Re: Social aspects of New Testament possession

The marginalized, oppressed people of Jesus’ society (children, women, “sinners”, outcasts) were allowed an avenue of venting, namely, spirit possession.

Issues that could not be directly confronted, or confronted with extreme difficulty, were able to be voiced in the temporary state of possession, wherein the individual – by definition “not him/herself” and “outside or beside him/herself” – might express without overt punishment “taboo” issues. Exorcism would address such issues and return the sufferer to a degree of social function. Jesus’ exorcisms probably went much further in their radicality.

One of Jesus’ “hard” sayings was “Unless you hate your family you have no part of me”. Far from making hatred of family a condition of discipleship, Jesus may have simply been observing the fact that many of those who came to him in fact had been cast out of their families.

Certainly the social pressures that could in some cases result in possession might cause those concerned to repudiate their families and seek a new surrogate kind of family.

Indeed, this is what seems to have happened with Jesus and many of his disciples: they came out of their old families and entered a new family provided by Jesus’ group(Matthew 12:47-50).

Even today the church attempts to restore possessed people into fellowship, though usually without the radical effects that Jesus’ exorcisms originally had.

Interesting studies of Jesus, shamanism, possession and exorcism can be found in:

Morton Smith: Jesus the Magician. Clement of Alexandria and a Secret Gospel of Mark (books). “Jesus’ Attitude Toward the Law” (article).

I.M Lewis: Ecstatic Religion.

Stevan Davies: Jesus the Healer.