My friend is being attacked by Satan

Well, at least he reckons so. I don't know how to help him. You see it's all well and good, to go to Church to seek peace, love, healing(etc) and join in prayer, but it appears some Churches just install fear into their seekers.

Before my friend had gone to Church, and been told that demons attack you and that is why evil thoughts arise in your mind he would have probably said "I have a headache" or "I am depressed" but now he has this concept embedded in his mind that everytime he has an unholy thought, he is being attacked by Satan. Do you know he reacts when "he's being attacked by Satan" he become midly psychotic.

Now as a friend I have advised him to seek professional help, but for somebody who believes their problem is demons, well, they are not going to seek professional help.

I really feel sorry for him, he's become so deluded and irrational and he seems to be losing it by the day. And he tells me he's saved. Having not been to a Church myself enough to see what goes on here, does this sound like a common problem? Is this what Christians are taught?

I admit I find it very amusing when he says that non-Christians are eternally condemned, but at the same time, I find it really sad that people would believe that.

Any comments?

I find that this teaching is more widespread among evangelistic branches of Christianity. It is a common belief. In practitioners, to be able to disown negative thoughts instills a sense of security. In my opinion, this is not a healthy mental practice, and I kind of view it as a kind of willfully induced form of partial schizophrenia. That being said, it has its positive side, as practitioners, once recognizing that their negative thoughts are uninvited and demon inspired, may be able to ignore, cast out, or cancel the thoughts by chanting a quick mental mantra.

Zip

Originally posted by Indigo_Child
Having not been to a Church myself enough to see what goes on here, does this sound like a common problem? Is this what Christians are taught?


Any comments?

Sin infected the human race and caused our spirits(the part of us that wants to know God and can have a personal relationship with Him) to die. satan has the abiltiy to influence our thoughts, but we are going the wrong way to start so we do alot of stuff on our own. A person can go to far with the "demon" thing.

You mentioned that this person kind of goes psycho at times. Have they ever been involved in anything occultic(this includes alot of stuff)?

If they have accepted Christ they are now in a spiritual war. Before a person is saved they are spiritually dead and knowingly or unknowingly were not on God's side in this war. Now when someone becomes a believer in Christ they have switched sides. They are on God's side and satan will try to make them an uneffective christian. But with God living on the inside of that christian, sin can be said no too.

What denomination of church do they attend?

My friend is being attacked by Satan ...

Tell him that its because he is not using Windows ... Bill Gates wants as many followers as possible for the upcoming war.



LCKob

Send your friend to a psychologist and tell them to get their mental health checked. Because if they have mental health problems religion can make it worse by creating a nonsensical view of possession by demons.


G

Originally posted by dbrandt
You mentioned that this person kind of goes psycho at times. Have they ever been involved in anything occultic(this includes alot of stuff)?

:shk:
The guy sounds like he's quite sick, what is preventing him from getting medical treatment is the myth that pshycosis is actually demonic posession.. you are fueling this myth. He probably has a severe neuro chemical imbalance that has progressed to the point of no return. Praying will not fix this [though meditation/praying may be good for milder symptoms].

IC,
I suggest that you 'agree' with him but tell him that the attacks might be causing damage to his mind and have weakened his defences. For him to become 'spiritually stronger' he should use all weapons at his disposal; including a shrink and some happy pills. I know it sounds manipulative but if you put it in the context of him asserting himself against the 'demons' and not avoiding a diagnosis he might be more willing to listen. Some people would rather believe that the devil himself has a vendetta against them rather than being labelled nuts.

I feel sorry for you mate myself being his friend i know the feeling

sit down with him monday night and watch that program coming on?? forgot wat its called... it says how we should reject all religion for the sake of all humanity cause 'for good people to do evil things it takes religion' --- some line like that ... sounds great

Originally posted by Indigo_Child
Well, at least he reckons so. I don't know how to help him. You see it's all well and good, to go to Church to seek peace, love, healing(etc) and join in prayer, but it appears some Churches just install fear into their seekers.

As others have said, this is something that gets instilled into followers of some sects. Unfortunately, it's a self-fulfilling cycle.

