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Medieval superstition: Marching back into the dark ages, Pope Francis has given his formal approval to the barbaric and ignorant practice of exorcism.
The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano reported Tuesday that the Vatican has formally recognized the International Association of Exorcists, a group of 250 priests in 30 countries who supposedly liberate the faithful from demons.
Location: In a little house on the prairie - literally
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Don't laugh. I was married to a Seventh Day Adventist who was learning from her pastor to do exorcisms on homeless people because it was the devil that made them alcoholics or drug addicts.
Why was I married to a SDA? She had left the church when I met her, but went back a year into our marriage. It lasted another year after that, but I could not put up with that crap.
When her friends came over, although they were nice people, it was really woo woo land.
I checked for spoof, but this is apparently for real.
Reports of his acepting that all religions were valid and even atheists would get into heaven was a spoof but this is for real.
Pope Francis, originally touted as a Fresh forward looking view in the Vatican is just more of the same tendency to revert to medieval superstition.
Well, let's look at it positively. How many wabbling catholics will shake their heads and say 'That's it. I can no longer buy into this garbage'.
Don't laugh. I was married to a Seventh Day Adventist who was learning from her pastor to do exorcisms on homeless people because it was the devil that made them alcoholics or drug addicts.
Why was I married to a SDA? She had left the church when I met her, but went back a year into our marriage. It lasted another year after that, but I could not put up with that crap.
When her friends came over, although they were nice people, it was really woo woo land.
And yet they allow people like that to vote.
To me it would be a drag to be SDA. YOU can't do anything on Friday nights and Saturdays, and then everybody else in the world is taking off Sundays. Kind of ruins the whole weekend.
But to keep from sidetracking the thread. I wonder if an SDA can perform an exorcism on the sabbath or is that considered "work."
The Gospels report many instances of demonic possession. Exorcism was probably practice regularly during the middle ages. Today there seem to b no instances of demonic possession, but we do have schizophrenia!
And we have the means of treating schizophrenia, so the voices are quieted and the demons no longer exist. (Well, except on Coast to Coast)
It is long past time for Christians to rethink their medieval doctrines, and maybe move into a more modern understanding of God and the universe.
If you have the time, ask a priest what they think about exorcism. Their answer may surprise you, as the majority of them see it as superstitious rubbish as well. For many of them, and the people they help, it is the ritual that is important. The very same reason ritual has always been important to people.
I imagine the same goes for many exorcists around the world. If you observe such rituals (and I'm not limiting it to Christian exorcism alone), you might see it as a form of "sugar pill" for some, and a strange form of psychiatric help for others, and even a communal act that brings many people together to give someone their support through ritual. Such strange medicine has been shown to work at times, but not for major illnesses that the superstitious attribute to demons, of course.
If the priests that I have known received their training from the organization Seeker mentioned, then I would be interested if anyone here knows whether they take it seriously or not. I have fallen out of touch with the priests I knew, so I cannot ask them.
If an afflicted person has a psychosomatic disorder, it's possible an exorcism can 'drive the devil out of them'.
Just an extreme and overly dramatic kind of psychotherapy, so to speak.
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