Insanity Defense
What makes the demons so smart?
When he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs coming out of the tombs met him. They were so fierce that no one could pass that way. Suddenly they shouted, "What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?" Now a large herd of swine was feeding at some distance from them. The demons begged him, "If you cast us out, send us into the herd of swine." And he said to them, "Go!" So they came out and entered the swine; and suddenly, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the water. The swineherds ran off, and on going into the town, they told the whole story about what had happened to the demoniacs. Then the whole town came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their neighborhood. - Matthew 8:28-34
The conversation Jesus has here is with the demons, not with the people they possess.
It makes me wonder if they had a clue what was going on. Did they know who Jesus was? Did they know what had happened to them while they were possessed?
Or were they unaware, as if in a coma?
If you believe that demons can possess, then you might believe that people who are possessed are not responsible for their actions.
So, it would naturally follow that they probably don't even know what those actions were.
If they did know or if they were told later and could do nothing to stop them or take control, they might feel remorse.
I would hate to think that there are things I might do without being aware of them, that I would lose total control of my being, giving it up to another power.
Imagine what that would be like.
When someone does something totally evil, we say they were out of their mind, but we don't always believe they were not in control.
They may be crazy, we think, but we want them to be responsible for what they did.
If we accept the idea of demonic possession, don't we absolve people of the responsibility for their actions?
It is the ultimate Insanity Defense. The devil made me do it.
What if that is true?
More to come...