Do demons possess children?

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Mar 27, 2013
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Question 1: Do you believe that children can be possessed? And how far down in age would you go?

The Bible calls us to be humble like a child and it also says that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to 'such as these'

According to my pastor, toddlers and infants are too innocent. I guess I am wondering at what age exactly would you start to question their behaviors/mannerisms.

Question 2: What if your 8-12 year old child told you they were attracted to someone of the same sex...?


Bible Verses:

But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

- Matthew 19:14

Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.
- 1Corinthians 14:20

and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
- Matthew 18:3



S/N I hope no one gets offended by my questions... I do not have kids but have nieces and a nephew. Let's be honest, kids can be so evil sometimes... I always pray for my little beauties and for others around me.
 

breno785au

Senior Member
Jul 23, 2013
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#2
Yes, there were people who asked Jesus to remove spirits who tormented their children. He commanded them to leave, they left and were made whole.
 

maxwel

Senior Member
Apr 18, 2013
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#3
Do demons possess children?

Do they need to?


: )
 
Mar 27, 2013
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#4
Yes, there were people who asked Jesus to remove spirits who tormented their children. He commanded them to leave, they left and were made whole.

Yes I am thinking you're talking about the demon possessed daughter that Jesus healed. I tried to look up more instances of children possession but didn't find much. The Bible doesn't go deep into children and demons; which is probably a good thing.
But if you could give me some verses that would be awesome!
I was still wondering though, would you believe a 5/6 year old to be evil? I mean they lie and steal at that age already but some are so malevolent!
 

breno785au

Senior Member
Jul 23, 2013
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#5
Yes I am thinking you're talking about the demon possessed daughter that Jesus healed. I tried to look up more instances of children possession but didn't find much. The Bible doesn't go deep into children and demons; which is probably a good thing.
But if you could give me some verses that would be awesome!
I was still wondering though, would you believe a 5/6 year old to be evil? I mean they lie and steal at that age already but some are so malevolent!
I will find the verses, sorry I wrote that on the go with the intention of posting scriptures if anyone asked.

We don't wrestle with flesh and blood. It's not the child that is evil but the spirit that has a hold of it... Same goes with adults.

In regards to question 2 of the OP, it's not possession but the spirits of this world influencing the minds of the children by various means. A good reason why homosexuality is not a thing to be openly celebrated like the media has done in the last few years.

Behaviour and manner issues is most probably either wrong/bad diet, lack of parenting and or discipline in earlier years.
 

Joidevivre

Senior Member
Jul 15, 2014
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#6
Most 8 to 12 year olds are more comfortable being around their own sex, especially if they do not have the opposite sex for siblings. I raised 5 children who were, yet they all married the opposite sex eventually.

The problem is all the social media about same sex attractions, it can be very confusing to a child. They begin to think they just might be.
 
Mar 27, 2013
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#7
Do demons possess children?

Do they need to?


: )
their job is to confuse and lie, destruct and cause havoc. The devil uses all outlets he can find...
 

seoulsearch

OutWrite Trouble
May 23, 2009
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#8
I can think of only two specific incidences in the Bible in which children were possibly influenced by demons (I'm not sure if these occurrences would have counted as a full-on possession though):

Acts 16:16 -- Paul and his companions encounter "a slave girl who had a spirit by which she told the future." She would follow them around shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God," and eventually, Paul told the evil spirit to leave her.

The girl made a large profit for her owners from her fortune-telling, and her owners immediately recognized that their source of income was gone once Paul commanded the spirit to leave her (how interesting that these men were well aware that the evil spirit was the source of this girl's "power".) Because of this, they had Paul and his friends severely flogged and thrown into prison.

The Bible doesn't tell us how old this girl was, or how it came to be this evil spirit apparently communicated through her, but it sure would have been an interesting footnote. (And perhaps she was a young adult and not a child.)

But in Mark 9:22, a desperate father brings his young son to the disciples, begging them to heal him of an evil spirit that "often throws him into fire or water, trying to kill him." (I have heard some say that today, the child would have probably been diagnosed as having epilepsy as a way for the medical community to explain it, which was just their own personal speculations--I am certainly NOT SAYING AT ALL that epilepsy is demon possession.)

In this case, the demon was apparently targeting the child himself instead of trying to harm or influence others through him. Again, we don't know the age or how it came to be that this spirit seemed to have specifically chosen him.

Even more interesting is that the disciples couldn't call it out--only Jesus could, and when they asked why, Jesus tells them that, "This kind can only come out by prayer and fasting" (Mark 9:29.)

There might be other instances I can't think of right now--if so, I hope other people will share them and give the references because I would love to go back and re-read those stories as well.
 
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Miri

Guest
#9
I suspect Satan tries to destroy us at an early age as possible, look at all the
evil things that are done to children.

Many difficult troubling mindsets are also formed in the childhood years and early adult hood,
people struggle with them the rest of their lives.

What a blessing to be brought up in a proper functioning Christian family. Many no longer
get that opportunity.
 
G

Galatea

Guest
#10
Good God, NO!!! I will tell you that Satan hates humans, and children in particular. I would be more worried about the demons possessing people who abuse and torture children. Children are not sinless, but they are innocent.
 
Dec 12, 2013
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#11
The wicked go astray from the womb <----speaks volumes
 
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Galatea

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#12
The wicked go astray from the womb <----speaks volumes
Surely you are not advocating “bad seed” philosophy?! Oh my God! What a world this is. Children are innocent, not sinless, but innocent.

This smacks of Eugenics.
 
