Archive for November, 2009
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November 16, 2009
An Exorcist Tells His Story
Gabriel Amorth
Ignatious Press, 1999
I’ve included far fewer book reviews on Demondope than I intended. The reason is, so many books in the field simply aren’t worth reviewing. Garbriel Amorth’s book is worth a review, in part because the author is the “chief exorcist of Rome,” and a vocal proponent of the new Roman Catholic policy of having a team of exorcists available in every diocese world-wide.
Amorth’s view of the sacramental aspect of exorcism and his reliance on ritual won’t fit with the experience and the views of many Protestants. But there is much common ground in the book, especially in Amorth’s frustration at the unwillingness of bishops and priests to take demons seriously. As he dryly comments, “Often priests do not believe in exorcisms . . . but if the bishop offers them the office of exorcist, the feel as though ten thousand demons were upon them and refuse” (p.67).
Rather than provide a critical analysis of the book, I prefer to simply share some of Amorth’s observations drawn from the some 30,000 [ritual] exorcisms he says he has performed.
“There are no good spirits other than angels. There are no evil spirits other than demons.”
(p.30).
“I have to laugh when some modern ‘experts’ in theology state, as though it were a great novelty, that certain types of mental illnesses can be confused with diabolical possession. Some psychiatrists …make the same statements, thinking that they have invented the wheel! If they were more knowledgeable, they would know that the first experts to caution about making this diagnostic mistake have been the ecclesiastic authorities themselves. Since 1583, when it appeared among the decrees of the synod of Reims, the Church gave warning about the danger of mistaking mental illness for diabolical possession. But in those days, the science of psychiatry had not been born yet, and theologians believed in the Gospel.” (p 47).
“Where religion regresses, superstition progresses. We can see it in the proliferation, especially among the young, of spiritism, witchcraft, and the occult. . . . When I was invited to speak at a few high schools, I was able to personally verify how great us the influence of these tools of Satan on the young. It is unbelievable how widespread are witchcraft and spiritism, in all their forms, in middle and high schools. This evil is everywhere, even in small towns. I must point out that too many churchmen are totally disinterested in these problems, and so they leave the faithful defenseless.” (p,54)
“Every form of magic is practiced with recourse to Satan.” (p.60)
“In general, a demon does everything he can not to be discovered. He does not like to talk, and does everything he can to discourage both the exorcist and the possessed. Experience has taught me that this behavior follows four steps: prior to discovery, during exorcisms, at the beginning of liberation, and after liberation.” [Here Amorth lists various signs.]
“1. Prior to discovery. Demonic possession causes physical and mental disturbances. Therefore the possessed is usually under a doctor’s care, and nobody suspects the true nature of the problem.
.”2. During exorcisms. At first the demon tries to remain silent, or at least hide the seriousness of his possession. . . . [In a lengthy passage Fr. Amorth discusses various ways the demon may express himself..]
“3. At the beginning of liberation. [Again, a lengthy discussion.]
“4. After liberation. “It is important not to decrease prayer . . . .” (pp 91-99)
“One of the most effective tools against evil influences is one of the Gospel’s hardest precepts: forgive your enemies.” (p. 113)
“I have been told by many that many of my writings are argumentative toward certain theologians, bishops, and exorcists. It is not a matter of being argumentative, but of bringing the truth to light. This crisis is not only theological, it is pastoral above all. Today the devil is tormenting people, and when they look for an exorcist.[they can find none]..”
I doubt if many of you will want to purchase this book. There are others that are better guides. But Fr. Amorth remains a voice urging the Catholic church as well as all Christians to take demonism seriously today.
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November 16, 2009
Its hard for people to accept the notion that one day they’ll simply cease to be. Our sense of self is just too strong. As we age, our awareness of an essential “me” remains stable and strong. Nearing 80, with the various aches and ills appropriate to my age, I’m aware that I’m the essentially same person I was at 20, or 30, or 50. At whatever age I’ve been I’ve remained “me,” a unique individual.
That’s a common experience for each of us. However our lives and circumstances may change, one thing that remains consistent is this awareness that I’m “me,” and no one else.
That’s why it’s so hard to believe that one day there may be no “:me.” Somehow we feel intuitively that the person I am can’t just . . . end. The writer of the Bible’s book of Ecclesiastes put it like this: “He has set eternity in the hearts of men. . . “ (3:11). Somehow God planted in us the conviction that biological death can’t be the end. That the essential “me” must somehow go on and on . . . forever.
