People often think being "Demonic" or possessed is
some weird Spiritual or Christian event. Some form of evil inhabits a person
against their will, and they start acting in an odd manner. The Catholic Church
has historically promoted this "Supernatural Event." The New
Testament indicates that, at the time of Christ, demonic possession was a real
thing (Mark 5:1-20). Zechariah 13:2 tells us that this will occur as part of
the time of the Messiah. The OT Testament does not speak of possession as seen
in the Mark reference. But as a Christian, I must disagree.
The term "devilish" or "demonic" is only
used once in the Bible. Demonic is what is called a transliteration of the word
daimoniōdēs:
dahee-mon-ee-o'-dace
From G1140 and G1142; daemon like: - devilish.
James, the brother of Jesus Christ,
writes:
But if
you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant
and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from
above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.
"Demonic" comes from "bitter jealousy and
selfish ambition," not from a supernatural force. James further indicates
it is "earthly, natural": It
is the product of greed or selfishness. Oddly enough, throughout history, until
recently, self-centeredness has been considered harmful to society. Some place
along the timeline, a shift from a "we" culture to a "me"
culture occurred. With it came all types of societal woe and lamentation. Even "Alcoholics
Anonymous" indicates that:
"Selfishness, self-centeredness! That, we
think, is the root of our troubles. Driven by a hundred forms of fear,
self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows
and they retaliate. Sometimes they hurt us, seemingly without provocation, but
we invariably find that at some time in the past we have made decisions based
on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt. So our troubles, we
think, are basically of our own making."
Buddhism promotes "Self-lessness," Islam promotes
a lack of self, to act following the will of Allah (i.e., Al-Hashr 59:9). For
millennia, western and eastern cultures have promoted the concept "for the
greater good." The fantastic thing is that what is defined as "good"
tends to be universal. Does a man-altered religion or belief often slip from
this higher authority mindset? Sure. Suni versus Shi'ites, Catholic versus
Protestant or the Westburrow Baptist Church. What do all these "factions"
have in common? At some point, a person decides to make a slight change to the
message. Paul in the New Testament often spoke of these "other gospels"
(Galatians 1:6-7).
So the secular folks point at religion as evil when it is
the person who is usually "demonic," not evil. It is all about the
feel goods. A person with "Selfish ambition" seeks what is in their
mind best for them. It could be a place of power, a relationship, or other
self-serving activity.
Paul also refers to this as "carnal":
Romans
8:6-7
For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and
peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to
the law of God, nor indeed can be.
"Carnal" refers to the physical body, or even "meat,"
in so much as we are sacks of meat. Being meat-minded drives us to seek physical
pleasure. Hence a dog
in France contracts Monkey Pox from its owners.
I am not saying people ought to be forced into a religion. I
only recognize that society works better when people are more worried about
what happens around them than what happens to them.
The 2020 election is a prime example. People were so uptight
about a candidate's blatherings, the party's etiquette, and the carnal things
around that person that "We the
people" failed to elect somebody competent. Instead, Americans chose the
promise of higher gas prices, economic insecurity, and social unrest. We now
have the hubris to complain when we get what we were promised.
Though seemingly tolerant, phrases like "You do you boo"
or "do what you want" are carnal phrases—centered around transient
pleasure. A great example of this is Ian
Crossland. He is a contributor on one of my favorite YouTube Channels: TimCast IRL
Ian is a caring carnal soul. He wants to help everybody and
goes for the simple solution of making the Government do it. He considers
himself "Liberal" in the classical sense yet always wants the Feds to
step in. Ian loves to promote "DMT" (N-dimethyltryptamine) as the
source of his spiritual guidance. Mr. Crossland seems to believe that "getting
high" awakens some inner level of connectedness to universal
consciousness. Do I think Ian is a nice guy? Yes. Do I think he is Demonic?
Yes. That does not make him evil, just self-centered.
Why do I bring this up?
I hear everyday people who claim to be "Christian"
and will argue that "Satan is physically active" or a person seems "possessed"
in their behavior. I hate to disappoint everybody; some people will succumb to
temptation. But that is not an act of Satan, and it is an act of personal
choice and will. They are giving in to the desires of the meat puppet over choosing
the Will of God.
Is there a solution?
Yes, but most people will be too far gone to choose it. All
religion aside, come to an understanding that a moral society will succeed, and
an immoral society will fail. It is not complicated.
Ask not what your country
can do for you, but what you can do for your country!
John F Kennedy – Inagualr address, 1961.
Though I would encourage looking to our local communities versus
trying to serve the whole country, the sentiment is the same. Things are better
when service is honored.
The
solid truth is that wealth is created by serving others. A restaurant, store,
author, or any service is successful through serving the customers. It is not
an opinion or "My truth." It is a principle of society as sure as
that gravity is an absolute force. Try to make money by providing inferior or
unwanted products; eventually, you will fail.
A return to our fundamental principles based on
a worthwhile moral compass will be necessary for the United States to thrive
again. Without that shift, we will collapse ins selfish desire and evil actions
based on the narcissism of the
Gregor - Back from the brink! From there and back again. A spiritual Hobbits journey.
