There is a new book about exorcism heavily promoted by the National Catholic Register, and shit hits the fan pretty fast:
Quote:The Exorcism Files: True Stories of Demonic Possession by Adam Blai provides a window into that world within a Catholic framework, revealing startling experiences with the demonic.
As an appointed peritus (expert) of religious demonology and exorcism for the Diocese of Pittsburgh, Blai trains exorcists nationally and regularly participates in deliverance ministry. His credentials in the ministry of deliverance and exorcism are anchored in Scripture and theology, with extensive learning under experienced exorcists in the U.S. and Europe.
Blai has also assisted at more than 1,000 exorcisms, seeing firsthand that a possessed person can have secret knowledge, an ability to speak languages he never learned, amazing strength and adverse reactions to anything blessed.
Before getting into the stories, Blai notes that Scripture warns us against divination and other occult practices: “Don’t turn to ghosts or consult spirits by which you will be defiled” (Leviticus 19:31).
Some of those who have ignored God’s commands and opened doors to the other side have become part of Blai’s exorcism files. He starts by detailing the Catholic understanding of devils as fallen angels, and the history of exorcism before the founding of the Church.
There is the story of Matt, who sold his soul for rock ‘n’ roll. The young, disheveled man warned Blai, “Don’t come near me. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Blai asked if he wanted help. “His croaking noise turned into an animalistic growl, and he shuffled in my direction. Snarling and shaking his head side to side, he stammered out, ‘Stay away from me. I can’t control it! Yes, I want help! Help me!’”
A female cousin had introduced him to black magic, and he began touring with a dark metal band. After seven years of that lifestyle, he was broke, possessed and tortured by demonic nightmares.
“Matt’s case was blessedly fast,” Blai explains in the book. He dramatically improved after one exorcism, but a second one was needed when it was discovered that one demon had been hiding. “Matt still calls me once a year or so to let me know he is doing well,” Blai relates.
During his early training, an older exorcist invited Blai to be part of a team for an ongoing exorcism of a possessed woman. The team included the woman’s husband, a psychiatrist nurse, the woman’s primary physician and the exorcist. No holy items could be kept in the house because they would literally disappear. The woman also understood several languages, although she spoke only English.
https://www.ncregister.com/news/the-exor...other-side
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
