Criteria for Recognising Cases of Demon Possession: A Response to John Woolmer – Part 2

In his book “The Devil Goes Missing?” John Woolmer presents 5 criteria for recognising a case of demon possession:

1. Being simultaneously attracted to and repelled by Jesus. 

2. Speaking in voices not one’s own – this can be unknown languages or manners of speech untypical of the person themselves. 

3. Possessing super-human strength. 

4. Engaging in self-harm. 

5. Having wild or blazing eyes. 

In Part One I discussed the first two criteria, commenting that the real-life examples Woolmer provides are far from convincing. In this part I examine criteria 3-5.

3. Superhuman Strength

Woolmer’s example of the strength criterion concerns a man – James – who called to his manse and collapsed, unable to talk. After confessing to having beaten his wife, he asked Woolmer to go and see if she was OK. Woolmer went to James’ home and found his wife was calm. She told Woolmer that her husband was “a binge-drinker and these things happen.” By the time Woolmer returned to his own home, where James had been left with some of Woolmer’s friends, the dining table was upended and James was growling and gnawing at one of the legs with 4 policemen trying to restrain him. Woolmer reports that on another occasion James broke a chair he was sitting in and later Woolmer thought James was about to pull a pew out in Woolmer’s church. 

Super-human strength? I hardly think so. In passing, Woolmer mentions a crucial detail about this man, describing him as a “large, tall ex-marine…over 6-foot.” That certainly puts things in a different light! I’m not far off 6 foot and currently weigh 182lbs, and I reckon I could make it difficult for 4 policemen to restrain me. Breaking a chair or almost breaking a church pew strike me as feats that are well within the natural capabilities of a large, tall ex-marine.

4. Self-Harming

Woolmer remarks that self-harming is often a symptom of physical or sexual abuse, or severe emotional distress. Mental health problems such as anxiety and depression can cause self-harm up to and including suicide. Oddly, the example Woolmer provides is of a woman who engaged in self-harm, but about whom he says, “there was nothing demonic in her actions, but they did display an inner turmoil which needed to be addressed.” So, after years in deliverance ministry Woolmer illustrates an example of a criterion for demon possession that by his own admission didn’t actually involve demon possession? 

5. Wild/Blazing Eyes

The example provided by Woolmer of “wild/blazing eyes” isn’t obviously a case of possession either. It involves a woman in the midst of depression who had suffered at the hands of her abusive Mason father. After Woolmer had prayed to cut her free from masonic influence, “her eyes had changed. They looked much clearer. The depression had lifted.” It’s great that Woolmer was able to help a woman in the midst of a deep depression, but we must be careful not to read more into the case than there actually is. Eyes can convey all manner of emotions: from joy to anger, and they can flash from one emotion to another incredibly quickly. Often “wild/blazing eyes” is symptomatic of psychosis, drug addiction, extreme anxiety, and even minor infections. My late father in law would always have a wild look in his eyes when he had nothing more sinister than a urinary tract infection. Others simply have a wild look about them for no other reason than that’s simply how they look! To be fair to Woolmer, I think he would readily agree. However, he presents no way to differentiate between a case of demon possession and something completely natural, and this is perhaps my biggest criticism of him concerning any of his 5 criteria.

Although these are the main criteria Woolmer discusses, he does add others: unexpected deafness, mocking laughter, severe shaking, inability to speak, inexplicable fear, retching, and uncontrollable coughing. Space prevents me dealing with each of these, and I fear the reader is bored enough already. Suffice to say much the same can be said of all these symptoms. There’s just one other that almost all “exorcists” or practitioners of “deliverance ministry” speak of, and I suspect it’s the crucial one: discernment. Often it’s described as a feeling or sensing that such and such is the case. What are mere mortals supposed to do, then? It seems we can do one of two things: we can take the word of the ‘spiritually enlightened’ when they tell us that someone is demon possessed, on the grounds that they’re in tune with the powers that be; or, alternatively, and more reasonably, we can remain skeptical and resist the notion that someone’s spiritual feelings provide good enough grounds for accepting a case of demon possession when there are perfectly good alternative explanations at hand.

Stephen J. Graham

 

Criteria for Recognising Cases of Demon Possession: A Response to John Woolmer – Part 1

What is required before we can rationally believe in something like demon possession? It seems to me that the defender of demon possession must clear 5 hurdles: 

1. They must provide a coherent account of what a demon actually is. 

2. They must provide reason to believe such entities actually exist. 

3. They need to present and defend an account of how possession is supposed to happen. 

4. They must provide criteria outlining how we can recognise a possession when one occurs. 

5. They need to present cases of actual possession. 

It is with Nos. 4 and 5 that I am concerned in these 2 articles. 

