BTW, after thinking about Peck and Martin and evil, it dawned on me that what we are seeing in the White House in the way that Obama wants to force his will on the nation with Obamacare is completely consistent with the behavior of a malignant narcissist (many here have raved about his narcissism from the beginning...including me).
Here's an old Peck quote from People of the Lie about narcissism...
We can see then, that their narcissism makes the evil dangerous not only because it motivates them to scapegoat others, but also because it deprives them of the restraint that results from empathy and respect for others....The evil need victims to sacrifice to their narcissism, their narcissism permits them to ignore the humanity of their victims as well. ..The blindness of the narcissist to others can extend beyond a lack of empathy; narcissists may not "see" others at all.The reason Obama wants to ram down this legislation is because he can't actually SEE the people. Despite his protestations...it is, of course, all about him!
Of course, this is nothing new to those of us at FR, but never ceases to amaze me how Obama's mental illness (narcissism being only one of his disorders) is playing out.
My very quick take on this is that looking at the CAUSE of something is best done in the aftermath.
As for Obama and his motivations, narcissism is just ONE WAY to become possessed.
I think the thing you have to be careful with is the idea that ‘the Devil made him do it’.
Both Amorth and Martin agree that deciding that someone is possessed is what you ARRIVE at, not what you start with.
If you look at Obama’s past, upbringing, political experience, circle of friends, then it is much easier to arrive at the conclusion that we bought a pig in a poke, and wound up with a true marxist, with no executive experience and no real political skill, than we did a man possessed.
Rasputin may have been possessed. Hitler, Stalin maybe too. Look what happened in Nigeria day before last - machete slaughter of 4 day old babies? Satan involved directly? Probably.
Martin’s book deserves a re-read because he admonishes on ‘seeking it out’. Looking for it. The perfectly possessed can’t be helped, except perhaps by one of the original Apostles or by Christ himself. He admits there are cases you just don’t even try, where the possession is clear cut. Part of the possessed has to want to be helped.
One danger here is losing sight of the fact that we have free will. We get to choose.