That “somehow,” of course, raises the question of “how.” How do we “go on.”
The Greeks and Romans pictured a drab afterlife in which “shades,’ pale replicas of flesh and blood individuals, wandered endlessly over a colorless landscape until they ultimately forgot who they had been. Eastern religions postulate a wheel of existence, in which persons are born and reborn again and again until they finally escape into Nirvana, where they are at last able to forget themselves and merge with nothingness. Modern neo-paganism has embraced the idea of reincarnation without the eastern faiths’ sense of the burden of nearly endless cycles of earthly existence. In fact, to many moderns, the idea that we’ve each had “past lives” and that after we die future lives lie ahead, seems an almost ideal solution. It’s intriguing to wonder who we once were, and who we may be again.
Except for one thing.
Reincarnation doesn’t really help. Whoever “I” once was in the past, that “I” wasn’t “me.” And whoever “I” become in the future won’t be “me” either.
Whatever the thing is that persists across incarnations, that thing isn’t a person. A person is a unique, self-aware individual: a being who remains essentially the same at 20, and 30, and 50. A person has an innate awareness that he or she will continue to be the same person . . . forever.
This is something reincarnation doesn’t offer. Reincarnation offers only a blank slate on which an endless series of “me’s” are written, only to be wiped away at death and a new “me” begun.
Oh, proponents of reincarnation point to stories of people who under hypnosis
”remember” things about their past lives. But those supposed memories are strangers, not a living part of who “I” am today. Such so-called proofs of reincarnation actually point out the futility of hoping to find eternity in an imagined rebirth. A “rebirth” that at best introduces another and different person into the world, and just as clearly asserts that the individual I am now will disappear, at best to be wisps of lost memories buried in the personality of a totally different “I.”
No, the problem is that for the innate sense of our eternity to be meaningful, each of us has to continue to be the real “me.” I must be “me” at 20, at 30, at 50, and I must be still be “me” a thousand years or ten thousand years after my body dies.
According to the Bible, this – not a meaningless cycle of incarnations – is what will happen. My body will die. But “I” will continue. Each individual human is so greatly valued by our Creator that each individual will live on. Forever. And forever, each one of us will be fully self-aware. I will be “me,” and no one else. And you will always be you.
According to the Bible there’s an upside to this reality, and a downside. Both are reflected in a verse in the New Testament book of Hebrews. There the writer says, “It is given unto men to die once, and after this the judgment” (9:27).
That idea of judgment, like the idea that somehow life can’t end with biological death, is rooted deeply in human nature. We’re blessed and burdened with a sense of morality: with the belief that “right” and “wrong” exist, and that right merits reward while wrong merits punishment.
Some argue from our moral nature that reincarnation makes moral sense. In the next life we’ll be called on to pay the unpaid debt of present sins, and rewarded then for any unrewarded deeds of goodness. But this doesn’t resolve the moral question at all. The “me” who is supposedly punished for what I do in this life will, as we’ve seen, be some other “me!” And the person who is supposedly rewarded for my good deeds won’t be “me” at all, but that other person imprinted when “I” was wiped off the slate we shared.
No, if this is a moral universe, and right and wrong are dealt with equitably, I need to pay for my own sins, and I need to reap the rewards of my own goodness.
And at this point, the Bible makes a radical departure. For according to the Bible, all humans fall short of the true goodness that God expects and requires. And this left God with a serious moral problem.
You see, you are so significant in God’s sight that he can’t simply wipe you out as though you never existed. But he also can’t simply overlook your sins and failures.
One way to deal with the moral problem would be to simply say, “Too bad,” and punish you eternally. The trouble with that is that God loves you, and the idea of punishing you eternally hurts him too much for him to simply write you off.
God’s solution was unique, creative, and very painful. The Bible captures it in a single verse in John’s Gospel. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
God, in the person of Jesus Christ, came into our world as a human being, and died on a cross. In that death Jesus took on himself the punishment due you and me, so that God could promise an eternity of blessedness to those who trust in him.
That solution was unique. It was creative. And it was painful. God said, “I’ll take your punishment. And I’ll give you heaven.”
Why?
Because you . . . that unique ‘you’ that you alone are . . . is important to God.