Dec 12, 2013
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#13
Surely you are not advocating “bad seed” philosophy?! Oh my God! What a world this is. Children are innocent, not sinless, but innocent.

This smacks of Eugenics.
No actually is smacks of Psalm 58:3

Psalm 58:3 The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.
 
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Galatea

Guest
#14
No actually is smacks of Psalm 58:3

Psalm 58:3 The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.
If speaking lies is demon possession, then every person ever born (except Jesus) is or was demon possessed. Surely you don’t think this verse can be interpreted to mean new born babies are demon possessed?
 
Dec 28, 2016
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#15
Surely you are not advocating “bad seed” philosophy?! Oh my God! What a world this is. Children are innocent, not sinless, but innocent.

This smacks of Eugenics.
It appears you're going to the extreme in your above statement.

He is referring to original sin, that we are all in Adam; Romans 5:12-21. Perhaps you refer to this biblical doctrine as "bad seed" philosophy?
 
U

Ugly

Guest
#16
Yes I am thinking you're talking about the demon possessed daughter that Jesus healed. I tried to look up more instances of children possession but didn't find much. The Bible doesn't go deep into children and demons; which is probably a good thing.
But if you could give me some verses that would be awesome!
I was still wondering though, would you believe a 5/6 year old to be evil? I mean they lie and steal at that age already but some are so malevolent!
Sometimes such malevolence is a result of a mental disorder.
There are plenty of records of children committing murder and rape and other horrible things. Some children become, or are born, psychopaths. Without a conscience.
I would suspect a child , or adult, must engage in behavior, likely repeatedly, in order to become possessed. Due to thanks not likely it's a frequent issue.

But, really, the majority of problems with kids is training. Kids do what works for them. If a kid lies frequently it's because it works for him. If a kid throws tantrums often it's because they get their way when they do.
Sometimes kids also mimic behaviors they see in others. Be it a kid at school or an adult in their life or tv.
And at times kids simply act out due to some sort of mental or emotional anxiety.

Jumping to demon possession before exploring more common and reasonable considerations, to me, seems extreme and a poor example for kids.

Lastly I rarely view kids as being "evil". That suggests a fundamental lack of understanding about children, their behavior and their motives.

My mother has three kids, and she was a single mother. Her kids ran wild and were out of control. When she married my dad he brought genuine discipline (not anger and yelling but Real discipline) into the house. Within three months of steady, consistent discipline there was a drastic change in their behavior.
Even with my gf i saw similar things. She's a single mom and has a wild toddler. She was In the phone and wouldn't leave her alone. I grabbed him up, walked him out of the room and plopped him in a chair. I spoke to him quietly yet sternly and this normally pushy child complied and even apologized.

So before going off the deep end why not try more explore more reasonable options? And unless a child is being Genuinely evil stop viewing them that way.
The way you view a child comes out in how you treat them. How you treat them (and speak to them) affects how they behave.
 
G

Galatea

Guest
#17
It appears you're going to the extreme in your above statement.

He is referring to original sin, that we are all in Adam; Romans 5:12-21. Perhaps you refer to this biblical doctrine as "bad seed" philosophy?
The theme of this thread is “Can children become demon possessed?” Mr. Controversial posted “the wicked are from the womb” (I paraphrase as I am too lazy to look up the verse).

I deduced that he meant people could be demon possessed from the womb.

The question is not “Are children sinful?” It is “Can children be demon possessed?” These are two entirely different things, unless sin=demon possession.

He later posted the whole verse that spoke about the wicked telling lies. If this verse is supposed to support child demon possession, then that would mean lying is a indication of demon possession.

Everyone lies, everyone is wicked.

Everyone is not possessed by demons.
 
Mar 27, 2013
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#18
Thank you for your response 'Ugly'
Trust me I am the last person to go to extremes and start labeling children as evil and such. However, I have encountered countless people (at church) that brand either their own kids or other people's kids as evil or even possessed. I, personally do not see kids that way. I can see the innocence in their eyes.
I am a leader and teacher in the children's ministry at my church; which is sadly where I am encountering a lot of these wild opinions. I posed the question to broaden my view point; along with reading and studying the Bible, I hope to be able to better answer these people.
 
G

Galatea

Guest
#19
Thank you for your response 'Ugly'
Trust me I am the last person to go to extremes and start labeling children as evil and such. However, I have encountered countless people (at church) that brand either their own kids or other people's kids as evil or even possessed. I, personally do not see kids that way. I can see the innocence in their eyes.
I am a leader and teacher in the children's ministry at my church; which is sadly where I am encountering a lot of these wild opinions. I posed the question to broaden my view point; along with reading and studying the Bible, I hope to be able to better answer these people.
If they need biblical evidence, I suggest you remind them of the child text. Matthew 18:1-10. Interestingly, the verse about cutting off one’s hand and plucking out one’s eye is included in the context. People like to take this verse out of its context, and relate it to sexual sin. It has to do with harming children.

All throughout the Bible, children are described as precious.

I don’t know where you live, but please try to tell the people in your sphere that children can NOT be demon possessed. They may try to harm the children. This happens often in developing countries. A child could have a deformity and declared marked by the devil or some other type of nonsense. People who want to hurt children are evil, not the children.
 
Dec 12, 2013
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#20
If speaking lies is demon possession, then every person ever born (except Jesus) is or was demon possessed. Surely you don’t think this verse can be interpreted to mean new born babies are demon possessed?
Did you see me one time state what you imply...all I did was quote a verse that states clearly that the wicked go astray straight from the womb....I said noting of demon possession....take a pill serious...