#Demonic Oppression

[drshermaines-wisdomnuggets]

"SYMPTOMS OF DEMONIC OPPRESSION"

The subject of mental illness is very controversial in Christian circles. Inside the extreme schools of thought we find balance and a scriptural viewpoint. First, let me say clearly, all mental illness is NOT the result of demonic attack. Further, good psychological care from Christian professionals is vital and in order when an individual is struggling. Also, professionally administered…

[apenitentialprayer]

#the illuminations are so poorly drawn it's really endearing

monks, angel, devils, and a chair

in a miscellany manuscript, alsace, ca. 1430

source: Paris, BNF, ms. allem. 222, fol. 120r-122r

[honestlydelicatepolice]

Understanding Deliverance Ministry: Exploring its Purpose and Practice

deliverance ministry, often associated with Christianity, is a spiritual practice aimed at liberating individuals from spiritual bondage, demonic oppression, and various forms of affliction. Rooted in biblical principles and often conducted through prayer, worship, and spiritual warfare, deliverance ministry is believed by adherents to bring freedom and restoration to those in need. In this article, we delve into the essence of deliverance ministry, its purpose, methods, and contemporary relevance.

The Purpose of Deliverance Ministry

Deliverance ministry operates on the belief that spiritual warfare is real and that individuals can be bound by spiritual forces beyond the physical realm. The primary purpose of deliverance is to release individuals from the influence of demonic oppression, generational curses, and strongholds that hinder their spiritual growth, emotional well-being, and physical health.

Central to deliverance ministry is the understanding that Jesus Christ, through his death and resurrection, has provided believers with authority over evil spirits. This authority enables practitioners to confront spiritual adversaries and facilitate the deliverance process through prayer, faith, and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Methods and Practices

Deliverance ministry involves various methods and practices, often tailored to individual needs and circumstances. While approaches may vary among different denominations and practitioners, common elements include:

Prayer and Intercession: Deliverance sessions typically begin with fervent prayer and intercession, seeking divine guidance, protection, and the manifestation of God's power.

Renunciation and Repentance: Participants are encouraged to renounce any known sins, ungodly practices, or ancestral ties that may have contributed to their spiritual bondage. Genuine repentance is considered essential for receiving God's forgiveness and deliverance.

Identifying Strongholds: Through discernment and spiritual insight, practitioners identify strongholds, demonic influences, and areas of bondage in the individual's life. This may involve prayerful discernment, counseling, and the exploration of past traumas or unresolved issues.

Spiritual Warfare: Deliverance ministry engages in spiritual warfare through the authority of Jesus Christ. This includes the rebuking of demonic entities, the breaking of curses, and the casting out of unclean spirits in the name of Jesus.

Anointing and Sanctification: Participants may be anointed with oil and consecrated for spiritual purification and empowerment. Sanctification rituals symbolize the separation from darkness and the consecration to God's purposes.

Discipleship and Follow-Up: Deliverance is often followed by discipleship and spiritual mentoring to help individuals grow in faith, maintain their deliverance, and resist future spiritual attacks.

Contemporary Relevance

In contemporary society, deliverance ministry continues to be relevant for individuals grappling with various forms of spiritual oppression, addiction, mental health challenges, and relational difficulties. While some may view deliverance as antiquated or superstitious, proponents argue that spiritual warfare is a timeless reality that transcends cultural and intellectual boundaries.

Moreover, the resurgence of interest in spirituality and the supernatural has sparked renewed curiosity in deliverance ministry among Christians and non-Christians alike. Many seekers are drawn to the promise of spiritual freedom, inner healing, and the experience of God's transformative power.

Conclusion

Deliverance ministry remains a vital aspect of spiritual warfare and pastoral care within many Christian communities. While its practices may be subject to theological debate and varying interpretations, the essence of deliverance lies in the belief that God's grace and power are sufficient to set individuals free from spiritual bondage and oppression.

As we navigate the complexities of the human condition, deliverance ministry stands as a beacon of hope and liberation, offering solace to the afflicted and pointing towards the transformative power of divine love and redemption.

In conclusion, deliverance ministry serves as a potent reminder of the ongoing battle between light and darkness, and the enduring promise of freedom and restoration in Christ.