Oh yes. Down deep you know that the person you are can’t just cease to exist. God has planted a sense of eternity in your heart. The person you are is destined to exist forever.
And God has done everything necessary to ensure that you – the real “you” – spend that eternity with him.
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November 16, 2009
Each Gospel contains at least one saying by Jesus concerning demons. In this series we look at these comments to see what we can discover.
Demons as Seed Snatchers
Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. (Mark 4:15)
The Parable
Parables were popular teaching tools of first century Jewish rabbis. Christ also used parables to illuminate his teaching. He also used parables to obscure his teaching, later explaining the meaning to his disciples. One of the most familiar of Christ’s obscuring parables is that of the farmer who goes into the field to sow seed. In Mark’s Gospel Jesus focus is on the seed, which he later tells his disciples is the Word of God. (In a similar parable in Matthew’s Gospel, the focus is on the ground on which the seed falls.) In the Mark account the question is, What happens to the seed, and why?
Observations
1. Here “the word” is pictured as seed. The first century farmer sowed a field by “broadcasting” the seed. That is, he took a handful and with a sweeping motion tossed it on the ground, rather than planting it in rows. A skillful farmer could distribute seed evenly in this way. But he could not control exactly where each grain of wheat or barley fell. The goal was to get the widest as well as most even distribution of the seed possible.
2. In Mark 4:15 Satan is described as “taking away” the seed that is sown. In the general telling of the parable, Jesus pictures birds snatching up the seed as it lands on a trodden-down path.
Discussion
Jesus does not explain how Satan takes away the word. But the imagery is fascinating. Birds gather when the farmer goes out to sow, eagerly awaiting the seed to be scattered so they can dart in and snatch it away.
The implication is that whenever the word is sown evil gathers to counter God’s purposes. Satan’s demons crouch nearby, ready to intervene almost before the good news is heard.
I’m more than a little unwilling to speculate here. One certainly could come up with some speculative interpretation based on analogy. But the text hardly warrants this, nor is Jesus telling the parable with any particular focus on demons. His point simply is that there are reasons why we human’s fail to respond to a word which could, if we responded, provide a fantastic harvest. But clearly Satan’s activity is among the reasons for our unresponsiveness to God’s Word,, along with pressure from others [“persecution”] and our unremitting focus on the cares of this life.
Certainly this element of the parable reminds us to pray that God will block Satan’s efforts as we share his word, and well as pray that he will open hearts to hear what the Lord has to say.
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November 2, 2009
Each Gospel contains at least one comment by Jesus concerning demons. In this series we look at these comments to see what we can discover.
Jesus on Demon’s Return
When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, `I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven more spirits more wicked than itself. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.” (Luke 11:24-26).
Observations
1. Jesus is describing a situation where an evil spirit [a demon] has been “in” an individual. This is clear from the statement, “when an evil spirit comes out of” a person. There is no indication here of how the evil spirit gained entry, the extent of its foothold in the individual’s life, or the impact of the demon’s presence on the person’s experience. Likewise, there’s no indication of what caused the demon to leave. We’re simply told that the evil spirit has been “in,” and that it then “comes out” of a person
.
2. We can reasonably assume however that the evil spirit was driven from the individual. Our reasoning is that without its connection to the human it was “in,” the evil spirit is ill at ease, constantly moving, searching for “rest.” Further evidence that demons find connection to a living creature desirable is found in the story of the demoniac of Gadara. When Jesus drove out Legion (Matthew eight) the demons investing the man begged to be allowed to enter the pigs in a nearby herd.
We have no idea why this connection to a living creature is something demons desire. But clearly they derive a benefit from the attachment that seems to meet a felt need, beyond their native desire to harm those whom God loves. Fascinatingly, Jesus speaks of the demon’s host as its “house,” suggesting that demons somehow feel “at home” when they have entered a human being.
3. Jesus pictures the demon as finding no “rest” in its natural state as a spirit. So it determines to return to its original “house.” Apparently its [forced] departure was no guarantee of immunity for its victim to future demonization.
4. Jesus describes the state of the host as “swept clean and put in order.” In other words, the “house” is empty and ready for occupation. Getting rid of demons is an essential part of a deliverance ministry. But it is only a part of such ministry. The place once occupied by demons must be filled lest demons return.
