Is demon possession a real thing?
*This is my most recent response for the "Religion Roundtable" for The Anniston Star (to be published 2/2/2013) It is difficult for any of us living in the Western World, on this side of the Enlightenment, to find reality in something like demon possession. We live in the reality of science and medical research. If we see someone exhibiting behaviors that could be understood as demon possession, we chalk it up to a mental illness or perhaps a chemical imbalance. We have even looked back at Holy Scripture and the instances of demon possession in an attempt to explain them away as ancient misunderstanding of other illnesses. Now, I am not discrediting medical research or science (in fact I think more people of faith need to embrace science), nor am I looking to explain away the witness of ancient Scripture. I believe demon possession is a real thing, even in our Western, post-enlightenment world, because I see it all around us—only now the demons go by differe