Get Thee behind Me, Satan: Rejecting Evil

Following these blockbusters, a string of other films about the occult, Satan and black magic appeared, including an extended “director’s cut” of “The Exorcist” in 2000.

William Friedkin recently returned to the subject with his documentary “The Devil and Fr. Amorth.” Friedkin interviewed Vatican exorcist Fr. Gabriele Amorth, who worried that “Satan rules the world.” The priest let Friedkin film an actual exorcism rite. “It was a harrowing experience,” Friedkin testified.

When Friedkin took the footage to neurosurgeons and psychiatrists, one challenged it, saying the subject lacked “classic symptoms” of possession, such as the head turning 360 degrees and the body levitating. Friedkin informed the psychiatrist that Blatty “invented” those images. Fr. Amorth, who died in 2016, did encounter extraordinary occurrences, including dramatic personality, vocal and language changes. But no levitation or head spinning.

So, what is the phenomenon? The word “occult,” from the Latin word “occultus,” meaning hidden, secret, sinister, dark or mysterious, can be applied generally to extra-sensory experiences and para-phenomena. Kurt Koch, a theologian internationally known for his study of the subject, summarizes occultism under four areas.

1. Superstition. One example would be the number 13; due to a phobia shared by many people, hotels often do not mark a 13th floor. Another sign of “bad luck” would be a black cat walking across one's path.
2. Fortune-telling. Horoscopes, palmistry, astrology, and reading tea leaves are examples. Former first lady Nancy Reagan frequently sought the advice of an astrologer, after the attempt on President Ronald Reagan’s life in 1981.
3. Magic. This appears in many guises. The most popular is probably healing magic (sometimes using an object), or alternately casting spells or curses upon someone.
4. Spiritism. This comes in many forms: Ouija boards, trances, levitations, and more.

“Deliverance” usually references freeing someone from a satanic spirit.

What then is a demon? The word comes from a Greek word “dia” or “daiomai,” which means “to divide, to tear.”

Demons have strong connections with animism. Animists believe that souls or spirits possess phenomena in nature -- e. g., waterfalls, the sun, the moon -- and that these spirits are either good or evil. Sacrifices are made to placate those they regard as evil. This understanding has given rise to various forms: for example, voodoo, practiced by some in African-Caribbean cultures as a religion.

In the Hebrew Bible we find a clear distinction between the angels of God and the fallen angels, both of which are understood to be spiritual beings. Generally, demons don't play a major role in these chapters.

In the New Testament, the noun “demon” occurs in the Gospel according to Matthew: “The demons pleaded with [Jesus], ‘If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine.’” (Matthew 8:31)

The adjective “demoniac” occurs more than fifty times in the Gospels. The New Testament describes the war between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. In 1 Peter 5:8 we find, “your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

Jesus entered human history and thereby conquered the powers of the devil.
The problem of the demoniac – someone possessed -- has weaved in and out of the history of Catholic Christianity. The medieval cults of Satan and black masses are evidence of this. Even in the twenty-first century, the question of the demoniac continues to raise its ugly head.

Psychiatrists today generally look upon someone who talks about demons as “old-fashioned.” So-called possession, for many psychiatrists, is a form of mental illness. In any case, it's classified as a “dissociative identity disorder (aka “multiple personalities”) – demonic possession.”

In Catholic Christianity one of the symptoms of possession is described as an aversion toward the things of God. This aversion to God is a common symptom, an indication that demonic possession is not primarily a disease of the mind. It is rather the influence, and sometimes even the indwelling, of evil spirits and powers. Therefore, some argue, it seems beyond the competence of psychiatry.

So, the question remains: are there various symptoms of “demon” possession? Some argue yes: for example, a change in voice, clairvoyance, speaking in a foreign language never learned, and the deliverance from demonic possession through a healing prayer.

Though many today dismiss demonic possession as a symptom treatable by psychiatry. I would argue that there are demonically possessed people.

But we shouldn't be afraid. Jesus promised to be with us to the end of the age. He has given us authority to cast out demons, and importantly, the example to resist their influences.