[danielleegnew]

It’s a Demon! Or…is it?

“Coronation of the Virgin & Saints”(Cenni di Francesco di Ser Cenni, ca. 1390, tempera on panel) This Halloween, I noted that our Samhain was peppered with folks reporting being pushed, scratched, shoved across a room—all sorts of Halloween-ie things. This spirit activity is not unusual during this time of year when our ethers (the “barriers” between dimensions) becomes thin. Our ancient peoples…

[justwriterbritt]

Babylon Must Fall

[hussyknee]

I know some dickheads have now decided that Judaism is the "bad, violent, terrorist religion" and Islam is the "good, peaceful" one, which is only to be expected of white people, but how much of an issue is it currently? Like I've seen some USAmericans sharing how the Islamic faith shapes Gazans values and perseverance (good) except with that distinct white hippie "I'm about to imprint on this like the world's most racist duck" vibe (bad), but I didn't think they're already turning on Judaism in numbers.

Do they realize that Christianity is also the same kind of comfort to Christian minorities in Asia and Africa? That it was Buddhists that genocided the Rohingyas in Myanmar and Tamils in Sri Lanka? That Hindu fundamentalists are even now trying to ethnically cleanse Muslims in India? How Hindus and Christians are terrorized and persecuted in Pakistan? That Muslims have a history of persecuting and ethnically cleansing Jews too?

Really tired of asking y'all to be normal about people's religions man. There's no religion that's inherently violent or exceptionally peaceful. It's just like any other ideology that becomes a weapon in the hands of ethnic power. Interrogate power, not religion, and respect people's belief systems insofar as they aren't in your business.

Edit: I've amended the "long history" of Muslim persecution of Jews because it might be misleading in the current political climate. Zionism and antisemitic Arab nationalism are twin births resulting directly from Christian colonization, and Islamic empires tended to actually be more tolerant of other religions compared to Christianity, especially Judaism, which was considered a sibling religion. Antisemitism wasn't ideologically entrenched in Islamic tradition. It's simply that ethno-religious power will lead to ethno religious domination and intermittent cleansing of minorities, and Islam is no exception. Humans be humaning always.

[marypsue]

Man, it's cool and all if you see a metaphor for marginalisation in the monstrous, and if you want the power fantasy of 'what if you could just eat anybody who threatened you/pissed you off'. Me too.

However, as soon as you start saying 'no, these monsters are a 1:1 on Specific Marginalised Group, and you have to treat them in the fiction like they are directly representative of real human members of the marginalised group', BUT you also, in the fiction, make them hurt/kill/eat humans? And then try to shame me, your audience, for noticing or engaging with the bit where they kill people, because you made them directly representative of a real-world marginalised group? You have lost me, and also, I think, the plot.

[aronarchy]

Why we don’t like it when children hit us back

To all the children who have ever been told to “respect” someone that hated them.

March 21, 2023

Even those of us that are disturbed by the thought of how widespread corporal punishment still is in all ranks of society are uncomfortable at the idea of a child defending themself using violence against their oppressors and abusers. A child who hits back proves that the adults “were right all along,” that their violence was justified. Even as they would cheer an adult victim for defending themself fiercely.

Even those “child rights advocates” imagine the right child victim as one who takes it without ever stopping to love “its” owners. Tear-stained and afraid, the child is too innocent to be hit in a guilt-free manner. No one likes to imagine the Brat as Victim—the child who does, according to adultist logic, deserve being hit, because they follow their desires, because they walk the world with their head high, because they talk back, because they are loud, because they are unapologetically here, and resistant to being cast in the role of guest of a world that is just not made for them.

If we are against corporal punishment, the brat is our gotcha, the proof that it is actually not that much of an injustice. The brat unsettles us, so much that the “bad seed” is a stock character in horror, a genre that is much permeated by the adult gaze (defined as “the way children are viewed, represented and portrayed by adults; and finally society’s conception of children and the way this is perpetuated within institutions, and inherent in all interactions with children”), where the adult fear for the subversion of the structures that keep children under control is very much represented.

