Table Of ContentLIVING IN TWO WORLDS
PASTORAL RESPONSES TO POSSESSION
IN SINGAPORE
Robert M Solomon
Ph.D
University of Edinburgh
1992
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Abstract
Possession behaviour and exorcism have become more common in
Singapore churches since 1972 with the increasing popularity and
influence of the charismatic movement. This study aims to
describe, analyse, and evaluate the responses of pastors in
Singapore to people who display possession behaviour. The in-
depth interview of 16 pastors involved in exorcism/deliverance
ministry forms the primary material for this study and is
complemented by interviews of subjects of possession,
psychiatrists, and other informed persons. The study is divided
into three phases.
In the descriptive phase (chapters 3-5), the pastors' worldview
and understanding of the epidemiology, symptomatology, and
therapeutic management of possession behaviour are described.
They espouse a traditional spirit worldview which views life as
a battle between God and and a hierarchy of evil spirits who play
an intimate role in the daily lives of people. People are
believed to be possessed by evil spirits through contact with
occultic and non-Christian religious practices. According to the
pastors, people from the lower socio-economic strata, and those
with emotional problems and other needs are predisposed to such
contact: Demon possession is said to manifest itself through the
emergence of an alternate personality, with accompanying
personality and behavioural changes and disturbances. The
pastors' respond in such instances by attempting to exorcise the
"demon" through a deliverance session.
In the analytical phase (chap 6-7), the pastors' understanding,
explanation, and response to possession behaviour is compared
with competing paradigms from the scientific disciplines (eg
psychiatry and social anthropology). The similarities between the
two sets of discourses are shown using their epidemiological (and
phenomenological) description of possession suggesting that they
may be describing similar phenomena. However, the fundamental
tension between the two discourses emerges when their hermeneutic
understanding of possession is examined. This tension is centred
in competing epistemological and cosmological assumptions. The
pastors' accounts are constructed around a two-worlds worldview
while the scientific accounts are based on modern science's one-
world worldview. The pastors respond to the competing scientific
paradigm by attempting to live between both their worlds in
various ways. Some focus on the other (spiritual) world, while
others attempt to live in one world at a time. Yet others try to
live in between both worlds. Analysis of the pastors' approach
shows that their demonological paradigms are created and
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reinforced by various social and psychological factors largely
centred around the theme of competition played in various arenas:
ecclesiastical, religious, professional, and personal. While such
hermeneutics of suspicion a.re employed to unmask the motivations
of the pastors and the way their worldview is shaped, this does
not mean that science and scientific explanations can provide the
metanarrative with which we can evaluate the pastors' response.
The evaluative phase of the study (chapt7-8) develops this
question further by looking at the limitations of modern science
and contemporary theologies constructed around the scientific
paradigm. This is done by examining the theological questions of
epistemology, theodicy, and cosmology. The limitations of
reductionist epistemologies and theodicies are shown with a
critique of both modern science and theology, and charismatic
demonology. The model of living in both worlds simultaneously is
proposed using the cosmological understanding of Orthodox
theology and Christology, thus recovering the patristic paradigm
of a spiritual universe and embodied spirituality. The
implications of this for pastoral responses to possession
behaviour are then outlined centering on the theological vision
of two co-existing worlds (a spiritual universe) and the pastoral
task of unmasking and resisting evil in all its varieties and
depth.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
There are many people and organisations to whom I am grateful for
making it possible and helping me to do this research. Firstly,
I am grateful to the Methodist Church Overseas Division in
Britain, and Trinity Theological College and Graduates Christian
Fellowship in Singapore for their grants. In addition, a few
churches and close friends have helped with their kind gifts
which have helped to "bridge the financial gaps". I am indebted
to their generosity.
Many individuals have helped me during the course of my research.
I would like to thank my supervisors, Dr Michael Northcott and
Dr David Lyall for their guidance and suggestions during the
various stages of my research. My thanks are also due to
Professor Robert Morris from the University's Department of
Psychology for his help and advice especially with the design of
the field research and interview guide. I appreciate also the
help and material given to me by the Archdeacon of Durham,
Michael Perry, John Richards, and Peter Horrobin. Thanks are also
due to Professor John Clammer from Sophia University and
Professor Newton Malony from Fuller Theological Seminary for
their helpful comments, feedback, and material.
This study would not have progressed without the help and
cooperation of the sixteen pastors who were interviewed. I am
deeply indebted to them. I would like to thank others who were
interviewed in Singapore. They include psychiatrists: Dr Douglas
Kong (Mount Elizabeth), Dr Y C Lim (Woodbridge Hospital), and Dr
Ko Soo Meng (National University Hospital); and Dr Bobby Sng
(GCF), Anthony Yeo (Counselling and Care Centre), Rev Philip Heng
and a few other pastors. Many people who were former subjects of
possession were also interviewed to whom I am grateful for their
help. I am grateful to Peter Teong, Dr Tan Lai Yong, and Tan Hwee
Yang for their help during my fieldwork.
