Listener Feedback 002

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2 Replies to “Listener Feedback 002”

1. Dutch Mon 09 Oct 2023 at 12:25 EDT

   In depth Satanism/Occultism episode when ?

   I’m asking because I’m dealing with very shady people from time to time because of work. Since I was involved with freelance art many years ago I already had tangential contact with such wicked people but it was still possible to avoid them. Now I have a case where I’m forced to deal with them.
   I want to know what to expect from such people in detail, what they read, what wicked stuff they do and how to deal with them without getting massive problems.
   My pastor couldn’t give me any specific advice other then to pray, so I’m asking you guys in addition.

   Also what about people who use LSD or shrooms in high doses on a semi regular basis?
   How much damage can such substances do to a person spiritually?
   It’s already very hard to find information on the physical damage it can do since there is a massive push from psychologists to make them legal for use in therapy everywhere.
   (Magic truffles are already legal here in the Netherlands btw)
   The same can also be asked about SSRI’S and other psychotropic drugs.

   Oh and what can you even do with people that have psychological problems that are currently developing or that already developed ?
   I can’t recommend in good heart to a person to go to a psychologists, but I also can’t bring such a person to church, mainly because I don’t have a good one and many churches here got converted to gym’s, yoga-studios, skateparks and wall-climbing halls if not 100% closed down.
   Here again I doubt that just praying is sufficient enough and that there might be more steps to take.
   Some general advice here would also be very helpful.

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   1. Corey J. Mahler Fri 24 Nov 2023 at 17:04 EST

      This is very clearly a complex and expansive topic. I, personally, am quite familiar with the psychological research in this area (the sound research, not the modern nonsense), so I can give a few basic recommendations here (I do not know when we’ll do an in-depth episode on the subject):

      1. Psychedelics/hallucinogens of any kind should be avoided. There are a handful of exceptions where there may be legitimate medical applications of certain substances (e.g., ketamine shows some promise in certain cases), but those are so rare as to barely warrant mention.
      2. Yes, the use of hallucinogens opens one to demonic oppression or even possession — we see this very clearly from both cultures that used these substances and modern users.
      3. The physical consequences of these substances vary substantially from one substance to another. For instance, it is virtually impossible to overdose on LSD, but longitudinal use can have severe psychological consequences (to say nothing of spiritual consequences), whereas long-term use of ecstasy frequently leads to depression or suicide and acute overdose (including lethal overdose) is very much possible.
      4. I am not a believer in the contention that all psychological problems are spiritual; I believe that contention ignores the reality of the flesh — it is entirely possible for something to go wrong biologically. The issue lies in the ‘division’ between or among body and mind and soul. An issue with the soul is certainly spiritual and an issue with the brain (body) is surely biological, but the mind straddles the two and complicates the analysis. Neither the spiritual nor the biological should be cursorily or too quickly ruled out in any case; a man who has structural deficits in his brain may also be oppressed by demons. Modern medicine and (legitimate, however hard it may be to find these days) psychiatry do have solutions to problems seated in biology, or even, in the case of psychiatry, some problems seated in the mind, but they have no helpful answers to spiritual problems; similarly, Christians trained in these matters will have good solutions to spiritual problems, but they may not be equipped to deal with biological problems. Man is a Gestalt — a sum that is greater than the parts (i.e., body and soul); if we neglect either aspect of man, we will find that we are not adequately addressing the whole. A man with a broken leg and a broken arm is hardly adequately treated by a doctor who addresses only the arm. Your pastor is right that prayer is important, but he is wrong that prayer is the only solution. If possible, you should avoid associating with such individuals, or at least limit your association and keep it strictly professional, as it were. We are told to avoid the company of wicked men (Psalm 26), and this most certainly includes those who engage in behavior that invites demonic oppression or possession.

      Please do not hesitate to ask follow-up questions if you have them — I will attempt to respond more quickly next time.

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