Exorcisms

[Rev. Rye]

I should point out that IRL, the Vatican has strict guidelines that “the person who claims to be possessed must be evaluated by doctors to rule out a mental or physical illness.” So, if you watched The Exorcist (and the director of that film also directed The Devil and Father Amorth), that's why it took so fucking long to get to the exorcism. Hell, I had a little fun with it in a semi-autobiographical story, and the one fictional interlude had me, after trying and failing to figure out how to control a case of severe heartburn that would not abate for several months, ask for an exorcism.

-Father, I think I may need an exorcism.
-My Son, there are procedures that need to be followed. We have to be sure it's not something a psychologist can take care of.
-I've been to the doctor. I've been to several doctors, in fact, and they can't figure it out. Padre, as far as they're concerned, this is heartburn with no beginning and no end.
-Heartburn? Is that all? I don't think demons are going to give you heartburn.
-Not demons. My mother.
-Your mother?
-I think I may be possessed by the ghost of my dead mother.
-My son, I don't think human spirits can possess other people. That's just not our doctrine.
-I've eliminated all other possibilities.
-Why do you think it's your mother possessing you?
-A few months ago, we were scattering my mother's ashes and I... took some of it and snorted it like cocaine.
After an inordinate pause, the priest finally responds.
-My Son, why would you do such a thing?
-Is that a sin, or...
-At this point, the right and wrong isn't in question. What I want to know is why someone would do such a thing. I've been hearing confessions for 36 years and I've never heard of anyone doing that.
-Oh, it was just a little experiment.
-But, how did the idea even enter your mind?
-I heard Keith Richards did it, and I decided to give it a shot.
-Look, my son, I cannot authorise an exorcism and no amount of conversation will change that. And are you even a parishioner?
-No. I'm not even Catholic.
-You look Jewish to me.
-Why does everyone say that? I was raised Lutheran.
-It could be the beard, and the whole Fiddler on the Roof vibe you give. Look, just go. I have other things to do and I hope you fix your heartburn.
And as I leave the room, he'll likely whisper something like “fucking lunatic.”

(Fun fact: when writing this conversation, I had the priest from Notre Dame who convinced me to become a writer in mind. And this is the only fictional part of the story, I should point out.)

That said, this is one of those rules that's not really enforced the way it should be. I can't really have any answers about this particular case, but if the exorcism in this film actually did follow that guideline, and the doctors could do nothing about it, I suppose it's like going to a naturopath when you're sick and the doctors aren't helping you. Then again, it can't be guaranteed that they did.

Anyway, here's another humorous take on "real-life" exorcism:




I would love to see a mockumentary about a couple going through exorcisms like this, this woman going through periods where she's shouting obscenities in a strange voice, creating telekinetic storms where all the shit around her room starts spinning around, and maybe vomiting pea soup (or maybe Ecto-cooler), and her husband just acting like it's totally normal, and making an appointment for an exorcist (who may or may not be fucking her) like he's scheduling a checkup with an obstetrician.

[Fake Messiah]

I should point out that IRL, the Vatican has strict guidelines that “the person who claims to be possessed must be evaluated by doctors to rule out a mental or physical illness.” So, if you watched The Exorcist (and the director of that film also directed The Devil and Father Amorth), that's why it took so fucking long to get to the exorcism.

Ha, ha, not really. If you followed the news here you'd see by now that they move quicker than that. But they do want to create that kind of impression because that's the old gimmick that these kind of frauds come with, like "Only 5% of UFO sightings are legitimate" and "90% of crop circles are made by humans".

Even this popular Muslim jinn exorcist claims that only 4% of people claiming to be possessed by jinns are actually possessed by jinns, like there's some sophisticated process behind all of it

[Rev. Rye]

I did say that they didn't enforce that rule as well as they should.

That said, this is one of those rules that's not really enforced the way it should be.

[Mister Agenda]

I could see it sometimes having some kind of placebo effect or possibly providing some beneficial catharsis, but many methods of exorcism are outright dangerous to the afflicted and I don't see how any benefits could be long-lasting if the subject is really mentally ill.

Dangerous how? As in medical neglect?

I had more in mind the potential psychological trauma of an intense exorcism, not to mention physical traumas of certain exorcism rituals, which may involve beatings or other physical distress with the aim of making the demon want to leave that body. I recall a recent case where a man drowned his son attempting to perform a home exorcism, which some evangelical protestant sects practice (the home exorcisms, not the drownings).

[WinterHold]

Untreated -or even treated to some degree- mental condition.

For example, I have Multiple Sclerosis, when the temperature become hot and my brain overheats, my symptoms increase, hell at that moment I turn into a walking ghost. My walk becomes funny -like a possessed man-,my eye deviates to another direction, and all my speech comes out slurry.

I imagine if I was untreated and living in rural areas..Imagine seeing me at night walking in a hot day.

Possession is the way the corrupted Church and mosque use to fetch Gold out of people.
Wanna see real demons? read about the Crusades or about WW1.

[brewer]

But why put exorcism under Christianity subforum? because exorcism predates christianity and is present in almost all religions.

Like this hilarious Muslim exorcism

I'm having difficulties determining which one is possessed.

[WinterHold]

But why put exorcism under Christianity subforum? because exorcism predates christianity and is present in almost all religions.

Like this hilarious Muslim exorcism

Because the whole world knew exorcism due to the Christian shameful rituals; not the Islamic.
Christianity predated Islam, and it is the source of the exorcism idea; a mere name that the Church gave to any sickness or disease they couldn't handle.

Sticking this to Islam is...disgusting? Even the Sunni/Shiite rituals are similar if not identical to the Christian with change of bible verses to Quranic verses.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Untreated -or even treated to some degree- mental condition.

For example, I have Multiple Sclerosis, when the temperature become hot and my brain overheats, my symptoms increase, hell at that moment I turn into a walking ghost. My walk becomes funny -like a possessed man-,my eye deviates to another direction, and all my speech comes out slurry.

I imagine if I was untreated and living in rural areas..Imagine seeing me at night walking in a hot day.

Possession is the way the corrupted Church and mosque use to fetch Gold out of people.
Wanna see real demons? read about the Crusades or about WW1.

Or flying jet planes into office buildings.  Pretty demonic.

Boru

[WinterHold]

Untreated -or even treated to some degree- mental condition.

For example, I have Multiple Sclerosis, when the temperature become hot and my brain overheats, my symptoms increase, hell at that moment I turn into a walking ghost. My walk becomes funny -like a possessed man-,my eye deviates to another direction, and all my speech comes out slurry.

I imagine if I was untreated and living in rural areas..Imagine seeing me at night walking in a hot day.

Possession is the way the corrupted Church and mosque use to fetch Gold out of people.
Wanna see real demons? read about the Crusades or about WW1.

Or flying jet planes into office buildings.  Pretty demonic.

Boru

Casualties:

-WW1: 40 Million
-9/11: 2,977 victims

Your comparison is obsolete.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Or flying jet planes into office buildings.  Pretty demonic.

Boru

Casualties:

-WW1: 40 Million
-9/11: 2,977 victims

Your comparison is obsolete.

My comparison was about behavior and motivation, not numbers.

Boru