No, Demonic Possession Is Not the Same Thing as Epilepsy

Sharon Dirckx wants to set the record straight that demonic possession and epilepsy are not the same thing. Biblical accounts of demonic possession cannot simply be explained away by modern Western thinking as a medical condition with a fully natural explanation. And those who actually suffer from the medical condition epilepsy should not be treated as though they are afflicted by the enemy.

At a recent Q&A event in the UK, Dirckx—who is an author and itinerant speaker associated with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries—was able to address this misconception.

“I think that the demonic is also something that can’t be diminished,” Dirckx says. “Sometimes an illness that is demonic can manifest as something that looks like an illness that has an explanation in modern medicine. The difference is to get healed and delivered and set free, it looks differently. I think epilepsy and demon possession are two different thing. I think that demon possession still happens today, just as much as it happened in first-century Palestine. Epilepsy needs treating with anti-epileptics. It is a genuine condition. Demon possession needs the gifts of people in the church to pray and see a person delivered and set free. And what we see is the symptoms of what looks like epilepsy go entirely and often instantaneously, and we see examples of this both in history and in the present day.”

Watch the video to see her full response.