5. Jesus warns that an empty, once demon-occupied house, is especially vulnerable. The demon who once occupied it understands all those weaknesses that it used initially to gain entry. It’s no great challenge to enter again. And, Jesus warns, this time it may bring along “seven spirits more wicked than itself.” The result is that the “final condition of that man is worst than the first.”
Insight
One of A&E network’s shows in its Paranormal States series was titled “My Name is Six.” It recorded an exorcism in Great Britain in which a priest cast a demon out of a young woman. During the exorcism the demon identified itself as “six.” In my opinion, he filming captured an authentic exorcism. But two weeks later the young woman was in a mental hospital, in worse condition than before the exorcism. The program featuring the “relapse” is titled “The Return of Six.” There was no indication in either program that the young woman or her family were believers. Again in my opinion, the young woman’s experience demonstrates what Jesus is describing in these brief verses in Luke 11.
Conclusions
Effective deliverance ministry must involve evangelism, follow-up teaching, and continuing prayer support. Areas in the individual’s life that provided the initial access points for evil spirits require healing, distorting ideas need to be corrected with revealed Truth. If we neglect making provision for follow-up ministry we may leave the individual from whom demons have been expelled vulnerable, and more destructive demons may find their way into his or her life.
The first step in filling the empty house is, of course, making sure that the individual has trusted Jesus as Savior. Beyond that new [or “old”] believers needs to be grounded in truths that provide protection from Satan’s many strategies designed to deceive and defeat [the great contribution of the Book of Ephesians]. And the new [or “old”] believer needs to be connected with brothers and sisters who will provide continuing emotional and prayer support.
Again I refer you to Charles Kraft’s outstanding books, Deliverance from Dark Angels and Deep Wounds, Deep Healing. The provide the most balanced teaching on deliverance ministries available today.
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November 2, 2009
It’s that time of year again, and as we might expect, the media carry plenty of articles on Samhain, witches, and Wicca this time of year. There are in fact too many of them to include in this Ten Day Report. What I have included is a fair sample of the features which in general provide a favorable portrait of neo-pagan religions. They certainly reflect the growing interest in and acceptability of neo-pagan and occult religions in the United States and the West.
Tarot Reading Convinces Skeptic
On October 29th the St Petersburg (FL) Times featured an article on a shop in Tampa called Magical Happenings. It seems a “psychic witch” sat down next to Kelley Sattley in a mall. Kelley was feeling depressed, but the witch told her everything would be all right and told her to go to Magical Happenings. Kelley and her 10-year-old daughter followed the advice. According to the Times article, on entering the shop Kelley “immediately felt more peaceful.” After a Tarot reading from the owner of Magical Happenings, Kelley was convinced. Now she comes regularly for “meditation sessions, tarot readings, or just to talk.” Visiting the shop for just three months has “turned her life around,” giving her a new attitude and enabling her to loose 57 pounds. The owner of the shop is quoted in the article as affirming, “Wicca is a religion. Being a witch is a way of life.” According to Kelley going to Magical Happenings has “helped her feel the presence of God in her own life.” Naturally, the article provided the address of Magical Happenings for interested readers.
Black Hat Society
The Pittsburg Post-Gazette ran a feature on the local Black Hat Society, a group that offers support and friendship to local witches, pagans and neopagans who aren’t members of an organized coven. The Pittsburg group is affiliated with the Pennsylvania Black Hat Society Network. Like the Red Hat Society, the group is a “social thing,” for those who follow Wiccan, Shamanistic, Druid, Celtic, Norse, eclectic and other pagan paths.
Arts Council Presents Halloween as Samhain
The Staten Island (NY) Council on the Arts and Humanities is hosting an in-depth presentation of Halloween as Samhain, the witch’s New Year holy day. The presentation will begin at 7 PM with a candle-lit procession, a 30 minute presentation by the proprietor of Practical Magick, a New Age shop, followed by an “authentic ritual.” As coven members form an inner circle, non-members will be able to participate by watching from outside the inner circle.
No “Devil-Worshipper” On My Team?
In Hartford, Conn., Gina Uberti claims she was fired from Bath and Body Works, where she has been employed for 8 years, for traveling to Salem, Mass, to celebrate Wiccan New Year. A new manager stated Uberti’s plan to take off October 31st to celebrate a “religious holiday” was “ridiculous” and fired her because “I’ll be damned if I’ll have a devil-worshipper on my team.” Uberti has challenged the firing in Federal Court as a case of religious discrimination.
