Demonization is our preferred term over the more popular term “demon-possessed.” The reason for this is two-fold. First, possession is a highly advanced form of demonic attack that only applies in a small minority of cases. Most people struggling with demons diminish their fight by saying that it isn’t possession so it can’t be something that requires deliverance. Second, even in the most extreme cases of demonic attack, the person still has some capacity to fight back. When we call them “possessed,” we may undermine their self-will by implying that they belong to the demon and are no longer their own person. This goes against the basic ministry principle that we should be encouraging those to whom we minister.
The following are some ways that demonization can manifest in people. This is not a comprehensive list, just some of the more common forms. Note that very often these ways overlap with one another.
The most basic form of demonic attack is temptation. This is when we are drawn to engage in sin. The two common ways we get into sin are by engaging in forbidden actions (e.g. adultery, murder, theft) or by doing good or neutral things in the wrong spirit (e.g. giving to the poor or fasting in order to get people to praise us).
Demons can bring thoughts to our minds. These thoughts might be simple words or phrases to lead us down the wrong path. They can be accusations against ourselves (e.g. “I can’t do anything right”) or against others (e.g. “she always does that thing I hate and she knows I hate it”). Demonic thoughts can be imaginary pictures or feelings that stir us toward sin or away from God. Demons can also provoke us to remember things that are not helpful, in such a way that we live in regret or foolish nostalgia.
Demons are able to induce forgetfulness (the opposite of bringing memories to the surface as mentioned above). They are also able to hinder our ability to reason through things. Clouded reasoning can mean we are unable to see consequences of action clearly, we are unable to plan well, or we are unable to process the words people say to us or what we read (including the Bible!).
While demons cannot make us depressed or elated, they can start us down those paths. Depression is clearly an ungodly path, as it violates the command to rejoice in all circumstances. Elation, however, can also be ungodly if it causes us to do foolish things just because we are feeling great in the process of doing them. The idea that Satan can appear as an angel of light falls into this category. For this reason, our feelings may be informative, but they should never be the judge of what is right and wrong.
Through a variety of ways demons can affect our sleep. One way is by using thoughts or memories to keep us from relaxing into sleep. Another way is by triggering temptations to distract us from falling asleep at night. Less common is that demons can provoke too much sleep. One way they do this is by appealing to our weakness that just wants to be lazy. Another way is by attacking the energy of our body to make it difficult or almost impossible to get out of bed in a reasonable time.
Demons can cause pain, sickness, and disease. This is a complicated area with some disagreement among theologians, so consider this a practical rather than a theological statement. In this area we are cautious about directly attributing anything to demons until we have a clear reason that a demon would have access to a person’s body. Something like a curse would be such a reason.
While altered voice or appearance are much rarer than some of these other manifestations, they do occur. An altered voice would generally not just sound like the person is pretending to have a different voice, but it would be a completely different kind of voice, such as a woman having a deep, baritone man’s voice. It could also be a language being spoken by the afflicted person when that person has never spoken that language before. An altered appearance is usually a transitory happening in which a person’s eyes change color (usually black) or some other unnatural appearance comes upon them. Altered appearances also frequently show up with altered voices.
While the ways people can be afflicted by demons can happen to anybody (even Christ was tempted!), there are ways people can be afflicted regularly and for a long time.
Oppression is experienced as a repeated external demonic attack. Whether as pain, temptation, or otherwise, the afflicted person knows it is not something inside them, but an attack of the enemy. These attacks can definitely overwhelm and subdue a person. The afflicted one may feel guilt for not being stronger at resisting the attack, but the attack still comes as something from outside the person.
Obsession is far more insidious than oppression because it appears to be an internal failure of the afflicted person, and can be seen that way to friends, family, counselors, and even clergy. Obsession can be something classically understood as obsession, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) or an addiction. Demonic obsession can also lead to intrusive thoughts, body dysmorphia, or depression. Obsession has the difficulty of seeming to be part of the afflicted person that needs to be healed rather than an external attack. We have seen some times that obsession is partly invited through sin, but there are other times that obsession is brought on by curses or spiritual warfare; for this reason we do not assume the need for repentance to bring freedom from obsession.
We do not take a stance on the causal relationship between mental illness and demonic obsession, but we do believe that most mental illnesses can be helped by freedom from demonization.
The most extreme form of demonization is possession in which the afflicted person loses control of their mind and/or body for some time. This can be evidenced by non-medical seizures, supernatural strength (usually during violence), and by extended times when the demon speaks through the person in ways that the person would never speak.