I am deeply grateful to my wife Malar for her warm and enriching
companionship and understanding, and for being a source of
encouragement during a long and lonely period of research. And
my heartfelt thanks are due my children Carolyn, Sharlyn, and
John, for patiently bearing with an often preoccupied father and
for being the warm family in which I feel so much at home. My
deepest appreciation is to the Lord Jesus for his living presence
which provided the light, life, and love during the course of my
studies.
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DECLARATION
I declare that this thesis has been composed by me and that it
is my own work.
Robert M Solomon
7 October 1992
To
THE GLORY OF GOD
and
THE MEMORY OF MY PARENTS
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page i
Abstract ii
Acknowledgment iv
Declaration v
Dedication vi
Table of Contents vii
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 Introduction 1
1.1 Possession Behaviour in Singapore 1
1.2 The Problem: Pastoral Responses to Possession 3
1.2.1 Description: An "Emic" Perspective 4
1.2.2 Analysis: A Plurality of Narratives 6
1.2.3 Evaluation: Living in Two Worlds 13
1.3 The Significance of the Study 16
1.4 Methodology 18
1.4.1 Pastoral Theological Method 18
1.4.2 Description: A Qualitative Approach 20
1.4.3 Analysis & Evaluation: A Dialogical Approach 22
1.5 Life History of This Study 23
1.6 Outline of the Thesis 25
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CHAPTER TWO
2.0. Understanding the Context 27
2.1 The Context: Singapore 27
2.1.1 Beginnings: From Obscurity to Independence 27
2.1.2 The Priority of Economic Growth 29
2.1.3 A Clash of Cultures and Values 31
2.1.4 Singapore: Secular and Religious 35
2.2 The Context: The Church in Singapore 36
2.2.1 Slow Beginnings 36
2.2.2 The Post-War Period: Conservatism andG rowth 37
2.2.3 Recent History: Impact of the Charismatic
Movement 39
CHAPTER THREE
3.0 Possession: The Views and Beliefs of theP astors 44
3.1 Meet the Pastors 44
3.2.1 Spiritual Warfare 46
3.2.2 An Army of Demons 48
3.2.3 Mug Shots of Demons 49
3.3 How People Get "Demonised" 51
3.3.1 Involvement in the Occult and Other
Non-Christian Religions 52
A. Mediums and the Occult 52
B. Charms and Amulets 55
C. Non-Christian Religions 57
D. Can Christians be Demonised? 59
3.3.2 Why People Get Involved in Occult, Mediumistic
and Religious Practices 61
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A. Driven by Needs and Problems 61
B. The Attraction of the Occult 65
C. The Promise of Power and Knowledge:
The Case of Martial Arts 66
3.3.3 The Drama of Resistance, Susceptibility,
and Infection 68
A. The Gap that Sin Leaves 69
B. Drugs and Demons 71
C. Emotional Susceptibility 72
D. Beliefs and Superstitions 74
E. Stress and Trauma 75
F. On Being a Woman 77
3.3 Summary 78
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 Pastoral Interpretations of PossessionB ehaviour 80
4.1 Possession Behaviour and Its Location 80
4.1.1 The Home 80
4.1.2 The Church 82
4.1.3 The Workplace 83
4.2 Pastors' Accounts of the "Manifestations" ofP ossession 83
4.2.1 The Presence of a "Demons(s)" 83
A. Vocal and Speech Changes 84
B. "Characteristic Behaviour Patterns":
gods, animals, and others 85
4.2.2 Reaction to ChristianS ymbols 89
A. The Bible 89
B. Prayer 89
C. Ritual and Creed 90
X
4.2.3 Disturbed Behaviour 92
A. Violence and the Threat of Violence 92
B. Disturbed Perception 93
C. Sleep and Other Disturbances 95
D. "Introvert and Quiet Spirits" 97
E. Physical Illness 98
4.2.4 Extraordinary Abilities and Powers 99
A. Unusual Strength 99
B. Psychic Abilities 100
4.2.5 Other Manifestations: Odours and Technical
Malfunctions 101
4.3 Diagnosis and Discernment: How the Pastors GoA bout It 101
4.3.1 A Classification System: Oppression,
Obsession, Possession 102
4.3.2 Thinking of Other Possibilities 106
4.3.3 The "Gift of Discernment" 107
4.3.4 Making Sure: "Testing the Spirit" 109
4.4 Summary 111
CHAPTER FIVE
5.0 Pastoral Practices in Dealing with the "Possessed" 113
5.1 Choosing the Venue for the "Deliverance Session" 113
5.1.1 Reasons for Choosing the Church 113
5.1.2 Private Session or Public Event 115
5.2 A Matter of Timing 117
5.3 Deliverance Teams 120
5.3.1 Reasons for Working in Teams 121
5.3.2 The People in the Deliverance Teams 122
