-------Death By Exorcism--------

I've never heard a child say, "I want to be an exorcist" when asked by an adult what they wanted to be when they grew up. The act of exorcism belongs in the world of fairy tales and mythology to some and to others it is very real and very dangerous.

What is exorcism? Basically, it is the act of making a demon leave the body of a human being. This is done through ritual and prayer. Jesus cast out demons and so did His disciples. Some demonic spirits were more powerful than others because even the disciples were not successful in every attempt to cast out a demon.

There are many illnesses that used to be ascribed to demonic possession but now can be treated with medicine which can cause confusion as to whether an attempt to exorcise a demon should be attempted or not. There are some spiritual truths that need to be acknowledged.

Everyone who lives on planet earth are sinners and thus belong to Satan to begin with. Satan is our spiritual father until we accept Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He made on the cross that cleanses us of our sin. When we place our faith in Christ, we are taken from the family of darkness and placed into the family of light. We are adopted children. Satan has a legal right to possess everyone who has not turned to God. However, Satan can do no harm to us without God's permission. This means that all sinners who have not yet had to pay the price for their sins are under God's grace whether they have accepted Christ or not. If they live out their lives and never turn to God (specifically through the Cross) then they die in their sins and are given over to Satan body, spirit, and soul. Satan has a legal right to the body of everyone because it is flesh and blood. Flesh and blood remains under the curse of sin.

When you have accepted Christ as Lord, then God gives you the Comforter or the Holy Spirit which indwells your body from that point on. A demon can influence a Christian but never possess one. The Holy Spirit is stronger than he who is in the world. However, not all people who call themselves Christians really are. They still belong to Satan. There has to be an inward change which comes only by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and this will not happen until a person invites Him in through confessed faith in the atoning work of the Cross.

Satan is responsible for all sickness. It is sin which caused sickness and death. Hospitals, morgues, and prisons are constant reminders of the presence of sin. We all get sick and we all die. Hospitals can treat the sickness but they cannot cure the cause only Christ can. Everyone who recovers from one illness or malady dies from another one later on.

Exorcism under the guise of religion can do great evil and harm. Religion is responsible for some of the greatest acts of violence and hatred recorded. The 19 young men who hijacked those jets and crashed them into the World Trade Center were performing a religious duty. History has a bloody record of religious wars. It is very sad to see atrocities done in the name of Christianity because Christ said to put the needs of others before yourself.

Why does the Catholic Church believe that only their trained priests are qualified to be exorcists? It is simply because they believe there is no salvation outside of the Catholic Church (it is in the Catechism but they claim it is a misunderstanding of the text) therefore only Catholics have the authority to cast out demons. I wonder what Jesus thinks about this?

On the other extreme side of this issue are people who take it upon themselves to cast out demons believing everyone has a demon. People like Bob Larson make a living out of exorcisms. Then are those who do evil when they believe they are doing a service for God. The only thing that Jesus commanded His servants to do was go out into all the world and preach the Gospel or Good News. What is this gospel? We are simply to tell others that Jesus paid the price for our sins so we wouldn't have to and have eternal life given to us by accepting that gift.

Some bizarre deaths have occurred because of exorcisms. An autistic boy who was wrapped in sheets died during an exorcism because his chest was so restricted he could not exhale. Source: The Age.Com

A Korean woman living in California was beaten to death during an exorcism. She was only 25 years old and was struck over a hundred times and had over 10 broken ribs. The beaters were women. Source: www.watchman.org

The movie The Exorcism of Emily Rose was about the exorcism of a girl who had been diagnosed with grand mal epilepsy, a condition which causes severe seizures. The exorcism failed and the girl died of starvation.

Go to Google and do a search on "death by exorcism" and you will find all kinds of horror stories. Evil acts done in the name of God.

You will find all kinds of people attempting to exorcise evil spirits from people. This is akin to the blind leading the blind. Who is qualified to cast out a demon? Anyone who has the Holy Spirit dwelling within them. After all, it is the Holy Spirit that does the work not the person.

Copyright 2006 by Gary Goodworth