It might be very well true that the Brat has something unnatural and sinister about them in this world, as they are at constant war with everything that has ever been created, since everything that has been created has been built with the purpose of subjugating them. This is why it feels unnatural to watch a child hitting back instead of cowering. We feel like it’s not right. We feel like history is staring back at us, and all the horror we felt at any rebel and wayward child who has ever lived, we are feeling right now for that reject of the construct of “childhood innocence.” The child who hits back is at such clash with our construction of childhood because we defined violence in all of its forms as the province of the adult, especially the adult in authority.

The adult has an explicit sanction by the state to do violence to the child, while the child has both a social and legal prohibition to even think of defending themself with their fists. Legislation such as “parent-child tort immunity” makes this clear. The adult’s designed place is as the one who hits, and has a right and even an encouragement to do so, the one who acts, as the person. The child’s designed place is as the one who gets hit, and has an obligation to accept that, as the one who suffers acts, as the object. When a child forcibly breaks out of their place, they are reversing the supposed “natural order” in a radical way.

This is why, for the youth liberationist, there should be nothing more beautiful to witness that the child who snaps. We have an unique horror for parricide, and a terrible indifference at the 450 children murdered every year by their parents in just the USA, without even mentioning all the indirect suicides caused by parental abuse. As a Psychology Today article about so-called “parricide” puts it:

Unlike adults who kill their parents, teenagers become parricide offenders when conditions in the home are intolerable but their alternatives are limited. Unlike adults, kids cannot simply leave. The law has made it a crime for young people to run away. Juveniles who commit parricide usually do consider running away, but many do not know any place where they can seek refuge. Those who do run are generally picked up and returned home, or go back on their own: Surviving on the streets is hardly a realistic alternative for youths with meager financial resources, limited education, and few skills.

By far, the severely abused child is the most frequently encountered type of offender. According to Paul Mones, a Los Angeles attorney who specializes in defending adolescent parricide offenders, more than 90 percent have been abused by their parents. In-depth portraits of such youths have frequently shown that they killed because they could no longer tolerate conditions at home. These children were psychologically abused by one or both parents and often suffered physical, sexual, and verbal abuse as well—and witnessed it given to others in the household. They did not typically have histories of severe mental illness or of serious and extensive delinquent behavior. They were not criminally sophisticated. For them, the killings represented an act of desperation—the only way out of a family situation they could no longer endure.

- Heide, Why Kids Kill Parents, 1992.

Despite these being the most frequent conditions of “parricide,” it still brings unique disgust to think about it for most people. The sympathy extended to murdering parents is never extended even to the most desperate child, who chose to kill to not be killed. They chose to stop enduring silently, and that was their greatest crime; that is the crime of the child who hits back. Hell, children aren’t even supposed to talk back. They are not supposed to be anything but grateful for the miserable pieces of space that adults carve out in a world hostile to children for them to live following adult rules. It isn’t rare for children to notice the adult monopoly on violence and force when they interact with figures like teachers, and the way they use words like “respect.” In fact, this social dynamic has been noticed quite often:

Sometimes people use “respect” to mean “treating someone like a person” and sometimes they use “respect” to mean “treating someone like an authority” and sometimes people who are used to being treated like an authority say “if you won’t respect me I won’t respect you” and they mean “if you won’t treat me like an authority I won’t treat you like a person” and they think they’re being fair but they aren’t, and it’s not okay.

(https://soycrates.tumblr.com/post/115633137923/stimmyabby-sometimes-people-use-respect-to-mean)

But it has received almost no condemnation in the public eye. No voices have raised to contrast the adult monopoly on violence towards child bodies and child minds. No voices have raised to praise the child who hits back. Because they do deserve praise. Because the child who sets their foot down and says this belongs to me, even when it’s something like their own body that they are claiming, is committing one of the most serious crimes against adult society, who wants them dispossessed.

Sources:

“The Adult Gaze: a tool of control and oppression,” https://livingwithoutschool.com/2021/07/29/the-adult-gaze-a-tool-of-control-and-oppression

“Filicide,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filicide

[dykedvonte]

Can you talk about trans!Curly a little bit more? I'm curios if you have any headcanons and the like

-💀

It's just such a thing in my mind because it adds a truthful sadness and differing aspect to mouthwashing.

If Curly was trans it adds the horror of the horribly selfish thought he could have easily been in Anya's situation. It could've been him but it wasn't and he so conflicted on the pit it put in his stomach that brings and the shameful relief it wasn't. In this scenario he is friends with Jimmy for a long time still. Jimmy likely knew him pretransition. Maybe he gave Curly weird looks then, maybe they never stopped after, maybe they seemed meaner. They are guys now, bros, both of them are. He doesn't really have to worry what those looks mean anymore, Jimmy just has that face with him sometimes. It's recontextualizing a lot of things for him that he was in denial about or too ashamed to admit. How naive he was being and how he let that get another person hurt.

Specifically with Anya, it's he knows the dread and fear she's feeling. He can understand it because he had to live with it for a good portion of his life, he knows it cause he still does, just in a slightly different way. It makes him think of all the times he's been alone with Jimmy, all the times he's been way more drunk off his ass and not remember the night, Jimmy was always with him the next day. Makes him think of the comments he would laugh off both because that's what guys do but because that part of being a girl says to laugh so Jimmy doesn't do something. It's the selfish realization that he was never safe and he's uncertain now too. Mad at himself for forgeting that feeling, espcially since for a long time he would've been considered the only woman on a crew (with all that implies) for a long time.

He should've taken those blinders off, step back into that position for just a moment and it's so much more painful that Anya likely came to him because he should've gotten it. Those thoughts don't leave his mind after the crash when he's in an even more vulnerable position than she was...

[jilted-love]

At the end of YYH manga where it was revealed that reikai was brainwashing demons to attack humans, Yusuke wondered if he caught any that were victims of reikai's corruption under Enma. I'm pretty sure this was the case with the Saint Beasts.

The Saint Beasts are based on 4 guardian spirits of the 4 cardinal directions. They were actually worshipped as gods or benefactors in mythology. (hello Fushigi Yuugi fans, remember Suzaku, the phoenix of the south?) Everyone from Demon City was labeled as "criminal" but we never knew of their crimes. And the only demand of the Saint Beasts from reikai was their freedom as prisoners (which is not wrong because the endgame of YYH is human-youkai coexistence after the incarceration of Enma that Koenma did himself). But because reikai refused and oppressed demons, the Saint Beasts rebelled.

Now, based on mythology, the Saint Beasts should be strong and at least A class if not S class because these are youkai that were worshipped as guardian spirits. For reference, Kurama as a youko or a fox spirit that could be prayed to as well, was A class before getting hunted. And Raizen as a toushin or a war god was upper S class. Saint Beasts could be in between them based on the mythology.

So why were the Saint Beasts demoted to C class? The youkai that reikai were able to hunt and brainwash were probably once high leveled youkai. They caught A class youkai, brainwashed and weakened them to manageable levels and then let out to cause troubles that will justify the barrier for reikai. This could have been Kurama's fate when he was hunted by reikai if he wasn't able to escape as a spirit.

The Saint Beasts could have gotten the peace and coexistence that humans and youkai have at the end of the manga if only Yusuke and his team didn't kill them. It's ironic that Kurama and Hiei's first assignment to help Yusuke and Kuwabara to get pardoned as criminals was one of the times they were probably condemning the wrong people because of reikai's corrupted manipulation under Enma's rule.

Edit: To make this meta more on point, think about where the Worm Whistle could have come from. It's the weapon that Suzaku used to turn humans into brainwashed zombies. Hiei mentioned that he's only interested in the tools and treasures the Saint Beasts stole but never mentioned what those were. So did the Worm Whistle come from reikai? This was never clear in the story but the Worm Whistle functions like the Demon Sword that Hiei used. They both transformed humans. If the Worm Whistle is an artifact from reikai, why the hell does reikai have not one but two artifacts that were harmful to humans? And how did Suzaku manage to get something like that if the youkai of the Demon City could not escape from there? Reikai could have given the Saint Beasts a weapon to manipulate them into being a threat to ningenkai. If the arc about reikai's corruption was fleshed out in the manga, Koenma's investigation could involve how many artifacts reikai possesses that are threats to humanity which somehow end up in youkai hands.

