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posted by mrpg on Thursday December 06 2018, @04:11AM   Printer-friendly
from the the-power-of-god-compels-you-to-read-it dept.

The conviction that demons exist—and that they exist to harass, derange, and smite human beings—stretches back as far as religion itself. In ancient Mesopotamia, Babylonian priests performed exorcisms by casting wax figurines of demons into a fire. The Hindu Vedas, thought to have been written between 1500 and 500 b.c., refer to supernatural beings—known as asuras, but largely understood today as demons—that challenge the gods and sabotage human affairs. For the ancient Greeks, too, demonlike creatures lurked on the shadowy fringes of the human world.

But far from being confined to a past of Demiurges and evil eyes, belief in demonic possession is widespread in the United States today. Polls conducted in recent decades by Gallup and the data firm YouGov suggest that roughly half of Americans believe demonic possession is real. The percentage who believe in the devil is even higher, and in fact has been growing: Gallup polls show that the number rose from 55 percent in 1990 to 70 percent in 2007.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/12/catholic-exorcisms-on-the-rise/573943/


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  • (Score: -1, Troll) by aristarchus on Thursday December 06 2018, @07:44AM (1 child)

    by aristarchus (2645) on Thursday December 06 2018, @07:44AM (#770545) Journal

    Oh, wow, mega-down modded by the forces of evil! So let's try this again, only on the alt-evil side!

    The Power of Satan, could it be, Satan???? (Dana Cary, Church Lady, SNL)
    The power of Baal compels you! To pay child support to your ex!
    The Power of Moldervort compels you, to not have a whole face?
    The Power of Chulthu compels you! Mostly in ways Geometrically you do not want to be compelled.
    The Power of the Violent Impostion of the State compels you, to pay your fair share of taxes.
    The Power of Beezulbub, "prince of the demons", compels you!
    The Power of Angra Mainyu (/ˈæŋrə ˈmaɪnjuː/; Avestan: 𐬀𐬢𐬭𐬀⸱𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬎‎ Aŋra Mainiiu) Compels you.
    The power of Maya (/ˈmɑːjə/; Devanagari: माया, compels you, but only if you fall for illusions.
    And finally, the Power of SoylentNews compels you, to admit that free speech and aristarchus are right!

    Confess! Confess! Confess!

    Cardinal Fang, bring out the Rack! Nobody Expects The Spanish Inquisition [youtube.com].

    I still think that TMB is possessed. khallow also, most probably. And Bradley13, for obvious reasons.

    Starting Score:    1  point
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    Total Score:   -1  
  • (Score: 3, Funny) by DannyB on Thursday December 06 2018, @03:32PM

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday December 06 2018, @03:32PM (#770683) Journal

    Exorcism is not needed. Just don't use Perl.

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.