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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
Demons or Mental Illness	Ruth	Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Question: Hello Brother, Is there any way for a non-expert to discern whether someone is mentally ill or demon oppressed, obsessed or possessed or a combination? Someone I personally know claims to be telepathic, says Jesus speaks to her, and that she has seen ghosts. Another person that I know about, claims to help other beings from other levels of existence to get back to God and she does this by astral travel to other levels. If demons are involved in these cases, what effect could that have on anyone who is in contact with these individuals. Thank you for the great work you do here. God bless.
Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM Dear Ruth: No, there is no way for a "non-expert" to make such a discernment short of a discernment given to him by God directly. Someone not trained in deliverance work should NEVER try to diagnose or treat. Doing so can cause tremendous problems not only for the "counselor" but also for the person being counseled. It is possible for a person to receive locutions from Jesus. But that must be tested. For anyone who thinks they are having these sorts of experiences I recommend reading the book, A Still, Small Voice: A Practical Guide on Reported Revelations by Fr. Benedict J., Fr. Groeschel. Such persons also MUST find a spiritual director to help them discern these experiences. On the other hand, this could also be a psychiatric problem, or even demonic. But it is possible for it to be real too. It must be tested and discern with a spiritual director. As for this other person who claims "to help other beings from other levels of existence to get back to God and she does this by astral travel to other levels" my response is that she is not doing any such thing. This is demonic or psychiatric in nature, but it is not real. I would keep arms length from this person. It is possible to have demons attach to you who are coming from her. What you can do is use prayers from our Catalog to pray for these people, but you should NOT attempt to diagnose or to perform a deliverance. If these people ask for help, we can try to help them. God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

Demons or Mental Illness

Ruth

Wednesday, January 12, 2005

Question:

Hello Brother,

Is there any way for a non-expert to discern whether someone is mentally ill or demon oppressed, obsessed or possessed or a combination?

Someone I personally know claims to be telepathic, says Jesus speaks to her, and that she has seen ghosts. Another person that I know about, claims to help other beings from other levels of existence to get back to God and she does this by astral travel to other levels. If demons are involved in these cases, what effect could that have on anyone who is in contact with these individuals.
Thank you for the great work you do here. God bless.

Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM

Dear Ruth:

No, there is no way for a "non-expert" to make such a discernment short of a discernment given to him by God directly.

Someone not trained in deliverance work should NEVER try to diagnose or treat. Doing so can cause tremendous problems not only for the "counselor" but also for the person being counseled.

It is possible for a person to receive locutions from Jesus. But that must be tested.

For anyone who thinks they are having these sorts of experiences I recommend reading the book, A Still, Small Voice: A Practical Guide on Reported Revelations by Fr. Benedict J., Fr. Groeschel. Such persons also MUST find a spiritual director to help them discern these experiences.

On the other hand, this could also be a psychiatric problem, or even demonic. But it is possible for it to be real too. It must be tested and discern with a spiritual director.

As for this other person who claims "to help other beings from other levels of existence to get back to God and she does this by astral travel to other levels" my response is that she is not doing any such thing. This is demonic or psychiatric in nature, but it is not real.

I would keep arms length from this person. It is possible to have demons attach to you who are coming from her.

What you can do is use prayers from our Catalog to pray for these people, but you should NOT attempt to diagnose or to perform a deliverance.

If these people ask for help, we can try to help them.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary

For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.