Exorcism on the Road

Now, Religion in the News, a report and comment on religious trends and events being covered by the media. This week’s item is from WHSV TV, June 1^st, 2004 with the headline: “Exorcist Visits Valley.”

Did an exorcism take place in Harrisonburg Thursday night? That’s what those who attended a rally believe happened. Bob Larson Ministries was in town as the author held a Spiritual Freedom Rally. A woman came from Boston with her family to hear Larson, who says he did an exorcism on her. Larson said she had been sexually abused as a child and this was the opening for the curse. And the demon that was attached to the curse that was tormenting her, and had tormented all the women in her family for 1500 years, was made to leave by the name of Christ. The Spiritual Freedom Rally was part of a week tour of Virginia for people in need of ministry and to educate them on the facets of spiritual warfare.

Larson said, “I would advise people watching this, not everyone needs an exorcism. But if, like this woman, you’ve been sexually or physically or emotionally abused, you need to talk to a pastor, a priest, a counselor, some therapist, or some friend and start the process of healing.”

Tom: Dave, I think we have to take some issues with Bob Larson. Certainly he’s entitled to do whatever he wants, but I think he has to be challenged biblically. First of all, you know we believe in demon possession; the Bible lays it out clearly. Yet when you put it in the framework that he does, I think you have to ask some big questions.

He’s talking about generational curses here. I mean you have a demon because somebody in your past was sexually abused and this goes down through generation after generation after generation.

Dave: Fifteen hundred years he said. Now how he figured that out I don’t know.

Tom: I have no idea as well.

Dave: Maybe the demon told him.

Tom: Yeah, I remember, I don’t know, maybe it was a couple of years back, seeing his program on TBN in which he was going through the process of deliverance of this individual. Dave, it was as farfetched, in my opinion, it was as farfetched as you could believe. And he was saying, “You could have this tape and you could learn how to do this.” Well, I know the tape was offered for something around $100 or so on. So, you know, you have to think money’s involved in this some how, some way, but even if that’s not the case, certainly he can be challenged biblically.

Dave: Well, let’s take the last part of this Tom. He says, “You need to talk to a pastor, a priest, a counselor, some therapist, or some friend and start the process of healing.” Now that’s pretty ecumenical. That’s rather broadminded. Does it really matter? Does it really matter who’s qualified? Does it matter whether they know the Lord? A pastor or a priest, okay? So, a priest is just as good as a pastor? A counselor….

Tom: Priests do exorcisms. The scripture says the sons of Sceva went about trying to cast out demons. They ran into some trouble, didn’t they? So I guess it can’t just be anybody.

Dave: Six of them said to this demon-possessed person, “In the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches, come out!” And the demon said, “Jesus we know, and Paul we know, but who are you guys?”

So I don’t think it’s quite the thing that you say just a pastor or priest, counselor, some therapist, some friend starts the process of healing. Furthermore, we are not bound by the past. That’s a major problem here, Tom.

Tom: What’s been done in past generations?

Dave: Even in our own lives. You know that’s, of course, psychotherapy. “Oh, you suffered some trauma in your childhood?” They even go back into the womb, you know. Well, the Bible says, “Forgetting those things that are behind, reaching forth unto that which is before. If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away. All things have become new.” Now Tom, I could give you more verses, but I don’t need any more than that to know that there is a basic problem with this whole idea that I’m bound by something that happened to me in the past. This is a delusion and you know how many thousands of women have gotten involved in inner healing so-called. They go back in the past, they visualize Jesus coming along, they get delivered from this traumatic experience—it seems to work out better. And then ahhh, they slip back into—they’ve got problems. Well, there must have been another trauma back there. There must have been something else. And you find yourself involved in an endless fishing expedition to find out, “What other thing happened to me in the past,” let alone in past generations.

Tom: Well Dave, we have examples of a woman among many siblings in her family who said, “This never happened to our sister.” So the memories were implanted by the therapist him or herself.

Dave: That’s another problem Tom. But without even dealing with that, I’m saying a Christian—you have been set free. You have been forgiven. We don’t go back to the past, but we’ve been made a new creation in Christ and we move on from there. And now to fall into the hands of someone, whether it’s Bob Larson or whether it’s a psychotherapist, which he seems to think is okay, or whoever, and you’ve got to go probing into the past. As you said, Tom, memories are very deceitful. They can be implanted. This is why courts of law will no longer take testimony from someone who has been hypnotized, for example, in the area of anything that has to with this court case. We have many cases like that and so many that they said, “No more. We will not allow testimony from someone who has been hypnotized because it is a delusive state.” We don’t go back into the past. We forget the past and we press on to what lies ahead because we have been forgiven by Christ. We’ve been cleansed by the blood of Christ. We’re new creatures. We’re in Christ now! So Christ has come to live his life in the Christian, and I don’t believe that Jesus Christ living in me needs any help from the psychotherapist or any other person. And certainly no demon is going to indwell alongside the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ in my heart.

Tom: Mm-hmm. Dave, this is very similar to what we were talking about in the earlier segment. Now we have a ritual; now we have something to go through, some technique, some laws that we’re going to apply, spiritual laws in spiritual warfare here—that’s going solve the problem. Well, people are attracted to that and it’s just not biblical.

Dave: I think of the hymn, Tom: “When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word, what a glory He sheds on the way, When we do His good will, He abides with us still, and with all who will trust and obey. Trust and obey for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, just trust Him and obey.”