My JW friend says she experienced demons act on their own behalf even before she became a JW. She supposedly used to be an atheist, but her experience with demons led her to believe in the "spiritual realm" before she ever encountered JW's. She says her ex-boyfriend & his friend used to do the ouija board & as a result have a demon following them around. We are going to have a phone conversation about it next week, and I am trying to think of what to ask or say to her. I think this demon stuff is one thing that ties her to the JW's. I think her prior experience has merged with the JW ideas, and she sees the world through that lense. I am skeptical about this sort of thing, and am wondering what would be a reasonable and not insulting thing to say to someone who bases a good portion of this belief in demons on personal experience. I'm not sure how to gently but firmly handle it. I'll be reading up on critical thinking, but was curious if anyone here has any advice.
What would you say to a friend who claims to have experienced demons?
by InterestedOne 48 Replies latest jw friends
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dgp
People who believe in demons aren't likely to be convinced that they don't exist. I say, don't waste your time.
May I mention, just in passing, that Ambrose Bierce - in his "Devil's Dictionary" noticed that apparently apparel also has a spirit, since ghosts are always seen wearing clothes?
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baltar447
I think it's far too close minded to say that extra-dimensional beings(demons if you will) don't exist. There are too many first hand accounts from people I've heard to dismiss it all as hogwash. That being said I am skeptical of everyone saying "itz teh demunz" to every little thing. I like to keep an open mind.
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leavingwt
People who believe in demons aren't likely to be convinced that they don't exist. I say, don't waste your time.
Ditto.
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unshackled
Agreed...don't waste your time. So just click a button and send her this...
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LV101
demon/ouija board experiences are hard to believe/comprehend for me and i'm continually trying to weigh pros/cons as to my own sister's and her best friend's encounter 40 yrs. ago with the ouija board. i can't help think their minds told them what they saw because they were silly, young, girls -- although very conservative and academically inclined. IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE and i've asked her about this a few times thinking she'll confess it was all made up.
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InterestedOne
That's a great video.
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dgp
About Ouija boards:
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Ouija
Following its commercial introduction by businessman Elijah Bond in the late 1890s, the Ouija board was regarded as a harmless parlor game unrelated to the occult until American Spiritualist Pearl Curran popularized its use as a divining tool during World War I. [ 3 ] Mainstream Christian religions and some occultists have associated use of the Ouija board with the threat of demonic possession and some have cautioned their followers not to use Ouija boards. [ 4 ]
When I was a kid, a very interesting neighbor of ours had one such boards (she claimed to be a Mormon, by the way), and we kids got to play "spirits" with it. I had gone crazy before that, so the board -or the demons- aren't to blame here. I say "interesting" because the lady would be material for a book. AND she was hot, too. I remember that, and I was a kid.
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Band on the Run
People I trust tell me that ouija boards predicted events in their lives. Yet Parker House or some large manufactuer makes them on assembly lines, inventories them, ships them and sell them at retail for money. It is silly to believe that Parker House discovered a homing beacon for demons. I assume these boards existed before Parker House.
Now I want to read the wikipedia article about their history.
I've been very, very ill. Friends suggested I see this faith-healer in Manhattan. She was ethnic but very impressive, not what I expected. There was no fire and brimstone. There was a collection but the money could have gone to charity. It was a middle class, well-educated crowd. She started by asking those who were terminal to come up first. Fifteen attractive young people went forward. Next, she had us line up at her altar which was a stage. Her act was slaying people in the Spirit. She stretched out her arm and commanded the demons to leave in an authoritative voice. Person after person slowly, every so slowly slid back onto the floor with grace. They were not falling. I've never seen such movement anywhere. A lady came with a scarf to cover up wonen's skirt. The slain people rejoiced and jumped up. Five or six rows came up, Finally, it was my turn. I prayed to Jehovah (and I usually F...Jehovah) not to be taken by demons. My mom and a friend came up with me. Everyone fell as before. When she reached out her arm to me, I felt nothing. I started saying to myself to relax, maybe I would free of my illness. Just let go for once. Relax. No movement or feeling. My mom, my friend and I stood out as sore thumbs. No one with terminal cancer was cured but they were hopeful for a time.
I've also witnessed speaking in tongues in a Pentecostal churches. Another occasion to break my Jehovah rule and beg for protection from flying and zooming demons. It sounded like gibberish and it is. What bothered me was the people not afflicted acting as though it was a superior state of being. The translations were weird. Predictable scriptures. Yet something real is occuring. I don't believe it is a fraud. The people I saw would not lie about it. It was not prearranged.
It seems to me that demons come to those who fear them. Millions laugh at a ouija board.
Mental illness may be the answer. Does she actually hear or see things that are not there? Maybe she has a feeling of not being safe or altered body sensations and calls that demons. I've had altered sensation from medication. It is a very bad experience.
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Satanus
If they don't have a mental problem, and aren't suggestable, then i would suggest finding a reliable psychic. They can ascertain why the spirit is there and likely dislodge it. Also, they might know something for the person to do to protect themslves.
S