286. Can Demons Really ‘Possess’ Humans?

Demons do bad things in the Bible and in the modern world. But how does a fallen spirit get around its limitations as an immaterial being? Meanwhile, how do creators of movies about demons get around the obvious budget limitations and need for showing not telling? Answer in both cases: demons “possess” people. Even in sci-fi the bad “entities” do this. But is this really the best word to use for how these Satanic agents can really influence, provoke, or oppress human beings?

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1. People love scary stories about demons.

• Jesus and the apostles often cast demons out of their victims.
• Acts has further accounts of what we call “demon possession.”
• Rumors of demons in society or the wild forests persist in history.
• Such supernatural narratives have long captured our imaginations.
• In all history, the present, and in fiction, we often blame demons.
• And we have many accounts and legends about possession.
• Christians make whole ministries about “spiritual warfare.”
• Frank E. Peretti memorably dramatized such encounters.
• Even pop culture loves the image of priests and exorcisms.
• Many movies, like Fallen with Denzel Washington, explore demons.
• A more Christian example is Nefarious, with its possessed killer.
• Even sci-fi gets in on the spooky, with tales of incorporeal entities
• Many a Star Trek story hosted these critters from a creepy storm planet, alternate dimension, and/or mystery nebula of the week.
• These inform our imaginations when we see horribly evil actions.
• People will say, “that’s demonic” or even “that is demons’ work.”
• Yet this habit goes way back in the Church—for good or ill.

2. ‘Demon possession is an unfortunate term’

The term demon possession is an unfortunate term that has found its way into some English translations of the Bible but is not really reflected in the Greek text. The Greek New Testament can speak of people who “have a demon” (Matt. 11:18; Luke 7:33; 8:27; John 7:20; 8:48, 49, 52; 10:20), but it never uses language that suggests that a demon actually “possesses” someone.

The problem with the terms demon possession and demonized is that they give the nuance of such strong demonic influence that they seem to imply that the person who is under demonic attack has no choice but to succumb to it. They suggest that the person is unable any longer to exercise his or her will and is completely under the domination of the evil spirit. While this may have been true in extreme cases such as that of the Gerasene demoniac (see. Mark 5:1–20; note