Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

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/


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday December 06 2018, @03:41PM (2 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday December 06 2018, @03:41PM (#770690) Journal

    I only answer a poll if I am assured that my answers will be sent to Google for safe keeping.

    --
    To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @05:12PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 06 2018, @05:12PM (#770729)

    This is the level of control khazar jewish rats exercise over you. You write some text on your keyboard, or click a few buttons and it shows up on a jew's terminal. Sickening!!!

    Expose the jew.

    • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday December 06 2018, @07:33PM

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday December 06 2018, @07:33PM (#770802) Journal

      Wouldn't that violate some sort of public decency law and get you branded as a sex offender?

      --
      To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.