My First Exorcism

What the Devil Taught a Lutheran Pastor about Counter-cultural Spirituality

Ristau

• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9781498225724
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

What the scientific community dismisses as a mental disorder, Christians have often labeled "demon possession." While classifications may offer limited help in explanation, the Reverend Dr. Harold Ristau explores the nature and meaning of demonic activity by drawing from his own experiences with exorcism. Ristau shares life lessons, spiritual applications, and religious wisdom from his personal encounters with the dark realm. Primarily intended for clergy, his reflections offer a springboard intended to stimulate critical thinking, challenge metaphysical presuppositions, and inspire a belated conversation on a topic that has traditionally been avoided, not because of a lack of empirical evidence, but due to the fear that it incites inside of us. Yet if the claims of the historic Church are true--that demons do in fact exist and seek our destruction--then an honest examination of the phenomenon, and its impact on the ways in which we live and reason, is an essential endeavor for any practitioner of the ministry of deliverance.

Who’s Afraid of the Steppenwolf?

And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. (Mark 5:15)

And that was how my first exorcism ended. Arguably, it is a bit anti-climactic. A noticeable relaxation replaced the formerly tense spiritual environment. Debby stumbled to the toilet and started vomiting uncontrollably. In our later episodes together, I noted that whenever a demon was released, she would repeat this behaviour in the bathroom, even if they were only dry heaves. It seemed to indicate that the demons had fled, or had been transferred—maybe in the absence of a pig farm the drainpipe to a sewage treatment plant did the trick. Since then, I have learned that vomiting frequently follows an exorcism. In fact, in cases where witchcraft is the cause, items such as glass, nails, knotted strings, rolled wires, and even small wooden dolls are vomited out, even when these objects were not necessarily swallowed previously. Although the notion of teleportation may have its origins in the sphere of science fiction and Star Trek, the idea may not be as far-fetched as it first sounds. St. Paul knew a man who “was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter” (2 Cor 12:3–4). Incidentally, this passage is written within the context of spiritual and demonic warfare. In any case, exorcists are advised to burn all such cursed objects that have been extracted from a demoniac, while praying over them—never touching them—and scattering the ashes over running water.47 Although I myself would not advocate it, the consumption of holy water is also, allegedly, a great help in patient recovery.48

The intricate union between the body and soul is undeniable. It is typified in such physical repercussions of spiritual battle—how spiritual phenomena impact physical elements. The Apocryphal book of Ecclesiasticus observes how wickedness has the potential to change one’s physical appearance (Sir 25:17). Positively speaking, God has always remained tangibly present with His people: from the Ark of the Covenant in the days of old, to His means of grace today. Negatively, evil also boasts its tangible manifestations. In one recorded case of demon possession in 1928, the demoniac clung to the wall like a spider, while the nuns had difficulty bringing her back to the mattress.49 The poor Iowa girl was cursed by her despicable and unchaste father who offered her to the devil after she refused to commit incest with him. She, as well, vomited buckets of strange substances daily, even though she had barely eaten anything during the twenty-three day exorcism.50 In addition, some stomach fluids were habitually spat from the girl whose body had become so discoloured and disfigured through unusual bloating that its regular contours were unrecognizable. The peculiar fluctuation of the bodily weight even resulted in the permanent bending of the metal bed-frame.51

Other exorcists record the manifestation of burn marks and bruising on the patient, the smell of sulphuric odours, the presence of multiple voices, unusual behaviour from house pets, and a vast unimaginable range of other frightening manifestations.52 Supernatural occurrences accompanying demon possession are not uncommon, which is why the Roman Ritual of 1618 includes the following clues as confirmation of the diagnosis: the ability to communicate with some facility in a strange or foreign tongue (such as Latin); the faculty to divulge future and hidden events; and the capacity to display powers that are beyond the subject’s age and natural condition.53 Seventeenth-century Lutheran theologian Johannes Andreas Quenstedt also listed monstrosity in gestures, obscenity in speech, clairvoyance, self-hatred, and the capability to voice exact reproductions of animal noises without the disposition of the required organs.54 If there is indeed a connection between physical health and spirituality, it ought to come of no surprise that at the Lord’s casting out of demons the mute speak and the deaf hear (Matt 9:32–33). The association is clear in collects of the Church such as the following:

Lord Jesus, Holy One of God, You showed that the kingdom of God had come by Your healing the sick and casting out demons. Heal us in both body and soul by the medicine of Your body and blood that we may truly be your disciples. Amen.55

Demon possession is a compelling argument against Gnostic beliefs in the bifurcation of body and soul. Our neo-Gnostic world today is buttressed by such philosophically-driven demarcations. Most people live as if the body and soul have nothing in common with one another. In contrast, the Hebrew definition of man or ish is something like “embodied soul.” Yet one often hears from well-meaning Christians that the body is simply a cage for the soul, denying any real sacred union between the two. Accordingly, many Christians have difficulty believing in the efficaciousness of the sacraments. How can natural water, bread and wine distribute spiritual goods? The popularity of Eastern spirituality, mysticism and meditation represent efforts at escaping the physical world.