You see, for many of us, if something bad happens (car won't start, failed test, got in a fight with a boyfriend), a kind of "this day is TERRIBLE" mindset arises. A second incident (traffic jam, speeding ticket, stepped on Ipod and broke it) means the day is down the tubes and you're plagued by bad luck.

Now... here's where it gets snaky. The moment your ego decides "wow, this is an UNlucky day", the id buys into it (remember the three parts of the mind: id, ego, and superego) and starts looking for things to support the idea.

Let's say that I get up, get a rejection letter from an editor (it happens), spill coffee on my pants (ouch) and the cat has barfed up a hairball on my favorite showes. I can say "bad luck... this is an unlucky day" or kick back and take a deep breath and look for something more positive.

If I was a member of the ScareYouChurch, I would see these as "attacks by Satan." And my mind would be hyperalert for more "attacks by Satan."

So, a mild headache would immediately be another "attack by Satan" (instead of something brought on by stress and overworry or eyestrain) and then I'd have to run in and pray and do more worrying. If I mislaid my Bible at this point, it would be ANOTHER attack from Satan instead of my being distracted and forgetting where I set it down, and if my concern and fear made me cranky at the kids and I got into a verbay fight with them and they whined and yelled "I HATE YOU!" then THAT would be another attack from Satan.

...and so on and so forth.

Now as a friend I have advised him to seek professional help, but for somebody who believes their problem is demons, well, they are not going to seek professional help.

Probably the only help is to get him to a church that is more rational. However, this one is playing into some of his psychological needs -- a need to be a hero; a need to be a "warrior" and therefore a person of worth; a need to rid the world of all the evil things he sees around him. It's not a view you can change easily. The church gives him a "band-aid" called "god" and they tell him that "god" approves of this or that (donating 20% of his weekly income, even when it means bankruptcy and hardship (yes, I've seen this mindset))

It's like the Universe itself approves of him.

For the other way, there's no stamp of Universal Approval.

Spilling my coffee means (to me) that I've gotten distracted and therefore clumsy and I'd better go find the paper towels. It doesn't mean that Satan has decided I'm a powerful force in the cosmic war and is going to harrass ME so that I will curse Jehovah and turn away from the forces of light.

But it does to him.

And from what I've seen, it's a very very destructive mindset.

The ALL is the ALL.. its positive and negative..... we need both.. if we wana make up some dude called satan to symbolise negative .. cooooool.... so god is the positive... doesnt mean god is the ALL!! and therefore suckin up to god cause satan is a bit heavy isnt gona get noone anywhere.. so god and satan and the ALL.. lest it diss u big time.

Take him back to church, let him explain what he understood from the few 'lessons' that he was exposed to by the church, and let them fix-it.

I'm sure if he went to church on a regular basis instead of taking one teaching and blowing it out of proportion he would be much better off also.

well.. i think he is given the powers od deamons a little too much credit

Romans 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

and

James 2:19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

There are Christian counseling services out there. Perhaps he would be willing to go to one of those?

Indigo_Child~

I agree with DBrandt, Jehosephat, and surprisingly, Spamandham!

Also, check out these Scriptures:

Jesus Drives Out an Evil Spirit
Luke 4:31-37
"Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. 32They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority.
33In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34"Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"

35"Be quiet!" Jesus said sternly. "Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.

36All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!" 37And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.

James 5:13-18
"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit."

How about this. We should all take responsibility for ourseves. This includes our actions and our thoughts.

In other words, if you think bad thoughts, or do things that hurt others.....ITS YOUR FAULT. Not an invisible entity called evil. Even if "evil" exists, you are still responsible for your actions.

Christians, Muslims, and any other religious people out there who do not fall into these categories..... Stop making excuses for the behavior of yourself and others.

Sorry about the rant.

To help your friend..tell him this.

You cant know hot without cold, and you cant know happiness without sadness. The fact that he can identify something that isnt good for him, is indeed a good thing. You cant have just good thought..or your wouldnt know what the bad is..

Now for those of you about mind control and psychosis. Read Hebrews where it speaks of a new covenant:

" I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying " know the lord ", because they will all know me. From the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness, and will remember their sins no more."

Writing them in their hearts means you dont have a choice..Ever think this could be whats happening? Just a thought.

