The evil in ourselves...

[geo_paw]

Hello group,

I have been thinking about this for a long time, and it would be interesting to hear your opinions. Does anyone remember the movie 'The Exorcist' ? It is kind of old, so you probably have to be kind of old yourself I guess to know what I am talking about. Anyway, I did not find the possessed girl in that movie scary at all. She was pure evil. But she was pure. All she did was confront you with the naked truth about yourself. I truly believe that each one of us is half good, and half bad. You deny your bad, raw, evil side, that is when the demons come to visit you. They have the sole purpose of reminding you who you really are. So in the end, if you are scared, you are scared of yourself.

I never really trust overly 'nice' people. The feeling I get is 'what are you hiding'. There are people out there as well who have a good mix of 'nice' and 'nasty'. Somehow I am pretty sure that these people are not overly concerned with being haunted. Nothing there for Satan to uncover.

 

[ozentity]

I think most on here remember the movie, lol. I think most if not everyone is a mix of good and bad but everyone has different percentage of each. I believe evil comes when you embrace it but it does seem to try and get a hold of/attack the best people at times. I do agree with your take on overly nice people in general but I have met two elderly ladies that really were the real deal of Angels on Earth. Or were they, lol.

 

[GoneWestUtah]

We are not born bad or good, but we all must prove ourselves during the course of our lifetime. That's why we are here.
People's personalities are formed from their early life experiences. Survival mechanisms can kick-in for some disadvantaged people, and the rest of us will sometimes see that as evidence of evil. Sometimes it is, but mostly it's just people trying to live, using the only tools that are apparent to them or have been taught to them.

But I think all of us are born with a clean slate, with no inherent, intrinsic evil at all. Evil comes from our own poor, selfish decisions, and from personalities damaged from their environment.

 

[Duke]

Unless there is some new quantum psychology that has changed the way the field sees such things, the conventional wisdom is who you are is a function of heredity and environment.

 

[Paulm]

the girl wasnt scary. nor was she supposed to be, she was also not evil. the story isnt about the girl. the story and fear or what is scary is the possibility of being possessed by a demonic entity that can control and destroy you, ( the girl in this case) this is a story about religion and what a lot of people believe and or are taught. the demon didnt confront you with "the naked truth" about yourself. he twisted the truth and mixed it with doubt to make you question yourself, opening up any and all weaknesses you have. using half truths, lies and doubt to gain the upperhand. when fighting evil, evil will use everything at its disposal to overcome you. that is what this story is about. this shows that evil can seem good, can play off your sympathies, your doubts, your fears. that is the scary part this movie aimed to express. not just a scary little girl.
we all have our "demons" to fight, we all have our struggles and tests. we choose to be either good or bad, or somewhere in between. evil, true evil, works its way in in the most easiest ways, greed, power, fame, pleasure, whatever our weakness may be. and then it grows. until, if we dont realize it beforehand, it has changed us into someone we no longer recognize. look deep within yourself and ask yourself if this is the person you respect, is this who you wish to be. inner reflection is a needed tool in the toolbox of humanity.

 

[Debi]

the girl wasnt scary. nor was she supposed to be, she was also not evil. the story isnt about the girl. the story and fear or what is scary is the possibility of being possessed by a demonic entity that can control and destroy you, ( the girl in this case) this is a story about religion and what a lot of people believe and or are taught. the demon didnt confront you with "the naked truth" about yourself. he twisted the truth and mixed it with doubt to make you question yourself, opening up any and all weaknesses you have. using half truths, lies and doubt to gain the upperhand. when fighting evil, evil will use everything at its disposal to overcome you. that is what this story is about. this shows that evil can seem good, can play off your sympathies, your doubts, your fears. that is the scary part this movie aimed to express. not just a scary little girl.
we all have our "demons" to fight, we all have our struggles and tests. we choose to be either good or bad, or somewhere in between. evil, true evil, works its way in in the most easiest ways, greed, power, fame, pleasure, whatever our weakness may be. and then it grows. until, if we dont realize it beforehand, it has changed us into someone we no longer recognize. look deep within yourself and ask yourself if this is the person you respect, is this who you wish to be. inner reflection is a needed tool in the toolbox of humanity.

^^^^That right there. Paul, very well said.

