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Dementia and Demonic Influence
Can Dementia be the Result of Demonic Influence?
How Does Satan Work?
What is Satan's purpose? The Bible says that he is both "the
evil one," and "the great deceiver." He wants to do
evil. He also wants evil to prevail on the earth, so he wants others (everyone)
to do evil. He is clever and he uses deceptive means to
accomplish this, and he has many demons to assist him. 1 Peter 5:8 says, "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."
Satan wants to do the opposite of what God wants to do. God
is righteous and loving while Satan is evil and hateful. The
Bible tells us what God wants us to do, and warns us against Satan's
ways. If we could summarize what the Bible wants Christians
to do, we would say that He wants us to know His Word, and to do what it
says, not the least of which is to pray. God wants us to
learn about His grace; love; humility; salvation; newness of life; pleasing
Him; the Church; judgment, the End Times; and, prayer. In
other words, God wants us to learn Bible doctrine and to pray to Him.
On the other hand, Satan wants us to focus on anything other than Bible
doctrine and prayer.
What does Satan redirect our focus to? Maybe he directs our
focus to TV or the movies, where we can sit trance-like for two or more hours
with no thought of Bible doctrine or prayer. Maybe he directs
our focus to sports, when he knows we can sit through a four-hour ball game
with no thought of God. Maybe he directs our focus to our
jobs, where he can control us 8 to 12 hours every day, even convincing us
that we're providing for our family, when we actually have no time for
them after such a long day at work.
Demonic Influence and Mental Disorders
But how drastically can Satan affect one's mind? Mental
disorders can be due to psychological, physical, or spiritual problems; or, a
combination of these. Until the end of the
nineteenth century, demon possession was a widely accepted explanation for
disturbed behavior. It was then that the scientific
revolution gained momentum. Now, in modern times, we're too smart for
that, and we must attribute all mental disorders to the naturalistic
view. Psychiatrists leave no room for supernatural or
spiritual possibilities. As a result, what had, for centuries, been
viewed as demonic influence became "nothing but" mental illness or mental
disorders.
The Modern View
In reading about the modern view, it quickly becomes obvious that there
is much that is unknown and unexplained about the symptoms and causes
of various mental disorders. There is little agreement on
which ones affect the mind, which ones affect the will, and which ones affect
the emotions. However, the Bible scholar will quickly see
that all affect the soul, which is comprised of the mind, the will, and the emotions.
Since the world of science is largely theoretical rather than factual,
modern scientific articles often demonstrate their own ignorance.
For example, they frequently state how certain disorders "are believed
to be" the result of certain factors. They cite how "studies
have shown" that certain conditions are "strongly linked" to these factors,
and how these "suggest" certain psychotic manifestations.
Certain disorders "may be" the result of organic causes such as toxic chemicals
or a stroke, while others "may" result from nonorganic causes such as
psychosis, depression, etc. They state that certain things
are "likely," "unlikely," or have a "high probability" of being the truth,
all while admitting that there is "considerable controversy" in modern
science on such things. However, the reader who cites the
Word of God as the truth comes to different conclusions.
Consider the following mental disorders:
- Antisocial Personality Disorder - Characterized by a wide variety of
irresponsible and antisocial acts, such as lying, stealing, instigating
fights, and cruelty. These people typically feel no remorse,
and often feel justified in their actions.
- Narcissistic Personality Disorder - Characterized by an extreme need
for self-importance, insensitivity to the needs or feelings of others,
extreme sensitivity to the least slight from others, and a strong
desire to be "special." These people are extremely
self-centered and they are quite subtle in devaluing, exploiting, or harming
others. Some psychiatrists refer to them as "truly evil people."
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - Characterized by an idea, obsession,
or involuntary act that controls the person.
- Multiple Personality Disorder - The appearance of two or more
distinct personalities, sometimes using different voices for each one.
Each of these modern day disorders (and others) could be related to one
or more of the accounts of demon possession in the Bible (Mark 5:1-20,
Acts 16:16-18, 2 Corinthians 4:4).
The Biblical View
The Bible clearly states that demons are real and that they are
evidenced in powerful and dramatic ways. In the New Testament, Satan
was involved in mental disorders, and he still is today.
Mental disorders, like any other human malady, came with the Fall and the
entrance of sin into the world. All human suffering can be
traced, in part, to that momentous event. Satan's role in the
fall, and thus in all earthly ill, must be acknowledged.
