Of course, being oppressed and cutting yourself, is better than being possessed and cutting yourself
Cutting oneself can LEAD TO DEATH! Cutting is brought on by spirits of insecurity, inferiority, death and are controlled by the principality of Baal. Cutting oneself is how the kingdom of darkness gets a person to commit suicide so they never fulfill the destiny that God created them for. The above mentions spirits are accompanied by spirits of deception that lie to a person about their worth and value. And while a person cutting is not possessed, one of the goals is to get the person to COMPLETELY submit to the spirits so they can take over the body and KILL IT.
If it's not possession, then you really can't blame the devil. yes and no. It is ALWAYS the devil and demons are influencing a person and that person responds as they (the demons) desire that one could say that it is the devil's doing. I do know that sometimes demons respond when you talk to them, instead of the person itself. Rule of thumb is 'never talk to a demon'. Why? Because the LIE!! And they might say it's a truth, you might even command them to tell you a truth, but you can NEVER be sure that what they are saying IS the truth. Rather...ask HOLY SPIRIT if you need info when dealing with a person suffering oppression. A demon will always try to divert attention away from itself by saying "it couldn't possibly be a demon". Wisdom will tell that it is ALWAYS a demon; fear, rejection, rebellion, witchcraft, hatred, anger, bitterness, sorrow his dark kingdom and cronies that are behind any type of misuse of the body. Human nature, on its own, will always do whatever is necessary to AVOID pain and death. So, it is only when, grief, anxiety...the list goes on....really, anything negative has a demonic entity behind it.
You see what cuttings were used for back in the Bible; I believe to communicate with the dead.
to honor the dead and also as a form of worship of Baal and even Molock (Molack?)
I have no doubt that cutting is one of many behaviors that our enemy takes advantage of. Jesus told a story about how a man had a demon cast out of him. but the demon simply returned with others because there was no fundamental change in the person. No, the demon returned because it could find no place to rest. It was ABLE to return because the man had not filled himself up with the Word of God. A believer will be transformed upon becoming 'born of God'...born again. In the early church, new converts were immediately taken through deliverance so that all curses were broken and iniquities removed. But if the new believer IS NOT TAUGHT and is left to himself, whatever demons were cast out will simply return and fill the void that was made when the left IF the person has not been DILIGENT (scripture tells us to be DILIGENT (in the original Greek) to be approved (2 Tim 2:15) The man ended up worse than he was in the beginning. Cutters have underlying problems. ALL cutters have major rejection issues and abandonment issues. Most have had demons working against them since early childhood.
If we were able to break the demonic influence, but did not deal with the underlying problem, they would be worse off than when they began.
Yes, if they are not mentored. A demonic influence, such as a demon, can be cast out. But if the curse that gives it license to be there in the first place is not broken and removed, it can easily return....which is why mentoring of a new believer is SO important. Spiritual ministry must be combined with physical ministry and counseling. Also, we need to develop deliverance ministries that are truly effective.
Y'all should go to the Voice of the Light ministries by Emmerson and Ana Mendez Ferrell and order the series of DVDs called Regions of Captivity. The first DVD is 1:20 of worship and then teaching. She teaches deliverance like Jesus did deliverance. It is worth EVERY penny!! Any for anyone in the Chicago area, they are doing a deliverance conference ""Freedom's Fire April 16-17, Details on the website.
Maggie