Possession In Western Culture

Great Essays
Possession is a challenging topic to dissect. From one end of the world to the other, from one point in the past to the present almost every culture/civilization has recorded accounts of possession. The perception of these various possession accounts, however, can be described as polar opposites of each other. Some cultures view possession as a positive experience to connect humans with the divine, no matter what divine matter they call their God. While others believe all types and forms of possession to be a negative experience to have. It is this inconsistency that makes possession a difficult topic to understand from a third party mindset. The perception of possession changes as experienced by the respective culture it takes place in; and …show more content…
This is because many individuals in the west who believe their individuality and uniqueness should not be tampered with. This is evident as some value “conception of the person as bounded, unique, more or less integrated motivational and cognitive universe, a dynamic centre of awareness, emotion, judgement and action” (Dawson 74). This shows the fundamental difference in western to eastern cultures: a disconnect with the divine. Christianity teaches that to form a union with God, one only needs invite the Holy Spirit into their hearts in the form of baptism. After that is complete, God promises his children protection from evil, and a place in paradise with him when we die and move on (McAllister). While many may view baptism as a form of possession, others like Anna Diehl believe the Holy Spirit is more of a “key” more so than an actual example of possession. She argues that the Holy Spirit is similar to that of a boarding pass, one cannot get on a plane without their boarding pass, and one cannot enter Heaven without being saved by the Holy Spirit. But she argues this is not a form of possession, because although the Holy Spirit is “inside of you”, it does little to nothing in terms of controlling your psyche or physical body …show more content…
There are examples in Hindu texts dating back to at least the 9th century, possibly as early as the 8th century (White 161). It is around this time in history where possession became mainstream, and mankind was developing concrete written records of the day to day happenings in their societies. This should be noted, because the Atharva Veda, the Hindu Veda credited with storing the secrets of possession, was written between 1500 and 500 B.C.E. (Witzl 68). So there is close to 1500 years of written text on how to deal with possession to the first actual documented account of possession in Hindu texts. This is worth mention because since possession is not a fresh concept, it is interesting to see the depth at which it is documented in many eastern cultures, versus the lack of depth that many western cultures document

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    Those who have felt the power of the Holy Ghost do not yet have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. The gift of the Holy Ghost is the right to have, whenever one is worthy, the companionship of the Holy Ghost. The gift of the Holy Ghost is given after proper and authorized baptism has taken place. This is done through an ordinance in which worthy priesthood brethren confer the Spirit onto you by the laying on of hands. This gift entitles one, who is worthy, to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost.…

    • 1679 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Introduction There are many important doctrines that can be drawn from the Bible and applied to the life of the believer. One of these doctrines includes the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Upon receiving the gift of salvation, the believer is immediately indwelt by the Holy Spirit where He remains for the rest of the believer’s life. As believers who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, it is important to know how the Holy Spirit works in our lives and how we can work with the Holy Spirit to better serve our Lord. The doctrine of the Holy Spirit is called Pneumatology.…

    • 1210 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Westernization Dbq Essay

    • 797 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Before its decline in the 20th century, the west was a powerful surge that had the rest of the world scrambling for westernization within its society. Westernization is the expanding and adopting of western culture. Russia, Asia, and Africa after the were byproducts of Westernization. They were kind of forced to adapt to the life of western peoples because of this sudden infatuation in western policies. The whole surge for westernization was partly because of religion, which at this time was a very respected aspect.…

    • 797 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As different religions throughout diverse cultures and various countries were explored, the majority if not all shared a common way of experiencing the divine. Religions are formed through sensual engagement or stimulation to the five senses and is evident throughout every religious group whether primitive or “modern”. The ability to see, feel, touch, taste, and smell allows for the participant to feel something whether it be stimulation to just one sense or a combination of senses. These experiences help cultivate the belief of a religion by providing something that although may be intangible the partaker can experience in the form of a vision, dream, or even feeling the presence of something supernatural. There is evidence of this in Christianity, Hinduism, Native American religion and the other religions.…

    • 1237 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Question #3 Ownership and sense of self are definitely related. The ability to own objects, skills, and memories, helps define yourself as a person. Our society says people have to own certain items or clothes to be considered cool or fashionable, and whether you own the items or not, it might effect your personality. "Owning" a skill can reward you with tangible items, owning experiences, and opinions institute uniqueness. Everything you own, tangible and intangible, helps distinguish character.…

