Demon Possession

Whatever the world at large may think the native Christians of Shantung are as fully convinced both of the reality of demoniacal possessions, and of the available power of Jesus to remedy them, as were the disciples in the apostolic church. And the number of coincidences which Dr. Nevius has pointed out between these cases and those described in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles is certainly remarkable. In regard to them each reader of the book must form his own conclusions. The author does not insist upon any particular interpretation, or any final conclusion. He is evidently impressed with the gravity of his subject and the possibility of erroneous speculations. But in his extended researches he has found such speculations already rife, and he has considered them briefly in some of the later chapters of his book. A belief in demoniacal possession has existed in many lands and throughout the ages, and many and conflicting theories of explanation have been advanced by anthropologists and writers on psychology, hypnotism, etc. Some of these Dr. Nevius has answered, and on the whole his mind seems inclined to the view that as yet no theory has been advanced which so well accords with the facts as the simple and unquestioning conclusion so universally held by the Christians of Shantung, that evil spirits do in many instances possess or control the mind and will of human beings.