An Exorcist Tells His Story by Gabriele Amorth

You could say that people belong in one of two categories: they either believe in God, or they don’t. But let me add a third category: those who say they believe in God, but get uncomfortable or embarrassed at the mention of anything remotely supernatural. These people require the Flood to be rendered as a myth or explained by meteorological means. Likewise with the fire that rained from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. To them the idea of demons as actual beings is preposterous. This third category is a wishy-washy form of Christianity that probably comes about as a result of pressure from the intellectual atheist majority, and as a vain attempt at keeping some degree of credibility in their eyes. The thing is, if a person believes in God, it is perfectly logical to grant God permission to bend or break the laws of the universe that he set in motion. And since we’ve already accepted the existence of a being who lives beyond what we can see and touch, it’s hardly inconceivable that there are other entities in existence outside our perception of what consistutes reality: angels and demons, for instance.

You can tell what group I belong to. I wrote the above paragraph because what this book is essentially trying to do is raise awareness of a crisis in the Church. This general lack of belief in the supernatural side of Christianity means that exorcisms are rarely performed today, despite the fact that the Bible clearly depicts Jesus and his disciples freeing demon-possessed people. It’s perhaps a little odd that I’m reading this book, since I’m a Protestant, and the book is written by a Roman Catholic priest. Well, I was interested in reading about demons, not for amusement, but because the Bible says so little about them. I was also curious to step into “enemy territory” and see if all the Protestant anti-Catholic propaganda is justified. It’s not. For the most part, I felt a kinship with the author; on most spiritual matters, we were on the same page. I was especially impressed with the opening chapter entitled “The Centrality of Christ,” although I remain completely baffled by the way that Catholics venerate Mary.

Contrary to such films as The Exorcist, real demons apparently do not talk much. It is, after all, to their advantage to remain undetected. Other topics, such as demon oppression, witchcraft, curses, etc., are also covered in the book. Amorth’s account of his experiences with demons are fascinating and believable by anyone who already accepts Christianity. And the stories are presented in a completely non-sensationalist manner. The book is written not for the titillation of the public, but as a wake-up call to fellow priests. Amorth maintains that there are many people out there who are needlessly suffering, people who have gone from doctor to doctor on a fruitless search for a physical cure to a spiritual ailment. The author is also careful not to downplay the arena of medicine, and he stresses the importance of being able to differentiate demon-possession from genuine mental disorders.

I realise that in reading this book, I’m stepping outside of the Bible - outside the one and only source for Christian belief. Well, Roman Catholic beliefs and practices are built upon two thousand years of tradition. Not so with us Protestants. We hang onto the Bible alone. So I’m not sure how much credence to grant this book. I can’t prove much in it. I can’t back it all up with Scripture references; all I can say is, it’s compatible with Scripture. My gut reaction is that this is an honest book written from the direct experience of a level-headed Christian. It should not be placed on bookshelves among all the hauntings and UFO accounts and other sensationalist “true” stories written for profit.

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