We can, however, learn a few things from other religions. The attention that Muslims give to posture in prayer is one of them. Prayer is not treated simply an intellectual exercise, but a whole body-soul experience. In C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters, the fictional demon, Screwtape, indicates to his colleague, Wormwood, that humans, who have forgotten their creaturely status,

can be persuaded that the bodily position makes no difference to their prayers; for they constantly forget, what you must always remember, that they are animals and that whatever their bodies do affects their souls.56

Muslims bow, kneel and prostrate themselves in accordance with the ancient Judeo-Christian way. Very few Christians still kneel when they pray. We isolate our minds from external acts of piety. By keeping their Koran high off of the floor, it would seem as if Muslims respect the written word more than we do. We prefer to dismiss their reverence as superstition lest it necessitate that we reassess our own lack of respect. Although God buried Moses (Deut 34:6) neo-Gnostic tendencies explain the rapidly increasing popularity of cremation over burial in Western Christian churches.57 The fact that churches today have, for the most part, incorporated these anti-Christian beliefs into their own worldviews is betrayed by the overwhelming disinterest in discussing the subject and the disparaging attitude by faithful believers who snub the proposition that these practices should still be prone to serious questioning in the twenty-first century. Historical obliviousness amongst laity and clergy alike does not help the cause. Yet burial confesses the sanctity of all created elements. All things are good despite the corruption by sin, evil and death. It confesses a heaven that is both a spiritual and a physical place: a new heaven and a new earth (Rev 21:1). St. Paul presumes these misconceptions in his sermons to the Church in Corinth that had difficulty believing in a physical resurrection due to a docetic belief in a chasm between things spiritual and physical. He describes the sort of new creatures that we will one day become as not bodiless angels, but redeemed and beautified creatures: “For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality” (1 Cor 15:54). The ways that we treat our bodies betray our bias. So too, Christians ought to be less exigent in their questionings of parapsychology and paranormal activities than their unbelieving neighbours. Incidentally, Gnosticism is a distant cousin of rationalism, empiricism and all other offspring of the Enlightenment.

In short, I am convinced that Debby’s vomiting was not simply a natural physical side-effect of a traumatic experience. Furthermore, for me, it functioned as a sign that the exorcism had reached a successful result. I even began to watch for it. For the demons returned, more than once, and all too often. I cannot even recollect the number of visits that I had made to that gloomy apartment in the months that followed. Yet the worst memory is the haunting ease with which my heart filled with compassion when hearing the desperate and seemingly sincere voice of that demon appealing to my compassion. Heartlessly depraved, but frightfully convincing. Positively, I have gained a new perspective on the temptation of Jesus in the desert, as the devil appealed to His sense of compassion as well: “Turn the stones to bread and you can feed the world and solve global hunger; take the kingdom of the earth and you can rule as the most just and fair judge for all time—but whatever you do, do not go to the cross!” St. Peter suggests a similar request of his Lord (Matt 16:22). In both cases Jesus’ love for His father and all humankind compelled Him to respond with “Be gone Satan” and “Get behind me Satan.” Waging war with the prince of this earth remains a cross that Christ’s body continues to drag through the beaten alleys and bloodied streets of the Christian life. If Jesus was susceptible to temptation, His followers will enjoy no exemption. “Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world” (1 Peter 5:9). Yet Christ stands amidst His brothers in every one of their fiery furnaces. And the same weapons harnessed by our Lord to extinguish these blazing darts—the faithful proclamation uttered in the words “It is written”—remain our sword, whilst the Creed, our shield.

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The Christian struggle is occasionally interrupted with moments of jubilation. When I left Debby’s place, I was on an emotional and spiritual “high.” The whole afternoon was an adrenaline rush, I bashfully admit. Like an athlete flaunting a newly gained prize, I felt on top of the world. As seventy-two joyful disciples conveyed to the Lord, “Even the demons are subject to us in your name!” (Luke 10:17), I now shared in that satisfying sensation. Astonished at the majesty of God, I too was utterly amazed at the power of God’s Word in achieving its goals. I had always believed, but now I saw. As doubting Thomas was told, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). Only the weak in faith require a miracle. I am not ashamed to admit that I fall under that category. But still, such a glimpse into His might is an uncommon occurrence; an invitation to place one’s hand into the side of the Lord is not to be shunned. Miracles are gifts, not rewards. Still Jes...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Foreword
• Abbreviations
• Prologue: A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Demonic
• A Midsummer’s Nightmare
• The Art of Exorcising
• Who’s Afraid of the Steppenwolf?
• The Lion, the Witch and the Lord’s Supper
• The World According to der Zeitgeist
• The Purpose Driven Lie
• Le petit prince des ténèbres
• Why I am not not a Christian
• Epilogue: The Death of a Sales Pitch
• Bibliography