes the Pharisees, who asserted that he expelled
the demons only in the name of Beelzebub; and maintains that he expels
them by the virtue of God.[250] He speaks to the demons; he threatens
them, and puts them to silence. Are these equivocal marks of the
reality of obsessions? The apostles do the same, as did the early
Christians their disciples. All this was done before the eyes of the
heathen, who could not deny it, but who eluded the force and evidence
of these things, by attributing this power to other demons, or to
certain divinities, more powerful than ordinary demons; as if the
kingdom of Satan were divided, and the evil spirit could act against
himself, or as if there were any collusion between Jesus Christ and
the demons whose empire he had just destroyed.
The seventy disciples on their return from their mission came to Jesus
Christ[251] to give him an account of it, and tell him that the demons
themselves are obedient to them. After his resurrection,[252] the
Saviour promises to his apostles that they shall work miracles in his
name, _that they shall cast out devils_, and receive the gift of
tongues. All which was literally fulfilled.
The exorcisms used at all times in the Church against the demons are
another proof of the reality of possessions; they show that at all
times the Church and her ministers have believed them to be true and
real, since they have always practiced these exorcisms. The ancient
fathers defied the heathen to produce a demoniac before the
Christians; they pride themselves on curing them, and expelling the
demon. The Jewish exorcists employed even the name of Jesus Christ to
cure demoniacs;[253] they found it efficacious in producing this
effect; it is true that sometimes they employed the name of Solomon,
and some charms said to have been invented by that prince, or roots
and herbs to which they attributed the same virtues, like as a clever
physician by the secret of his art can cure a hypochondriac or a
maniac, or a man strongly persuaded that he is possessed by the devil,
or as a wise confessor will restore the mind of a person disturbed by
remorse, and agitated by the reflection of his sins, or the fear of
hell. But we are speaking now of real possessions and obsessions which
are cured only by the power of God, by the name of Jesus Christ, and
by exorcisms. The son of Sceva, the Jewish priest,[254] having
undertaken to expel a devil in the name of Jesus Christ, whom Paul
preached, the demoniac threw himself upon him, and would have
strangled him, saying that he knew Jesus Christ, and Paul, but that
for him, he feared him not. We must then distinguish well between
possessions and possessions, exorcists and exorcists. There may be
found demoniacs who counterfeit the possessed, to excite compassion
and obtain alms. There may even be exorcists who abuse the name and
power of Jesus Christ to deceive the ignorant; and how do I know that
there are not even impostors to be found, who would place pretended
possessed persons in the way, in order to pretend to cure them, and
thus gain a reputation?
I do not enter into longer details on this matter; I have treated it
formerly in a particular dissertation on the subject, printed apart
with other dissertations on Scripture, and I have therein replied to
the objections which were raised on this subject.
Footnotes:
[250] Luke viii. 21.
[251] Luke x. 17.
[252] Mark xvi. 27.
[253] Mark ix. 36-38. Acts xi. 14.
[254] Acts xix. 14.