In his book “The Devil Goes Missing?” John Woolmer  – who for years has been involved in “deliverance ministry” – takes his cue from the story of the Gerasene demoniac in Mark Chapter 5, and presents five chief criteria for recognising a case of possession, criteria which he claims to have witnessed in his own deliverance ministry. 

Woolmer’s five criteria are: 

1. Being simultaneously attracted to and repelled by Jesus. 

2. Speaking in voices not one’s own – this can be unknown languages or manners of speech untypical of the person themselves. 

3. Possessing super-human strength. 

4. Engaging in self-harm. 

5. Having wild or blazing eyes. 

After laying out these criteria, Woolmer is careful to add: “they do not guarantee the presence of demons. Many psychiatric patients will exhibit similar signs and we must not rush to make diagnoses.” 

I think that’s worth noting, since the examples Woolmer himself provides are far from convincing.

In this Part I will look at the first two of these criteria, dealing with criteria 3-5 in Part 2. 

1. Being simultaneously attracted to and repelled by Jesus

Woolmer’s entire book is largely anecdotal. Concerning this first criterion, he tells us the story of a woman who came forward for prayer – willingly – but as she approached the altar there was a “violent reaction” and she “was thrown” to the ground. Woolmer adds: “We all had the impression that she was trying to levitate, which was something she claimed to be able to do.”   

As with so many of Woolmer’s anecdotes, there are few details provided. I’ve heard before the claim that possessed people would levitate if they weren’t being restrained, but frankly I wish people would just let go of them to see what happens! The upward force of a person on the ground trying to get up can easily feel like the person is rising – or, “trying to levitate.” Moreover, a person throwing themselves to the ground would look very much the same as someone who, allegedly, “was thrown.” These are certainly plausible aspects of an alternative explanation for what was going on. This woman may have had a personality that was prone to hysterical outbursts. She may have been suffering from schizophrenia – hence the attraction-repulsion episode. Perhaps she was an exhibitionist who was simply playing a scripted part. All these explanations are not even mentioned by Woolmer, and yet they seem eminently plausible in a case like this, and have been well known to feature in other similar cases of purported possession. 

2. Speaking in Strange Voices or Languages

Woolmer claims that people sometimes speak in languages not their own, or in tongues that “sound menacing.” He describes a creepy episode with a couple who called to his manse to make a complaint about something or other. In the course of the conversation the woman said, “I’m in league with the devil!” When Woolmer invited her to renounce the devil she screamed: “I renounce God!” Her demeanor then suddenly changed and she adopted the voice (and gait) of an old man. Woolmer describes her behaviour as “spiritually menacing” and tells us how she began speaking in a “strange guttural voice…like Latin backwards being spat out like a machine gun.” Woolmer began to speak in tongues himself and somehow calm was restored.  

What are we to make of this episode? Well, the key is provided by Woolmer himself: “We learnt from the medical profession that she had a personality disorder.” Seemingly, this woman would often speak in the voice of a person she called Hilda, and would show marks on her arms and throat which, she claimed, were from having been tied up and burnt at the stake in a previous incarnation. She also claimed that being anointed with holy oil burned her skin. 

Woolmer doesn’t say why he identifies this case as one of possession, since it is clear – and medically verified – that this woman was psychologically damaged. She had a personality disorder of some kind and was quite possibly engaging in a spot of imaginative play-acting, adopting certain cliches of possession: a guttural voice (the kind we are prone to imagine is used by evil spirits, thanks to movies such as The Exorcist) and being burned by anointing oil (hat-tip again to countless possession horror movies). 

In another case, Woolmer mentions an experience from his time in Zambia: “One of the women, or to be more accurate the spirit speaking through her, said “Go away. I m not leaving this person!” She was speaking in perfect Oxbridge English…a good mimic of mine.” Again, there’s little need for an other-worldly explanation when an appeal to something simple like mimicry will suffice.

Whilst it’s hard to judge from the scant details provided by Woolmer, we can at least say that thus far he’s presented precious little that would plausibly lead us to think that these criteria of demon possession really were instantiated.

I will discuss criteria 3-5 in Part 2.

Stephen J. Graham

The Exorcisms of Jesus and that time I Exorcised an Imaginary Cow

I’ve always struggled with the notion of demonic forces who can “possess” a person for malevolent ends, even when I was an active charismatic. Much of my subsequent investigation into apparent demonic activities suggests to me that the chief cause behind such things is either fraud (on the part of the possessed person or sometimes on the part of an exorcist who has managed to convince someone they are in fact housing a demon) or psychological disturbances in the person deemed to be possessed.

Upon discussing my scepticism, it is fairly common for Christians to say something like, “well, Jesus certainly believed in demon possession, and even performed exorcisms to drive out the demons, so you’d better make your peace with the notion.” Maybe so. But, I recently reflected on a episode from my own life and wondered is it plausible for something similar to have been going on in the life and ministry of Jesus.

