Monday, January 28, 2013

Smelly Demons and Gender-Bending Ghosts

Charisma Magazine, having alerted readers to the pressing threat of demon nookie, has posted another commentary on demons. In a January 25th column at the Charisma Magazine website, Mark A. Pearson warns readers about demons occupying houses. In "Can Your House Be Haunted?" Pearson speculates that demons can sometimes be the culprits behind unusual household phenomena, such as strange sounds or odors. Apparently they move furniture too (so remind me to recruit some demon helpers when I move to a new home).
"It could be that demons are present and misbehaving. Sometimes they propel objects at people, move furniture about or make various noises. At other times they create extreme temperatures—generally cold—or nauseating odors, or they may impede one's ability to pray. Satan can come at us physically, emotionally and spiritually."
That's right, folks. Don't blame poor insulation or old windows for those cold drafts. That strange smell in the kitchen isn't from a rotten potato in that bag of Idaho russets on the counter. And those noises you hear at night aren't from your house expanding or contracting due to nighttime temperature changes. Nope! It's Satan!

Pearson argues that demons occupy homes for several reasons, such as revenge for "spiritual warfare" or enticement by curses, tarot cards, or Ouija boards.
"The demons may have taken up residence for several reasons. One is because they were invited, either deliberately by someone who called on them to come or naively through games such as a Ouija board or tarot cards ... Another reason evil spirits may take up residence is because of a curse. Sometimes a curse is placed on a home or other building as revenge for something the occupants have done or as spiritual warfare against believers."
He also theorizes that supernatural disturbances may result from "the presence of the souls of unsaved people who died without being commended to the Lord." Everything from war to abortion (!) can supposedly disorient spirits of the dead.
"... [T]heir souls are trapped here until someone tells them to go to God for their eternal fate. They're not demons trying to harm us or spirits trying to enter into a relationship with us, but souls seeking our help to be freed from being trapped on earth.

In my years in the inner-healing ministry I have worked with numerous women who were troubled with psychological and spiritual ailments. In some cases they had delivered a stillborn child or committed abortion.

Often the remains of their children had been discarded without their naming the child or commending him or her to God. In such cases, when we've named the child and commended him or her to God using the same prayers I use for deceased adults, significant healing has taken place. (In the case of abortion the sin also has to be acknowledged and repented of and God's forgiveness has to be asked.)"
Apparently, such disoriented ghosts can even make people transgender!
"British missionary surgeon Dr. Kenneth McAll was once asked to minister to a man hospitalized with incurable cross-dressing, gender-confusion issues. He researched the family history and discovered the man had a twin sister who was stillborn.

The family never thought a funeral would be necessary for one who was born dead, and the surviving brother was never told of her existence. After the discovery, McAll had a funeral performed for the sister. Some days later the mental hospital called saying the man had suddenly changed and was ready to be taken home."
Superstitions like this are nonsense. Demons and ghosts are the stuff of comic books, not real life. Such superstitions are the products of fearful minds and overactive imaginations, and have no place in the 21st century.

Pearson's column is alarming for another reason. By linking abortion and gender diversity to supernatural hauntings, it makes reasonable discussion of those issues impossible. Abortion and gender diversity cease to be social issues deserving of rational discussion and become just another symptom of spiritual malaise. Sadly, Pearson is not the first person to associate abortion and LGBTQ status with otherworldly influences, as observers of the more colorful voices of the Religious Right know well.

As I've asked so many time before . . . how do you reason with people like this?

12 comments:

  1. This reminds me of a documentary I saw called "One Nation Under God" from 1993 (I had to look it up to remember). It included scenes from ministries that supposedly "cure" homosexuality. If it wasn't heartbreaking, it would be hilarious. There was talk of demons residing in body cavities, causing homosexuality. It's laughable, but so sad that some people took that grotesque image to heart and thought that there was something wrong with them.

    As for your last question, Ahab, I can only shake my head in wonder along with you.

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    1. Michelle -- That documentary sounds interesting, albeit disturbing. It saddens me that there are people who STILL blame demons for LGBTQ status (and a host of other things they dislike) in 2013.

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  2. Wow, just...wow. I have no idea how to reason with a person like this. There are so many problem all piled up, where do you start?

    One thing that jumped out at me was the language of abortion, apparently you don't get an abortion, you commit abortion. It's amazing how much you can say with some phrasing.

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    1. Hausdorff -- Yeah. It frames abortion as evil and leaves no room for the valid reasons why a woman might seek an abortion.

      The more I observe fundamentalists, the more I realize that they inhabit a very different reality. That makes reasoning with them difficult.

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    2. Yeah, reasoning with them can definitely be difficult, certainly impossible for some of them. But I grew up in this type of environment, and the logical arguments that I heard did sink in, although it wouldn't have been apparent at the time. My shields were up and I was in defensive mode, and yet the arguments worked in the back of my mind and eventually broke through.

      I always try to think about that when I get discouraged, it's worth continuing the conversation, you never know if you are reaching someone.

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    3. Hausdorff -- The thought is reassuring. If people like us can reason our way out of unreasonable belief systems, many others can too.

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  3. No there's no reasoning with these folks. Coincidentally I happened to catch the last half of Ghostbusters yesterday. This brings a deeper understanding of the poor soul trapped inside the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

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    1. Donna -- Stay Puft got a raw deal! He was just a poor, confused soul who got disoriented. And then terrorized New York.

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  4. As if I didn't have enough to worry about, now this. I doubt I will sleep tonight for sure. Thanks Ahab, I think. My plate groans with the things I needs be concerned about. lol.

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    1. Sherry -- If the ghosts and demons are making too much racket, just yell at them to keep it down. Think of them as annoying renters.

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  5. Odd smells? Really? There must be demons in fiber, because I notice a lot of odd smells whenever I eat too much of it. ;-)

    You read/hear this kind of thing and you just want to take the guy out for a beer and say: "Hey, it's just you and me here. Man to man. Tell me the truth. You don't really believe all that BS you spout off, do you?" Unfortunately in this case, I'm sure the answer would be yes.

    I don't know how you reason with people like that. Maybe as Hausdorff suggests, you just state your position and hope that it sinks in. It's either that, or get one of those white coats with the long sleeves that tie in the back and use it as necessary. Padded room optional. ;-)

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    1. Wise Fool -- Or maybe demons eat a lot of fiber themselves! Hell smells like brimstone because the demons there love to eat bean burritos and chili con carne. >D

      When people devote their lives to nonsense like this, I really wonder what's going on in their minds. Do they realize it's nonsense, but fear that they can't renounce superstition because their career and social world would collapse? Or do they really believe it? I don't know.

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