Now we can all say sickness, and we can all say psychosis. But not a one of you are the Lord, nor do any of you know his plan. I believe in a supreme power and that power may be making itself known in the persons life. Not many mind doctors are firm beleivers in God. They tend to gravitate towards chemical imbalance conclusions.

Id hate to see what would happen if JESUS showed up and the doctors got ahold of him. Hed be on meds and everything else. Hed never get out of the rubber room.

Ask yourself, would you know Jesus if you saw him. Would you know God if you met him? Would you know the word if you heard it?

Listen with your hearts, Love with your souls..
Peace

[edit on 9-1-2006 by HIFIGUY]

Originally posted by HIFIGUY
Id hate to see what would happen if JESUS showed up and the doctors got ahold of him. Hed be on meds and everything else. Hed never get out of the rubber room.

I have a friend who has schizophrenia.. she hears voices.. thinks the checkout chicks at the supermarket are all conspiring against her and want to beat her up, thinks the weather man is speaking double code through the television trying to make her do things.. she refuses to take meds and is periodically institutionalised because of this. Being diagnosed is not what puts her there.. it's the refusing treatment part.

I will be sure to tell her though that asking for Jesus' help will cure her, maybe he'll tell her to take her meds.. :shk:

The Original discussion was that the person had an aversion to negative thoughts. Not what you were referencing about PARANOIA and all types of modes of communications.

But even so...there are different modes of communications..and at what point do you not know.

Man makes it his point to point out another mans sickness yet whose to say that that man isnt sick himself?

The Bible is full of people that would be clinicly diagnosed. Seeing people rise from the dead..The 12 apostles hearing Gods voice. People walking on water.

Yep. Time for the mental health facility. Funny how a book on mental health issues guides half of the world.

Peace

Originally posted by HIFIGUY
Yep. Time for the mental health facility. Funny how a book on mental health issues guides half of the world.

Is that the book that had people burning others alive or the one wear people blow eachother up? Tomato. tomarto.. at least they're following god instruction and not getting sucked into the mental health fad.
Even the vatican rules out possible mental illness before labelling it a possesion.. at what point do you consider mental illness not mental illness? When someone dies of a brain heamorage during an exorsism would you say that they died of mental stress or that the devil won?

[edit on 9-1-2006 by riley]

That book would be called the Bible.

There is a line in there by a man named Jesus..You might have heard of him.

" Love one another as I have love you "

Thats all he asked if you but learned one thing..I can hardly see where that is burning people alive.

Your hear but for the blink of an eye. A blink. Not even a half a blink. In terms of time.

How does that saying go? Do not concentrate on the splinter in your neighbors eye, when you cant even see the plank in your own?

There is a certain degree where the medical industry has overstepped its bounds. Esp the mental health industry. Half of America is on mind altering drugs..anti depressents and the such. Its really a sad state of affairs. Eat right, and the body will take care of itself for the most part.

Peace

Originally posted by HIFIGUY
That book would be called the Bible.

There is a line in there by a man named Jesus..You might have heard of him.

" Love one another as I have love you "

That guideline is in most world religions.. it is 'nice'. The rest of the bible.. is not IMO. I have read it thankyou.

Thats all he asked if you but learned one thing..I can hardly see where that is burning people alive.

Thalt shall not suffer a witch to live? In any case the history of christianty does not reflect the sentiment of loving one another.

How does that saying go? Do not concentrate on the splinter in your neighbors eye, when you cant even see the plank in your own?

I don't understand the point you are making.. sometimes people with chronic depression [for instance] think demons are attacking them.. trying to get them medical treatment is not judgemental. It is showing compassion.

There is a certain degree where the medical industry has overstepped its bounds. Esp the mental health industry. Half of America is on mind altering drugs..anti depressents and the such. Its really a sad state of affairs. Eat right, and the body will take care of itself for the most part.

Over prescribing is a problem.. but sometimes there is no other option. 'Eating right' [or praying] may help with milder syptoms but it will not help someone who is suicidal.

To my earlier question.. do you think people who die from strokes during exorcisms are killed by the devil or stress/trauma?

[edit on 9-1-2006 by riley]