 

[geo_paw]

the girl wasnt scary. nor was she supposed to be, she was also not evil. the story isnt about the girl. the story and fear or what is scary is the possibility of being possessed by a demonic entity that can control and destroy you, ( the girl in this case) this is a story about religion and what a lot of people believe and or are taught. the demon didnt confront you with "the naked truth" about yourself. he twisted the truth and mixed it with doubt to make you question yourself, opening up any and all weaknesses you have. using half truths, lies and doubt to gain the upperhand. when fighting evil, evil will use everything at its disposal to overcome you. that is what this story is about. this shows that evil can seem good, can play off your sympathies, your doubts, your fears. that is the scary part this movie aimed to express. not just a scary little girl.
we all have our "demons" to fight, we all have our struggles and tests. we choose to be either good or bad, or somewhere in between. evil, true evil, works its way in in the most easiest ways, greed, power, fame, pleasure, whatever our weakness may be. and then it grows. until, if we dont realize it beforehand, it has changed us into someone we no longer recognize. look deep within yourself and ask yourself if this is the person you respect, is this who you wish to be. inner reflection is a needed tool in the toolbox of humanity.

I partly agree: your weaknesses, these are the openings that can possibly be exploited. But only if you try to hide them. If you are fully aware of your weaknesses, if you don't try to cover them up, they are not weaknesses anymore. They can even become strengths. In the movie, the priest feels guilty about leaving his dying mother alone. The demon knows that, and takes advantage of that weakness. There are no demons of course, so the entire thing is just a metaphor about how denying yourself, the bad parts of yourself, or better said, the parts you perceive as bad, can destroy you.

As for choosing to be either good or bad: I know a lot of people believe that you, as a person, are formed and influenced by your experiences. To an extent I believe that is true, but I am convinced that the person you are exists in the moment you are created, even before you are born.

 

[crux]

The Exorcist story was "inspired" by events that took place in 1949 surrounding a 14-year-old boy named Ronald Hunkeler who changed his name and later worked as an engineer for NASA designing heat shields for the Apollo program.

Identity of real life ‘The Exorcist’ boy revealed: ‘He had a terrible life’

NASA engineer Ronald Hunkeler spent his life hoping no one would find out his childhood “possession” inspired one of the most famous horror movies of all time.

nypost.com

Though the movie is probably considered tame by today's standards, that was not the case when it was released in the early 1970s. I remember it well. The film literally terrified people. Many of those who had recently seen it could talk about nothing else and were visibly agitated by it. We don't really see that kind of effect from movies anymore so it may be hard for younger people to imagine.

 

[Paulm]

I partly agree: your weaknesses, these are the openings that can possibly be exploited. But only if you try to hide them. If you are fully aware of your weaknesses, if you don't try to cover them up, they are not weaknesses anymore. They can even become strengths.

admitting a weakness does not make it not a weakness any longer. alcoholics, drug addicts, substance abuse of all kinds take admittance to overcome, but it is still a weakness that will dominate a life if allowed to continue, admitting a weakness is the first step of fighting it, not making it a strength. true evil will continue to use these against you whenever possible, peer pressure, stress, life in general.

There are no demons of course, so the entire thing is just a metaphor about how denying yourself, the bad parts of yourself, or better said, the parts you perceive as bad, can destroy you.

this depends on your belief system. this story was from a Christian perspective, so i will answer in a way that this story was intended to be viewed. different religions or beliefs will of course have a different view. but a lot of people and beliefs do believe in demons, and possessions. whether you are not of that belief or are athiest or of another religion is irrelevent when talking about demons in this context.

As for choosing to be either good or bad: I know a lot of people believe that you, as a person, are formed and influenced by your experiences. To an extent I believe that is true, but I am convinced that the person you are exists in the moment you are created, even before you are born.

you ARE formed and influenced by your teachings, environment, experiences, beliefs, etc...(To an extent).. but YOU have the ability to change these situations, YOU have the knowledge of "right" and "wrong". YOU are responsible for your actions. the only way to break the cycle of abuse, of disrespect, of hate, is for YOU to change the person you see in the mirror every day. self responsibility is what breaks the vicious cycle of hatred and ignorance, not blaming the environment from which you came. or the people you mimic or learned these ways from.

there is a difference from true evil and what the world throws at you. circumstances of the world and everyday life can be hard, can be overwhelming and can cause us to make bad decisions, cause us to be mean and hurtful at times. but that is also not necessarily true evil. that is just life.. knowing the difference is an important "sight" to practice and learn

 

[Debi]

Geo, I have several "rules" that are unbreakable here at the forum. Rule One is we honor all religious beliefs of the Light.

Rule Two is we don't do "demons" here. We don't feed them, we don't deal with the topic, as most of us believe in the reality of them per our own religious beliefs.

Because this thread is leading into breaking those two rules, I am ending this thread discussion. Thank you to all who participated in sharing your thoughts.