Pentecostal preacher powers against possessed witches and pagan demons in Kenya

According to the article referenced by the full story following this summary, Catholic clergy are taught ways to detect possession warranting exorcism. Among these are "Students on the Vatican course will be taught to be vigilant for signs of Satan's presence, including speaking in unknown languages and showing disproportionate physical strength."

This concerns me both as a pagan and a person with epilepsy. I generally have complex partial seizures (if you don't know what these are, look it up). During one of these seizures my ability to speak is severely impaired. I do not have disproportionate strength; but it certainly seems so to an observer because during one of these seizure events I feel no physical pain, and if my muscles tighten beyond the limit where I would ordinarily stop the physical stress (because I don't feel how much it hurts), it appears I have "disproportionate strength."

These have always been tests to identify witches, and I can't help but wonder how many people such as myself have been burned, hung,or tortured when what we are possessed by is Epilepsy. I'll try not to allow depression to overcome me.....

gsness wrote:

According to the article referenced by the full story following this summary, Catholic clergy are taught ways to detect possession warranting exorcism. Among these are "Students on the Vatican course will be taught to be vigilant for signs of Satan's presence, including speaking in unknown languages and showing disproportionate physical strength."
This concerns me both as a pagan and a person with epilepsy. I generally have complex partial seizures (if you don't know what these are, look it up). During one of these seizures my ability to speak is severely impaired. I do not have disproportionate strength; but it certainly seems so to an observer because during one of these seizure events I feel no physical pain, and if my muscles tighten beyond the limit where I would ordinarily stop the physical stress (because I don't feel how much it hurts), it appears I have "disproportionate strength."
These have always been tests to identify witches, and I can't help but wonder how many people such as myself have been burned, hung,or tortured when what we are possessed by is Epilepsy. I'll try not to allow depression to overcome me.....

All very good points. I can't understand how in this day and age that people ANYWHERE are still being killed for suspected witchcraft or possession.

The thing that concerns me the most after reading this article is the fact that the Vatican just revised the rules of exorcism as recently as 1999. That really gets my spidey-sense tingling, if that is not a bad sign I don't know what is. Not only does it confirm the fact that demonic possession is real and possibly rampant, at the same time it condones action.

I have always believed that many people suspected of demonic possession were in fact suffering from either epilepsy, some form of palsy and/or severe mental illness. All of which require professional MEDICAL help not an exorcism or ritual caning.

My condolences for your suffering. I cannot imagine how hard that must be to live with. Hopefully, you can find some comfort in the fact, that at least you live in a country where people understand it is a medical condition that can't be cured at the end of a machete.