We live in a world where parents abuse children way too often. Some adults make children feel responsible for their woes and troubles in life. Others make children feel obligated to serve them. Very few give children the love and warmth that all children need and deserve in order to succeed and thrive in life.

I was horrified to read, a few days ago, of the exorcism story of Anneliese Michel. As a Christian believer myself, her “symptoms” do indeed seem consistent with demonic possession: crawling up walls, speaking in unknown languages, growling, unable to stand Christian objects such as the crucifix, etc. Further, Anneliese reportedly hid under a table and barked like a dog for two days, licked her own urine off the floor, and ate insects. On top of that, psychosis and other medical treatment proved ineffective.

Even persons less than religious might be convinced that Anneliese was indeed demon possessed. But how did the demon get into her? She was raised in a somewhat religious home and grew up a devout catholic. I dug deeper and came upon some curious facts. Anneliese’s mother had an illegitimate child who died from a medical condition at a young age. The mother reportedly told Anneliese that she needs to be extra pious to make up for the sin of this illegitimate child. And this happened years before the young girl had her first convulsion, or first sign of demonic possession, which she experienced at age 16.

Can you imagine the psychological burden that this mother placed on this child by telling her that she needs to bear the burden of the sin of an illegitimate child? Yes, demonic possession may be real, but the mind is also powerful. Anneliese, on her death bed reportedly thought that she was dying for the sins of reckless youths and blasphemous church officials. Her mother also reportedly peddled this bizarre idea.

It may be true that Anneliese was indeed demon possessed, and I’m by no means denying this possibility. But if that is the case, why did exorcism fail so miserably? If Anneliese was not demon possessed, then this may very well be one of the most terrifying cases of child abuse: a mother making her daughter believe that she had to embody the sins of other. This in turn might have caused the girl to act in such a way that fulfills this objective. We must remember that only Jesus can bear the sin or burden of others, which He did on the Cross of Calvary. No other person on earth has that power or ability, and it is absolutely ridiculous to suggest that. In this case, it was outright abusive.

One of two things happened here: either Anneliese was indeed possessed by a demon or demons, or she induced her mind to bear the burden of others, thus producing those symptoms. Whatever the case may be, this is yet another stark reminder that we must be extremely care of what we say to our children.