When my son, Daniel, was around 3/4 years old, he began having frightening dreams. In these dreams he would be confronted by a being he referred to as “the 1p cow,” a large mechanical robotic cow that would come after him in his dreams. We checked with his play group to see if there was such a character in any picture books he may have seen, but there wasn’t. Nor could we think of any children’s TV programmes he could have got the idea from. Perhaps his own imagination just cooked it up. I was at the end of my time in the charismatic movement, but it was suggested to us that perhaps Daniel was suffering an attack from some demonic entity and we should pray against it.

That just seemed silly. At the same time a friend in work gave me a suggestion she had got from a child psychologist when her own child was having recurring nightmares. She told me to pretend to catch the 1p Cow, put it in a bag, and throw it in the bin – all while Daniel was watching. So, one evening when we were playing in Daniel’s room, I crept under his bed and told him to stay where he was because the 1p cow had appeared. I pretended to wrestle it, all the while assuring him that the 1p cow was no match for Daddy. I had a bag ready and pretended to put the 1p cow inside, before proceeding to struggle with the bag across our landing and down the stairs, with Daniel following me, cheering me on. I opened the door and threw the 1p Cow into the bin, and we celebrated. Who knows what the neighbours were thinking about those crazy Grahams across the street.

Daniel never dreamed about the 1p cow again.

I had “exorcised” it from his mind.

And I wonder, is this a plausible understanding of what was going on with Jesus when he healed people allegedly possessed by demons? Did he condescend and play along with the delusions of his time, the common beliefs that such beings were marauding across the face of the world looking for unfortunate people to take over? Take the powerful scene from Mark chapter 5, where we meet a man living in the tombs, seemingly possessed by a spirit that gave him prodigious strength. He would lie screaming at night and cutting his own flesh with stones. The story continues:

6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”

9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13 He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

Did Jesus really exorcise a man possessed by many demons? Perhaps. But, I’m experimenting with an alternative understanding, in light of my own experience with the 1p cow. The man – and the people in his vicinity – clearly believed he was demon possessed. That was a common understanding of the behaviour he exhibited. But suppose he wasn’t possessed at all. Suppose he was suffering from a psychological condition (and yes, certain conditions can indeed cause prodigious strength). Suppose also that Jesus could see this rather plainly. Just as it did Daniel no good to tell him the 1p cow wasn’t real, so it would be fruitless to reason with this man. So maybe Jesus played along. Maybe he spoke to this man, condescending to his beliefs about his own condition. Maybe Jesus pretended to exorcise the demons, and to make the image as powerful as possible somehow caused the pigs to stampede down the hillside to their death. The man then believed the demons had gone for good and his situation immediately improved.

It’s just a thought, really. Far-fetched? Perhaps, but is it any more so than the notion that this man was possessed by many demonic entities?

Stephen J. Graham

Against Exorcism

According to a recent Daily Telegraph article there is a serious shortage of………exorcists. Seemingly the church is struggling to deal with the number of foul spirits running amok in the world today. As with all such allegedly other-worldly phenomena, critical examination is crucial, and often sheds light on otherwise mysterious occurrences. Anyone familiar with my research on charismatic phenomena will not be surprised to learn that I’m skeptical about cases of demon possession and its close relative, poltergeist activity. In this article I want to give several reasons why we should be skeptical of such claims.

Firstly, it’s a matter of historical fact that as knowledge of mental illness has increased the number of alleged demon possession cases has decreased. Belief in demon possession lingers on primarily where there is ignorance about mental illness. Many accounts of demon possession simply appear to be text-book examples of mental health conditions such as epilepsy, Tourette’s syndrome, schizophrenia, or hysteria. Accordingly, even the Vatican amended its exorcism guidelines urging practitioners not to mistake psychiatric illness for possession. Unfortunately there is little consensus regarding how we are supposed to differentiate between the two. The main telling signs of demon possession are supposed to be:

(i) Speaking in other tongues;
(ii) Prodigious strength; and
(iii) Vulgarities and blasphemies aggressively directed particularly towards the exorcist as he goes about his business.

None of these strike me as incapable of being caused by known mental or physical conditions. For instance, it is well known that schizophrenics can speak in “tongues,” people with Tourette’s syndrome might easily respond to a priest with some vulgar blasphemy, and whilst Prodigious strength is difficult to measure, people having an epileptic fit can easily do themselves or others a serious injury.

Given what we know of mental illness we should be very wary of claiming other-worldly explanations for such symptoms.

