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NASB | Mark 5:15 They *came to Jesus and *observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the "legion"; and they became frightened. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Mark 5:15 They came to Jesus and saw the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the man who had [previously] had the "legion" [of demons]; and they were frightened. |
Bible Question:
OOps. I meant Mark 5:1-20 Not sure about the ability to cast out demons?? I'd say that is outlined in several areas, and you are not sure? Let me ask one specific question at a time. Please do not answer if you don't know, so someone who does can. As far as Christs ability to cast out demons, the sign the man in the tombs presented by tearing his chains and gnshing himself with stones (cutting?) and screaming, perhaps was schizophrenia? Anyway, today most people would lock him up and give him Prozac or something. My question is, does anyone have any other proof in the bible that personality disorders are linked to demons or can help me with this study? Please leave this as an open question if you don't know. |
Bible Answer: bandaid- The question is a valid one and proper, in my opinion, for this forum (though it potentially can take a course that is inappropriate). Being that my profession is related to the topic I have questions about this myself, and yes, the Scriptures have some significant points to make regarding this. Welcome to the Forum! The first thing I would like to point out is that the bible speaks of both demon possession and demon oppression. Without getting off topic, my basic understanding is that possession speaks to a indwelling and oppression speaks of a torment or negative influencing, not necessarily a indwelling. With that said, the Scriptures give examples of both and in both cases there can be physical ailments (we would qualify as medical problems) including muteness, epilepsy, blindness, etc. Furthermore, in many cases there seems to be a definite altering of personality as well. The Scriptures don’t use the term “personality disorder” (it wasn’t coined yet) but it does describe personality changes related to demon possession, and oppression as well as reverse changes after the healing. In the example found beginning in Matthew 17:14 the son has apparently been diagnoses by a physician (though we don’t know that for sure) and been given a very specific medical diagnosis (at least by his father). We do not know if the symptoms were in fact from a medical problem or the demonic activity but the passage apparently says two different things were accomplished by the Lord. The demon came out AND the boy was healed instantly. Was Christ accomplishing two works, casting out the demon and healing the boy of a medical condition? Not sure… it may be that the demon coming out and the boy being healed was the same thing (the language experts might help there). With this basic stuff in mind let’s go one or two steps further. Luke was a physician yet we don’t find him denouncing medical treatment after his believing. I don’t find anywhere in Scripture where seeking medical attention for physical symptoms is prohibited or even discouraged; though prayer and trusting God’s will in the matter is to be foremost and there is the function of the church as well. Lots more can be said but in the interest of time and space I will offer my conclusion in short. If one has serious symptoms of an illness why not seek medical attention? However, doing that without prayer and seeking God’s will is trusting in something other than God or at least ignoring the fact that He has authority over it all, including the results of treatment. I have found that many patients are uncomfortable with psychiatric diagnosis. I sometimes deal with this by pointing out that we are not so much treating the diagnosis as we are the symptoms. In other words, the cause may be this or it may be that. We all need healing from sin through the grace of God; this comes through faith in Jesus Christ. At times, our bodies will become sick; we may benefit from medical treatment. We should always encourage others to seek God through faith and prayer. We should never discourage them from seeking medical attention if they are ill. Hope this helps, Jeff |