    • 373 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    There have been multiple, different ideas over the centuries for what it means to "own something" and what that means for the "owner. " Ancient philosopher Plate thought that owning objects was unhealthy for a person's character. Aristotle made the opposite argument that owning objects developed good moral character. However, twentieth-century philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre took the definition of ownership from tangible, material objects farther to intangible things like skills and knowledge.…

    • 507 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Many philosophers and theologians have tried to defend, or substantiate, religious experiences as an argument from religious experience. Two examples are Swinburne’s Principle of Credulity, and Alston’s concept of doxastic practice. Richard Swinburne holds that if it seems to a subject something to be x on the basis of the subject’s experience it is probably the case that x is (Swinburne, 2004). According to Swinburne, it is reasonable to assume that the world is the way it is experienced and unless we have reason to doubt a religious experience then one should accept such an experience as truthful and prima facie proof for the existence of God. However, Brain Davies (1993) points out the most troublesome consequence of accepting Swinburne’s…

    • 1489 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I. Charlotte Corday was likely not in violation of ORS 475.840 because she did not have possession of the marijuana plant. Under Oregon statute it is unlawful for any person to possess a controlled substance unless the substance was obtained directly from, or pursuant to, a valid prescription or order of a practitioner while acting in the course of professional practice, or except as otherwise authorized by ORS 475.005 to 475.285 and 475.840 to 475.980. The only issue in dispute is whether Corday had possession of the marijuana.…

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The cultural views and expectations of a society influence how its people will feel, think, and act and plays a role in interests, perspectives, social conduct, and other aspects of social life. The understanding that the things recognized as characteristics of a social group being created by culture is cultural construction. A universal cultural construct is that of gender, which is often seen as fundamental for the organizing and assigning of roles to individuals.…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Eastern and western religions are very different in terms of their belief systems and character. Hinduism and Taoism are the religions I looked at among the eastern religions while Islam and Christianity are among the western religions I looked at. Western and Eastern religions have similarities within their regions but differ when the regions become divided into east and west. They have different beliefs in terms of religious nature, views of God and main concerns. The religious natures between the western and eastern states are quite different in many regards.…

    • 1557 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    For ownership, control is the ability to physically move an animal or the ability to manage access to that animal at the time of the injury. In Beggs, an owner of the property who allowed his friend to temporarily pasture horses at his property was found as an owner, even though he did not provide them with food or water, nor did he have any active involvement with the horses. 913 N.E.2d at 1237. Because at the time of the injury the defendant was present and maintained the ability to control the horses away from the injured party, the court found him in “a position of some control like that an owner would maintain.” Id. at 1237.…

    • 146 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What Is The Holy Spirit

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The holy spirit Essay What is the Holy spirit and why is it so important to us Catholics. How those the holy spirit show us god who he is and what he is. The holy has a huge significance in the way he shaped our church. The church is here to shows us our lovely god’s great strength and power through his love and the holy spirit. The holy spirit plays a major role of the church develop to where it is now today and how did the holy spirit do to reach to what it is today.…

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In contrast to Eastern teachings, Western teachers, “are educated in a religious tradition and uphold that tradition through didactic methods such as discourse, sermons, lessons and tutorials.”. Clearly, Eastern and Western religions are extremely different in the way they teach, because in the East they use methods, like transmission of energy, that are entirely different to the ways they teach religion in the West. Another difference in Eastern and…

    • 1359 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Sacred Space Essay

    • 804 Words
    • 4 Pages

    As the modern age has brought in a wave of secularism, one would expect the draw of sacred spaces to also dwindle. This has not appeared to be the case. Though many times we see a sacred space as being tied exclusively to religion, these are in fact any place that people or society have set aside. The word “sacred” tend to stir up images of centuries-old churches and monuments, but what each person holds as sacred can differ greatly. In modern society many issues have arisen between those who make claim to an area that they considered sacred and those who disagree with this distinction.…

    • 804 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Baptism Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ”-Acts 2:38. Baptisms date back to biblical times and were most significantly preformed in the Jordan River by John the Baptist.…

    • 1001 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays