{"id":38175,"date":"2018-11-28T06:00:40","date_gmt":"2018-11-28T11:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?p=38175"},"modified":"2018-11-25T19:08:58","modified_gmt":"2018-11-26T00:08:58","slug":"the-growing-need-for-exorcisms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2018\/11\/the-growing-need-for-exorcisms\/","title":{"rendered":"The Growing Need for Exorcisms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Following up with our recent\u00a0post on exorcism<\/a>, The Atlantic\u2013<\/em>which is\u00a0far from being a Christian or culturally conservative magazine\u2013has a fascinating, sympathetic, and rather in depth article on the subject<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The author, Mike Mariani, cites data indicating that about half of Americans believe in demonic possession.\u00a0 And the demand for exorcism is growing.\u00a0 He interviewed the official exorcist for the Catholic archdiocese of Indianapolis who told him that, as of October, in 2018 he has received 1,700 requests for exorcism.<\/p>\n

\n

Mariani interviewed exorcists and alleged victims of demonic possession, including an extensive profile of a woman who manifested the symptoms of possession until the demon was exorcised.\u00a0 He cites numerous case histories and talks to a number of experts, including psychologists, who have officially recognized the affliction but are at a loss to account for it, often referring patients with these symptoms to a religious exorcist.<\/p>\n

Here are some excerpts from this must-read article.\u00a0 From\u00a0Mike Mariani, American Exorcism<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Exorcisms also occur in some Protestant and nondenominational Churches, but the Catholic Church has the most formal, rigorous, and long-standing tradition. The Church sees the influence that demons and their leader, the devil, can have on human beings as existing on a spectrum. Demonic oppression\u2014in which a demon pressures a person to accept evil\u2014lies on one end. Demonic possession\u2014in which one or more demons seize control of a person\u2019s body and speak through that person\u2014lies on the other end. . . .<\/p>\n

If neither the mental-health evaluation nor a subsequent physical exam turns up a standard explanation for the person\u2019s affliction, the priest starts to take the case more seriously. At this point he may begin looking for what the Church considers the classic signs of demonic possession: facility in a language the person has never learned; physical strength beyond his or her age or condition; access to secret knowledge; and a vehement aversion to God and sacred objects, including crucifixes and holy water. . . .<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The article goes on, giving a detailed description of the Catholic rite of exorcism, discussing what exorcists say are the two major \u201cdoorways\u201d for demons (having suffered sexual abuse and interest in the occult), and describing some hair-raising cases.\u00a0 But I\u2019d like to draw your attention to this:<\/div>\n

During periods when the influence of organized religions ebbs, people seek spiritual fulfillment through the occult. \u201cAs people\u2019s participation in orthodox Christianity declines,\u201d said Carlos Eire, a historian at Yale specializing in the early modern period, \u201cthere\u2019s always been a surge in interest in the occult and the demonic.\u201d He said that today we\u2019re seeing a \u201chunger for contact with the supernatural.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam Jortner, an expert on American religious history at Auburn University, agreed. \u201cWhen the influence of the major institutional Churches is curbed,\u201d he said, people \u201cbegin to look for their own answers.\u201d And at the same time that there has been a rebirth in magical thinking, Jortner added, American culture has become steeped in movies, TV shows, and other media about demons and demonic possession.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s increased willingness to believe in the paranormal, then, seems to have begun as a response to secularization before spreading through the culture and landing back on the Church\u2019s doorstep\u2014in the form of people seeking salvation from demons through the Catholic faith\u2019s most mystical ritual.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So when society gets secularized\u2013when \u201cparticipation in orthodox Christianity declines\u201d\u2013demons rush into the void.\u00a0 And when those who are \u201cspiritual but not religious\u201d find those spirits to be malign, they rush back to the church to rescue them.<\/p>\n

That bodes well, I suppose, for the church\u2019s future, though we might steel ourselves for the spiritual warfare.<\/p>\n

By the way, this Atlantic<\/em> article focuses on the Catholic approach to exorcism.\u00a0 Supplement this article with my post The Lutheran Approach to Exorcism,<\/a> which points out that not all cases of demonic affliction are so sensationalistic, and that it isn\u2019t a ritual per se\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0that casts out demons but prayer and the Word of God.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Illustration via Pixabay, CC0, Creative Commons<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Following up with our recent\u00a0post on exorcism, The Atlantic\u2013which is\u00a0far from being a Christian or culturally conservative magazine\u2013has a fascinating, sympathetic, and rather in depth article on the subject. The author, Mike Mariani, cites data indicating that about half of Americans believe in demonic possession.\u00a0 And the demand for exorcism is growing.\u00a0 He interviewed the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":38235,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,11,47],"tags":[2988,3882,7791,1984],"class_list":["post-38175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-apologetics","category-church","category-theology","tag-demonic-possession","tag-exorcism","tag-occult","tag-secularism"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Growing Need for Exorcisms<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The "Atlantic" has an extensive article on demonic possession and the growing demand for exorcisms.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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