Whether a mental disorder is due to psychological, physical, or spiritual
problems, Satan is unmistakably involved in them--some, if not
all--though the means of his involvement may vary.
For example, what the Bible scholar may cite as supernatural knowledge
or strength in demon possession, the psychiatrist may refer to as
hallucinations in psychotic disorders. A biblical event of a
demon possessed person going about naked might be called "deterioration
of appearance and social graces" by the psychiatrist. When a
demon possessed person appears to encompass more than one personality
and / or use different voices, the psychiatrist may call this Multiple
Personality Disorder. When a demon causes a person to be
mute, deaf, or blind, science may call this a conversion (hysterical) disorder.
Satan is smart and clever, and the Bible calls him the great
deceiver. He uses a variety of methods to accomplish his ends
while hiding his working. Perhaps he has us right where he
wants us: unable to distinguish between demonic influence and mental disorders.
Demon Possession
There is widespread debate as to whether or not demons can possess a
believer. The Scriptures aren't definitive on this.
What we do know is that unbelievers can be demon-possessed. We also
know that believers can be influenced by demons, as the Bible warns
Christians to be on guard and to arm themselves for protection from the
evil one (Ephesians 6:12-17, 1 Peter 5:8-9). Also, faith in
God and faithful obedience to God are important factors in protection from
the power of Satan and his emissaries (Revelation 12:11).
Spiritual warfare is real.
In Frank Peretti's series of novels (Piercing the Darkness, etc.), he
notes that we would be astounded and horribly frightened if we could
see all the demons around us. Although his books fictionalize
this truth, it is the biblical truth just the same.
Satan's Strategy
As noted above, Satan's main strategy is to get us to focus on things
other than Bible doctrine and prayer. How would mental
disorders accomplish this? Well, obviously the person with the disorder
is preoccupied with the disorder, so he will often not devote his time to
Bible study and prayer. Of the people you know with such a
disorder, how much time do (did) they spend learning Bible doctrine and praying?
Then there are the people around the person with the disorder,
including caregivers and relatives. They often spend so much
time in caring for (and worrying about) the person with the disorder, that
they too direct much of their focus to this person and the disorder,
thus allowing less time for Bible study and prayer for them as well.
Modern medicine is increasing our life expectancy, but at what
cost? The elderly are living longer but with less quality of
life. Satan could be using this situation to bring more
mental disorders upon the elderly, whether or not they are diagnosed with
dementia, Alzheimer's, etc. This results in even less quality
of life, especially less quality of our spiritual lives, for the elderly
as well as their children, grandchildren, and other
caregivers. Meanwhile, medical professionals convince us to just write-off demonic
influence as "normal" old-age dementia. If I were Satan, "seeking
someone to devour," what better target could I find than an elderly
person with a weakened mind, body, and spirit? Perhaps dementia
and Alzheimer's are Satan's diseases (dementia / demons).
It's too easy for caregivers to play into Satan's hands by being
consumed by the sinful and hurtful things that can be done or said by
someone who is influenced by a demon. This, in turn, causes
more subtle problems, such as a husband and wife becoming envious of each
other's time because they are spending more time consumed with caring
for mentally unstable parents and less time with each other.
An otherwise harmless little old lady can hold an entire hospital staff
captivated while adversely affecting the marriages of each of her children.
The Bible is clear concerning how we should react to the influence of
Satan and his demons, although we may not like the
implications. We are warned not to participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness,
but instead to expose them (Ephesians 5:11). We are commanded
to discipline ourselves for the purpose of godliness by adhering to the
words of the faith and of sound doctrine, but to have nothing to do
with worldly fables (1 Timothy 4:6-7). We are told to avoid
those who hold to a form of godliness but deny its power (2 Timothy
3:2-5). We are commanded to have nothing to do with those who
are perverted by repeatedly being divisive, warped, and sinful (Titus
3:10-11). It can be difficult for us to obey God by rejecting
these demonic characteristics in people that we love and care
for. However, even if this means minimizing our time around
our demon-influenced loved ones, this would be better than letting Satan
influence our own lives as well.
Meanwhile, Xanax (Alprazolam) can be very effective for our loved ones with dementia (and / or demon influence).
Sources include "Counseling and the Demonic," George Fox University.
Owen Weber 2017 |
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