Exorcisms in 2001

Ever since the death of the beloved humanitarian and world-renowned nun, Mother Teresa, church officials have been putting together a case for her sainthood. There are many letters written by her in which she described the futility and the suffering involved in her work as a healer and a comforter.

In fact, there are points during her life when she doubted her faith in God because of the sheer magnitude of hunger, disease and poverty that she was seeing in large parts of the world. In a letter that she wrote during her confessional proceedings, which was uncovered by the Vatican earlier this year, Mother Teresa says, "In my soul, I can't tell you how dark it is, how painful, how terrible - I feel like refusing God."

In the midst of the sainthood proceedings, church officials also came forward to say that an exorcism had been performed on Mother Teresa later in her life when she was in the hospital with a heart condition. In a news story by CNN, the archbishop of Kolkata, the city formerly known as Calcutta, described how her illness had seemed to get worse at night, and that it was their belief that she was possessed by demons. The report from the archbishop says that she would become more senile at night, attempting to pull out her IVs and monitors in the midst of sleep. Church officials believed that she was being possessed by demons at night, rather than it simply being a result of her failing and fragile condition.

Most of the general public's knowledge about the method and history behind exorcisms most likely begins and ends with Linda Blair who starred in William Peter Blatty's 1974 classic horror film. There is, however, an extensive history behind the act of exorcising demons. There is much information dating back to the first century CE, in which Christian scriptures describe human beings are possessed or inhabited by forces of evil and demonic spirits of all kinds. There is much reason to believe that some of these descriptions are the result of a mental or physical illness that was in need of some solid explanation. There was little understanding of these ailments back in the early days (and boy, were those the early days), so that kind of phenomena was explained using the context that the people knew best - religion. There are many passages that refer to Jesus and the Apostles using exorcisms to cure people as well.

The belief in possession by spirits and the act of exorcism is still active to this day. For the most part, it is present in conservative Christian, Roman Catholic, and Protestant religions. Hebrew scriptures contain very few references to demonic possession and there is little to be found on exorcisms as well. Liberal Christians are not into the demonic possession idea anymore, and simply regard it as a historical myth that is a part of the old scripture.

In a document obtained from http://www.religoustolerance.org , there is a complete listing of where references to exorcisms are made in the New Testament. After reviewing this material, it is easy to see where Hollywood gets their spice. There are many cases of demonic possession and exorcisms by Jesus in the Gospels and the Acts. Surprisingly, none of the victims of evil bodily takeover were blamed for the problem (apparently sin did not give demons a segue way to invasion.) That's why Mother Teresa's sainthood was obviously not affected by her being possessed.

Animals can be victims too, and more than one demon can invade at a time. That was probably one obvious explanation for Schitzophrenia. Demons are capable of granting special powers to their hosts, yet they are also the cause of illness and infirmity. There are numerous passages in which the bible describes the evil spirit taking over the powers of speech and strength. Despite the massive struggle the world witnessed in Blatty's flick, the Bible describes exorcisms as a relatively easy procedure. For the most part they were quick and painless, unless you were dealing with a real tough cookie like the devil himself. That particular situation is never described, it just sounded cool.

There is a spiritual basis to what some might call this "exorcism nonsense" and it is compelling to read some of the scripture behind it. In today's world, it may serve as merely a panacea to those who are desperately searching for a cure, yet the level to which people rely upon faith in the healing power of religion is clearly still present in today's society.