[cinnamonsikwate]

i still hate how the onus was on zon and his people to "prove" that orcs were capable of more than violence meanwhile marcille didn't do a goddamn thing to change their minds about elves being raging bigots. funny how she thinks elves (a long-lived race with powerful magic) and orcs (a short-lived race with no magic as far as we can see) are on a level playing field when it comes to securing land and resources!

and having bahai, zon's child, be the one to go "why can't we all just get along" like ooh ryoko kui some crimes cannot be forgiven

[theeternalwombtarot]

Community does not need this!! But they’re loud in the comments about how harmful this could be for the community and divination and other spiritual practices and traditions! Thankfully!! I was just talking about spiritual psychosis on my close friends on Instagram yesterday and then I see things like this and post just went viral of some woman absolutely losing it, snot running out her nose and everything over the eclipse.

The fear mongering and demonization of spiritual teachings, astrology, tarot and spiritual practices and traditions is about to start becoming very big. It was already a really prominent thing oppressors have used for ages especially against poc who practice forms of witchcraft or deity worship they brought with them from home. I was just watching a docu-series yesterday that highlighted how the native population on mt. Shasta were forced to leave and practiced ritual and held ceremonies in the caves of mount Shasta and those who colonized would go into those caves after they left and preform mockeries of their ceremonies and rituals as entertainment.

We’re about to step into a reality and time where spiritual people, practitioners and others within the community will be replacing celebrities and individuals of high rank or people who hold a lot of power in this world and I said before that the oppressor has a very specific recipe for oppression and trying to keep people (especially in the west) as unaware and as stuck in perpetual karmic cycles and systems as much as possible. And this is just yet another technique they use to discredit individuals with gifts. They use psychics and astrologers and others themselves to help them predict and interpret what’s coming.

They use these types of stories or ideas to fuel radical religious beliefs and ideas that are built upon fear mongering and hatred, they use religious institutions and manipulated versions of their Bible and beliefs and create division within the west. Vast majority of republicans are statistically uneducated and are conservative who hold onto heavy religious beliefs and views to back up, support and justify their actions and beliefs. Heavily similar to antebellum America and the justification of slavery and the mistreatment of African American people.

To add onto that, this movie about tarot does not accurately portray what tarot really is and how it works whatsoever but guess who’ll believe it and perpetuate it. Half the negative ideas that are swirling around about metaphysical, Wiccan or spiritual practices are due to pop culture and horror movies and the individuals who sit at their desks in the dark scribbling away these plots and releasing these movies.

[rejectkanojo]

I read up on why Gen Z men voted for Trump this election and turns out it is because women were mean to them

[aconstantstateofbladerunner]

Satanic Panic 2!

[rjalker]

Now applying to everything it applies to instead of just The Books of the Raksura or The Murderbot Diaries.

The most ~mainstream~ example is probably Zootopia. Or, more infamously, Bright.

[ID: Two images, each showing a panel from a two-panel comic. Panel 1 is titled, "What white authors think bigotry looks like", and shows a snake wearing a bib that says, "I [heart] mice with a fork, looking down at a mouse that is trembling in fear, saying "U R a bigot if you're afraid I'll eat you when you first meet me even though I am literally an obligate carnivore who evolved 2 eat u. And ur cousin got eaten by my cousin last week." Panel 2 is titled, "What bigotry actually looks like", and shows one mouse sweating nervously, surrounded by five other angry mice with swords, who are shouting, "Terrorist!" "Thug!" "You're threatening me!" "You are dangerous!" "You are violent!" Larger text to the side explains, "People with power pretending that the minority is inherently dangerous and violent to justify violently oppressing them.". End ID.]

Pro tip: Real oppressed people are not and have never been scary Evil monsters trying to end the world. Nor are oppressed people obligate carnivores that literally evolved to hunt and eat the people oppressing them.

Disney wants you to think that anyone who wants people to stop being oppressed is gonna turn around 2 seconds later and murder a baby. And so many fucking white authors (Including Martha Wells!) think that oppressed people are all super powered unstoppable killing machine apex predators who literally evolved to eat other people and you're being mean :( for being reasonably wary when you first meet them, because your cousin literally just got eaten alive by their cousin last week and you don't want to go the same way. This is what white people think bigotry is.