God, Aliens, and Other Stuff

 I exhaust a lot of words in this blog trying to convince people to pull their heads out of the sand and realize that we live in a complex universe where just of much of what exists is invisible to us. That goes far beyond germs and molecules of air. Paul the Apostle wrote, “ We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms  (Eph. 6:12). Call them what you will, they are inter-dimensional, they have amazing abilities that seem magical to us, they are sentient beings that can think and connive exactly as we can, and they can manipulate us in ways that would make the CIA proud. Like germs, if the protective aura around us is compromised in any number of ways, they can get through it and live in our bodies like a subversive virus. But there is a defense! We don’t have to be their victims or patsies. Martin Luther,   1521 By 1521, Luthe...

They don’t take classes in Exorcism 101. How they are picked is more of an art than a science. The exorcist always has an assistant priest available in case he falters in the process. The senior priest teaches the neophyte by way of long descriptions handed down by the Experienced. A process bordering on parascience has emerged that seems to work. A corner of the Catholic church acknowledges that there are devils and that they can possess us. But they can also be evicted. Malachi Martin, author of Hostage to the Devil, brings five real cases into focus, true stories of exorcisms by various priests, supported by diaries, tapes, and meticulous interviews. The stories are too graphic to review in detail, but there are generalities that cross all denominational lines because the devil is not a denominational construct or even merely a Christian invention. In his Introduction, Martin describes the careful preparation for an exorcism, the signs that the problem is demonic rather than ...