Levack's Three Reasons Why People Caused To Be Possessed By Demons
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Preface
Levack gives three reasons that could potentially explain why people were thought to be possessed by demons. The first explanation given is that the person symptoms are from the Devil entering one and controlling their mind and body. Another reason is that one might be lying about the victim is exaggerating their behaviors, or that they are mentally ill. The final explanation is that the possessed were actually actors, acting from a script they had memorized.
Levack however, prefers the third explanation: which says that the possessed are actors. He claims that the first reason cannot be proved by scholars, and thus it is not a stable claim. The second explanation does not provide enough proof for the rapid growth of possessed. The…show more content… The Devil is the “Father of Lies.”
Protestants believe that miracles are not possible because they are considered metaphysical happenings, unlike the Catholics.
Protestants also did not believe that exorcisms, that Catholics performed, were credible. Rather, to ensure the disappearance of demons in oneself, one should pray and fast until they are cured. People were frantic to rid themselves of calamities. This fortified their ideas and faith in the existence of miracles.
By 1800, most Protestants had begun to distrust the validity of the possessions that were happening.
Judaism is a monotheistic belief, in other words only believing and praying to one God. Due to this, there is no official opposite to God. Thus, evil spirits and demons were not heavily believed in by the Jews, until there was talk by the Greeks, influencing the Jews.
Beezlebub is the “Prince of the Demons.”
Christian thinkers pondered how the demoniac world was organized, why there were possessions happening and what was the cause, and what the fallen angels did for fifteen hundred…show more content… Before the end of the world, there will be battle between God and the Devil.
The increase of possessions marked the Battle and Last Days, and there fast approach. Soon more and more people were being possessed, illustrating the evil in the world.
According to Levack, eschatology helped people better understand possessions, how they took place, what they were, and how to cure them.
Dependence on possession and exorcism proved demonic presence during the 16th and 17th centuries.
People argued that the symptoms of possessions were so extreme that they could not be caused by natural illness and that an outside force must be involved.
The author of Witch Craft Proven explains that further evidence of wicked spirits is shown throughout history within the involvement of witches.
Weyer “never denied” the reality of a Devil that could dominate the natural process.
Scientists alive in the 17th century believed that God and the Devil worked within nature, not on the outside of it.
It was not possible to deny the idea that genuine and real possessions could exist.
Chapter Eight: The Demoniac and the