Students Hard At Work
The Pagan Students Union at the University of Maryland are apparently hard at work seeking to “dispel myths” about pagan religion. A panel on witchcraft debunked the idea that wiccans offer animal sacrifices, but did confirm that pagans do curse people. But, insisted PSU president Casey Mason=Foley, “It takes a lot to get a pagan to curse somebody.”
Fresno Bee Features Wiccans
Noting that this is a busy time of year for neo-pagans, the newspaper ran an article on October 23 featuring various neo-pagan groups in Fresno County. Groups mentioned included Asatru, Golden Dawn, Druid and Chaos Magicians, and of course the oldest Wiccan coven in Fresno Country, which meets at the Temple of St Brigid’s Moon. Among the activities reported is a Spirit Fusion Festival on a Sunday where neo-pagans will gather “to get the word out bout their beliefs and others.” Apparently there’s a strong neo-pagan presence in the valley, as Penny Verin-Shapero, who teaches an anthropology of religion course at Fresno State University, is planning to write a book about it.
Welcome to Wicca
In an article in an October 26th publication of the Irvine, California, New University, Traci Goring Lee tells of her childhood fascination with witchcraft, stimulated by the TV program Sabrina, the Teen Age Witch. Later the publication of the Harry Potter books opened “a new world of witchcraft and wizardry.” She “began to look for more books and more TV shows and films that had elements of magic to them,” a search that led directly to her present fascination with Wicca and neo-pagan belief. [I found this article fascinating, as the writer traced her own spiritual journey down a path marked out by a media that today features some 66 TV series focusing on the occult!]
Tolerance Theme of U Georgia Pagan Festival
“We want people to understand diversity,” explained Locele Foley of the Pagan Pride Festival held at the University of Georgia October 23rd . “One of the things that brings Pagan people together is tolerance.” Among the vendors present for the festival, where pagan beliefs were explained, were makers of Native American items and Jerry Miller, who uses crystal to communicate with “unseen forces” and makes his living as a spiritual consultant.
British Bakery invites Witches to Bless the Cake
The opening of a new Greggs Bakery in Openshaw (UK) invited three witches from Stockport’s Crystal Pentacle Coven to “cast a blessing” on the baking of it’s Halloween treats. The three witches—known as Amethyst, Amber and Aquamarine—were delighted to comply. According to Amethyst, “the blessing we use brings protection and prosperity during an important and ancient British festival and it’s great to think we’re passing on some positivity to Greggs’ customers and at the same time dispelling some of the myths and stereotypes that surround our craft.” A spokesman for the bakery stated that it is “reverting to Britain’s Pagan roots” and “hoping we can pass a little bit of good luck to our customers.”
Utah Community Education Offers “Spooky Classes”
On October 19th the Deseret News reported that the Granite School District is offering several classes “on the supernatural, spirit seeking and witchcraft.” Beside a paranormal “Ghostbusters” class, the district offers a “Sixth Sense” psychic class on how to “open channels” taught by Laurel Lowe, a “psychic medium and spiritual counselor.” Another class taught by a woman who been a practicing witch for 20 years is on “Paganism, witchcraft, and Wicca.” While the offerings have “raised a few eyebrows,” the district defended the offerings, arguing that many people want to learn about these things, and stating that it wouldn’t be allowed if it had an “evangelical type approach to it rather than being informational.”
CU Student Launches Pagan Student Alliance
The Colorado daily reported on October 19th that when college junior transfer student Emma Lee realized that the state’s flagship college didn’t have a pagan student group she was “shocked and appalled that here in Boulder we didn’t have one.” So the 27-year-old student started the club, which meets Monday’s at the University Memorial Center for “everyone from Wiccans to Satanists to atheists.” Lee also founded a Pagan Student Alliance at Mesa State University three years ago.
Australian Christians Gather to Cancel Curse
About 50 Christians met the weekend of October 19th on a mountain in Canberra, Australia, to cancel a curse they believed several covens of witches had placed on the federal government. The Christian believed that the witches had cast spells on legislators so they would adopt more liberal laws on gays. The crowd of about 200 watching the exorcism was about 1/3rd gay, 1/3rd Wiccan and other neo-pagans and, according to the news report in the National Times, “1/3rd confused onlookers.”