Ghosts and Demons

There are some people who do not believe in ghosts, while maintaining a strong belief in demons. The question many people have is "Is there a difference in ghosts and demons?" In this article we will look at the two subjects and the differences in the two.

While ghosts are believed to be the apparition or appearance of people that are no longer living, demons are widely believed to be angels formerly of God or "fallen angels". Ghosts are not generally thought of as having an influence on the balance of good and evil in society, while demons are. Demons are deeply rooted in religion and mythology and can be traced all the way back to the ancient Sumerians. Ancient tablets told stories of demons, demonic possession and contained prayers to gods asking to be protected from demons. The Sumerians believed that all illness was caused by "sickness demons". Demons are widely believed to have the ability to inhabit the bodies and assume control of humans and in some cultures, animals. This event requires an exorcism to aid in the removal of demons. While ghosts are believed to be "channeled" willingly by mediums or psychics, humans are said to have absolutely no control over demonic possession.

What many people are unaware of is the fact that only a certain number of priests in the catholic religion are authorized to perform such exorcisms and that those exorcisms require approval of a bishop before they can be performed. The catholic church is widely known for it's skepticism of alleged possessions. Which raises in interesting question. Why has the number of priests authorized to perform these rituals been so dramatically increased over recent years? What used to be only a handful of such priests, has grown to over 350 in recent years. Is demonic possession on the rise? Is there a growing evil among us?

Most skeptics blame mental conditions for alleged demonic possessions, although some events surrounding some cases have baffled everyone. One would assume that our best hope is that there are simply more crazy people around these days, but something tells me that there might be something else at work.

In closing, we can assume that although ghosts may exist, they are not directly affecting our minds or civilization, while the entities known as demons that have been blamed for the terrible things in society for thousands of years, seem to getting blamed a lot more often in our day and age. So are ghosts and demons real? There is no definitive answer to that question but people have their opinions and will continue to do the research for thousands of years to come.