Do you believe in demons? - The Conjuring 2 (2016) Discussion

[–] KenLOL 8 years ago

Nope. I'm not sure whether to feel pity or envy for people who can't distinguish reality from fantasy. On one hand, life would be much more interesting if there were demons running around and possessing people. Horror movies would be scarier, that's for sure. On the other hand, a fear of non-existent entities and eternal damnation probably creates a lot of unnecessary stress and psychological problems. I once did some housework for this lady who placed crucifixes in every room and had an unhealthy obsession with numbers. She told me she threw away her "evil" alarm clock because she waked up at a specific time every morning. I can't even imagining living like that.

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[–] m-slovak79 8 years ago

I'm not sure whether to feel pity or envy for people who can't distinguish reality from fantasy.

you honestly think that a large portion of the planet has trouble distinguishing reality from fantasy then?

because the last i knew a high percentage of the planet believes in God or life after death etc. don't you think there is a decent chance one of the worlds major religions is actually true?

I once did some housework for this lady who placed crucifixes in every room and had an unhealthy obsession with numbers. She told me she threw away her "evil" alarm clock because she waked up at a specific time every morning.

While God and the devil does exist... some people obsess over the little things instead of just living their life trying to stay close to God by avoiding sin and helping others and praying regularly etc.

basically she's too focused on the devil/demons and needs to be more concerned with God.

but with that said... maybe she's a bit disturbed mentally.

On the other hand, a fear of non-existent entities and eternal damnation probably creates a lot of unnecessary stress and psychological problems.

except those "non existent entities" are actually real. but it's nothing to worry about as long as you try to live a decent life by avoiding sin (especially serious sin) and stay close to Jesus Christ through prayer etc etc.

you don't want to be on the wrong side of things when you check out to say the least ;) ; but if someone ends up in hell they basically put themselves there by rejecting God etc.

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My Top 100-ish Movies of All-Time! = http://goo.gl/EYFYdz
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[–] leybadana 8 years ago

My mother maintains she was once raped by a demon. I have trouble believing that one, but I know she is scarred emotionally and has trouble discussing the matter without breaking down.

OMG! how did she do after? poor woman. terrifying
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I have never seen a vision, nor learned a secret, that would damn or save my soul"!

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[–] The-Original-Pinky 8 years ago

I believe there are spirits, both ghosts and demons. Although ghosts are relatively harmless, demons are the ones that are dangerous. I am a Roman Catholic. I can't understand that if you believe in God and angels, how you cannot believe in spirits and demons. Demons are the fallen angels.

Life can be arbitrary and comes without a warranty.

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[–] maarten-verhaegen 8 years ago

And you're a moron too.

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[–] Forseti32 8 years ago

Just out of curiosity, what else do you believe in too?

Obviously you don't need any scientific proof to believe in something, you simply choose what you believe in. This, yes. That...no.

So...how do you decide? Do you believe in fairies? Elves? Gnomes? Dragons? Talking animals?

Where do you draw the line?

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[–] kurt-2000 8 years ago

Where do you draw the line?

I draw the line at insulting the heck out of people for no good reason.

Maybe you atheists should look up the world civility before expressing viewpoints in public.

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[–] Janine-The-Barefoot 8 years ago

Thanks Kurt!

Topics like this one seem to draw a lot of controversy and a lot of hate. The whole "it can't be proven thing" bothers me enormously because for hundreds of years the Earth was "flat"… until it wasn't. Whereupon the Sun revolved around the Earth until Galileo stood before a tribunal who would have executed him unless he withdrew his scientific findings about the Earth revolving around the Sun. He died a tired, defeated old man because his "truth" didn't support the "truth" of The Church. This, at a point in time when faith was law and science was heresy. The whole history of this planet is littered with things that "CAN'T BE TRUE" because they haven't been proven yet. So I have to wonder why anyone would doubt ANYTHING simply because there's no proof (yet) to support it's existence. You know, stuff like: "If God wanted man to fly…" the Moon, the tides, the rotation of the planet AND… dammit, PLUTO BEING A PLANET! WE are a species mired in controversy, misdirection and just plain orneriness when it comes to any idea that doesn't fit neatly into our world view…at the present time. Crops failing? MUST BE WITCHES! Crop Circles? MUST BE ALIENS! If we don't have anything to argue someone else's stupidity over we'd run out of things to say!   

"Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!" 

As for me, I believe. I've had interactions with the spirit/soul of my Grandmother shortly after her death and been "trailed" by the spirit of one of my closest friends for a couple of years after his suicide. I had a conversation with her and it was one that proved both meaningful and informative. My buddy Richard just kept "appearing" to me at times when I felt lonely or distressed about something. I think he stayed because he wanted to be sure I'd make it without him and once he knew that I could, he was free to leave me for whatever came next for him.

I get that very few people believe in demons and I fully understand why. My feeling is that if you believe in the notion of "good" in whatever form it takes, then you kind of have to be willing to admit that it would also have an "opposite" in existence as well. But then, I've met a guy who I absolutely believe without question to be an embodiment of evil and found myself unable to stay in a room with him for more than a few minutes or so and even then I was backed up against a wall as far away from him as I could get… and have never been as terrified in my life. But that's just my story and anyone is free to take it anyway they choose.

      
Binge with your buddies OR, be a party ALL BY YOURSELF! ~ JTB

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[–] maarten-verhaegen 8 years ago

Your mother is a moron.

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[–] m-slovak79 8 years ago

Yes, they are real simply because it's church doctrine. but basically... if you believe in Jesus Christ (He's part of The Holy Trinity (i.e. God) which is... Father/Son(Jesus Christ)/Holy Spirit)) then you cannot deny the existence of demons since it's tied to the whole heaven/hell thing. demons are fallen angels as they where created good but rejected God by their own free will and are now evil and reject God and everything He created which is us humans etc.

so basically if you don't believe in God then naturally your not likely to believe in demons either. but if you do believe in God then you cannot deny the existence of demons.

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My Top 100-ish Movies of All-Time! = http://goo.gl/EYFYdz
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[–] darthsparhawk 8 years ago

I do. But I believe that possessions occure very, very rarely. I heard somewhere that Catholics claim that no more than 12 genuine cases happen per year and they do their exorcisms quietly, not to gather attention on the poor people. There are over a billion catholics worldwide. So for you to be so scared from possession is like to be scared from amnesia - possible, but very unlikely to happen. Stay away from spiritual boards and you'll be fine.
As for your mother, I am sad to hear that :(

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[–] danny2135 8 years ago

Demons, the spiritual, angels, and everything supernatural is really whether you believe it or not.

Is basically irrelevant if someone believe or not because is true regardless.

"Imagination is more important than knowledge" ALBERT EINSTEIN

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[–] bastasch8647 8 years ago

I am not a materialist. Therefore, for me, there is a possibility that individual selves/egos/souls/spirits can exist unconnected to neural nets. Among those entities, some may be very wicked and may have the ability to attack or possess "incarnate" human beings. Thus: demons might exist. But: have they actually invaded homes and possessed human bodies? I see no evidence that this has ever happened - based on my post-Exorcist reading about possession.

Every case of possession that I have read about fails to convince me of the reality of the supposed possessing entity or demon. By and large, these "personalities" are obviously split-off, dissociated bits of the normative personality. They are angry, rebellious, contrary, mocking, violent, and foul-mouthed... and ... they do not exhibit one-tenth of the wisdom, clarivoyance and perspicacity that one would expect from a nonmaterial "spirit immortal" (as indeed we find exhibited in the Exorcist novel's demon, if not the film's "Pazuzu").

In addition, in some rare cases, telekinetic/"poltergeist"-like events are reported to occur, and the patient sometimes seems to exhibit accelerated language skills as well as a sense of uncannily accurate intuition that is sometimes said to border on mind-reading. But none of this goes beyond the normal limits of known human psychology; and even the telekinesis is viewed as a "hidden power of the mind" - which places it in the paranormal/parapsychological, not the supernatural, arena.

So: I have no theoretical objection to demons and other discarnate intelligent entities, but on the other hand, I have never seen a possession account that necessitates the presence of a truly supernatural agent.

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