Secondly, not only are demon possession and poltergeist activity incredibly easy to fake – by an attention seeking adolescent or a disturbed adult – there have been many cases when they actually have been faked. Such was the case in an ABC broadcast in 1991 featuring a 16 year old victim/actor. Another case of faked possession involved nuns engaging in certain behaviour not because they were possessed but rather because they sought to act out their sexual frustrations, get out of having to do unpleasant chores, and attract sympathy and attention. Moreover, the entire spiritualist movement was kick-started on the back of fraudulent phenomena. The founders of spiritualism – the Fox sisters – confessed later in their lives to having fooled everyone with nothing other than childish pranks and tricks. Others – such as the famed mediums the Davenport brothers – similarly confessed to trickery later in their careers. Given the number of frauds who have made such claims, we should look upon all with some suspicion. Maybe the most recent claims are just variations of the same old pranks and trickery.

Thirdly, as psychology develops we understand more and more about the power of human imagination and emotions such as fear. Noises in the dark are often more frightening than the same noises in the daytime, and our imagination can make much more out of relatively simple occurrences than really is the case. At night time my own house makes a lot of noises. Pipes clunk and grind as they cool down. Wooden doors creak and groan as they expand or contract with changes in temperature. Sometimes we can hear a whistling/humming noise in our bedroom. It took me months to work out what it was: a very slight gap in the window frame through which the wind could whistle when it blew in a specific direction at a certain speed. All such noises could be easily interpreted as poltergeists or evil spirits. Scrapping noises are also incredibly common in such accounts, and can be caused by no more evil an entity than a mouse or a rat shuffling about. Such noises can be unsettling, particularly at night time and one’s imagination can conjure up all manner of other-worldly horrors to explain them.

Furthermore, some people can experience “waking dreams” which can involve frightening hallucinations. Here’s one I experienced myself years ago. I woke up in the middle of the night and in the gloom I noticed a figure beside my wardrobe. It looked “blacker” than everywhere else, and seemed to be hovering in the air. Suddenly it flew right up to my face and I could sense its presence just as if a human being were right there. I shut my eyes as tight as possible and lay in terror for several seconds, unable to move or open my eyes. After this brief time the “presence” seemed to evaporate away. I opened my eyes and all was normal. This could very easily be explained as an experience of some foul-spirit or ghost, and many people do indeed interpret their similar experiences in just these terms, but it was just a waking dream hallucination. Nothing ever came of it. Presumably demons have better things to do with their time than hang around watching teenagers sleep.

In fact, when we hear of various “evil” occurrences it’s often something rather trivial – scratching noises, banging pipes, objects falling off a table. There are many things the forces of evil could well be up to in the world; scaring the crap out of people by banging on a water pipe probably isn’t one of them. More likely it’s just our imagination playing tricks.

This is linked to my fourth reason for being skeptical of possession claims and poltergeist/spiritualist phenomena: the power of suggestion. We already know that the power of suggestion is behind a number of other phenomena – such as many cases of hypnosis and much of what passes for miraculous healing. It seems something similar might be plausibly a work here too. Over the centuries certain types of behaviour have become associated with demonic activity such that people seem to be playing to the stereotype. Michael Cuneo – a sociologist at Fordham university – gave his analysis of an NBC programme on exorcism in which the Rev Brian Connor and a number of associates performed an exorcism on a man who suffered depression. Cuneo observed that the behaviour of the man in question was down to subtle suggestions from the group of exorcists as to how he should behave and respond. The man was convinced by the group that he was possessed. It was a case of self-deception and group reinforcement. Other documentaries and voyeuristic “reality” shows have presented a steady stream of people willing to play up to the kind of “Exorcist Movie” stereotype, such as adopting the raspy guttural voice that we all know the Devil himself uses. Because of this adopting of stereotyped – even Hollywood inspired – behaviour amongst those who are “possessed,” many psychologists conclude that what we are dealing with is a bit of Let’s Pretend role-playing.

The final reason for skepticism is a pragmatic one: gullibility ends up fueling a growth in the practice of exorcism, and the practice of exorcism can be damaging and dangerous. Aside from the psychological and physical abuse of a mentally unwell person, there has been no shortage of fatalities in the world of exorcism. Zakieya Latrice Avery and Monifa Denise Sanford were both charged with murder after stabbing several children in the course of an exorcism. Another exorcism carried out in New Zealand by a Pentecostal pastor and other members of his church involved choking a woman and bouncing on her body. After her ordeal, which lasted several hours, she died, and the pastor was prosecuted for manslaughter. When overzealous exorcists are convinced that before them stands a demon from the bowels of Hell itself is it any wonder why they end up stabbing, choking, punching, kicking, slapping, binding, or jumping up and down on the victim?

The combination of poor understanding of mental health coupled with religious hysteria too often churns out inhumane behaviour. One wonders where evil really lies in such cases.

Stephen J. Graham