[iamnoone]

All,

 

Just wanted to share some exciting news.  It's been awhile since I have posted (I posted a 3-part fan fiction of Burke's death about 5 years ago I believe), but I am truly excited about the new version of the novel.  As it turns out, it will be playing an important role for myself in the near future.

 

Since I was a child, The Exorcist, and the topic of possession itself has always been simply fascinating.  I am sure most of you can relate.  I am currently a professor in the Psychology department at the University of Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio, and recently we were challenged to come up with some creative courses to become part of a new undergraduate general eduection curriculum.  I am proud to share with you that Mount Union will now have a dedicated course on the books that focuses on the topic of possession.  Basically, the essence of the course is the debate between science and religion; psychiatric diagnosis vs. demonic possession.  We will be viewing real exorcisms, The Exorcist, some newer documentaries, and a small trove of literature (including the new novelization of The Exorcist as well as others).  I even found a Catholic priest to speak to the class. 

Words can't really express how excited I am to teach this course.  :) 

If anyone would like to share any ideas, suggestions, etc., I am very happy to hear them. 

[epicwin123]

That sounds like a very interesting class. I hope a lot of kids take it!

[epicwin123]

I don't know, but it is getting really annoying.

[granville1]

Sounds like an interesting class. Hopefully it will be objectively-enough presented that students will have “multiple choice” from among many differing issues. Objectivity regarding religious, spiritual and paranormal issues is famously difficult to maintain, from both sides. But if neutrality can be maintained, free and open discussion ought to blossom and flourish on this very strange topic. I wish you the best, and good luck on this project.

[fraroc]

The class DOES seem very interesting.

 

Incidentally, I hope the whole copy posts thing is just a glitch.

[iamnoone]

It is certainly the goal to keep the class talking. discussing, and debating what they believe; based both on evidence and information that they learn, and what they believe.  I want them to dissect their own beliefs, and really begin the process of analyzing why they believe what they do (and I stress begin…they are freshmen).

 

I tinkered with this idea in an Abnormal Psychology class last year with a day-long “special topics” lecture, and the class was surprisingly divided.  I expected an overwhelming majority to dismiss possession as Hollywood make-believe, but many truly believed that this was not only a possibility, but something that is happening around us today.  Many, who also held little to no religious beliefs, or course did not believe, and then there was about 10% or so who were truly undecided, and began to form opinions based on what we watched.

 

One of the difficulties is the great chasm of reality vs. what the media portrays when it comes to actual attempted exorcisms.  There are also different types of exorcisms, and it is “used” for some less-than-sanctioned purposes as well.

 

Tip of the iceberg?  I am also a therapist, and about 5 years ago I had a male client who, now in his young 20's, was suffering panic attacks.  His parents had put him through 10-13 separate exorcisms to drive out the “demons” that were inhabiting his body and making him a homosexual. 

 

Then there is the flip side; the Roman Catholic Church has recently trained more exorcists than at any time in recent recorded history.  Why? 

 

I could talk about this all day.  🙂

[granville1]

iamnoone said:

 

Then there is the flip side; the Roman Catholic Church has recently trained more exorcists than at any time in recent recorded history.  Why? 

 

---

I would venture the opinion that, as you mentioned, possession is given a lot of irresponsible media hype. Therefore society in general now more “ripe” for “possession”. Not to mention the dozens of possession movies that must have some impact on the collective mind. And, finally, an upsurge in superstition, at least here in the US. Never a hugely scientifically-or-religiously literate nation, snake oil tends to prevail. That's why so many fundamentalist groups perform exorcisms, not against demons, but against fully explainable neurological “ticks”, bad habits, eating disorders, anger management issues, etc. For them, there's a demon behind every deviation from “the norm”.

This is a bit harder to explain in relation to the Catholic Church, which has always had stringent and medical-scientific standards in deciding what makes a possession “genuine”. We do know that the current pope, Ratzinger, is highly conservative. Perhaps his theological viewpoint includes phobias about demons. This in turn might explain the upsurge in exorcist-training. But does the training meet a real need? That is, is there a parallel increase in “genuine” possession cases that are truly supernatural and demand full application of the Roman Ritual? Or is it a mere question of people being more hedonistic these days, more under stress, more “permissive”, etc. ? If it's the latter, parish priests can deal with it. No need for exorcists.

Like you  say, “Why?” I don't know, but I suspect it is symptomatic of an unfortunate conservative turn toward superstitious thinking.

[iamnoone]

Thanks.  The actual class won't be up and running until next fall (you can see how far ahead we plan these things), but I'll be doing a bit more on the subject in my abnormal course again this year; perfectly timed with the approach of Halloween, of course.

 

Incidentally, the Vatican claims that the rise of exorcist numbers is due to a rise in the amount of evil at work in the world.  You are correct in pointing out that a Roman-Catholic sanctioned exorcism supposedly goes through a rigorous psychiatric/medical evaluation before being approved…and I use the word “supposed” on purpose.  Clearly, if your lens even allows for the possibility of demonic possession, then that is a plausible outcome in an evaluation.  From a purely psychiatric evaluation, that is not even on the table.

 

Hence, why this topic is so ripe for academic debate.  Not only do opposing sides of the table disagree with one another, they cannot even grasp (based on their own worldview) how the other side comes to their conclusion.  To the catolic priest, it could be a demon.  To the non-believer, it cannot possibly be a demon, and must be something else. 

[iamnoone]

Tomorrow is the day in Abnormal Psychology when we take a closer look at Exorcism is a series called “A Closer Look”.  This edition is called “A Question of Faith”.

 

Students are surveyed on their religious beliefs, their initial thoughts on exorcism, and then we engage in a debate about the plausibility of possession and exorcism vs. mental illness.  The students view a real exorcism documented in the 1990's by ABC, and a handful of other materials. 

 

Should be fun!

[fatherbowdern]

“Tip of the iceberg?  I am also a therapist, and about 5 years ago I had a male client who, now in his young 20's, was suffering panic attacks.  His parents had put him through 10-13 separate exorcisms to drive out the “demons” that were inhabiting his body and making him a homosexual.”

Good luck on the class … it should certainly be interesting. I quoted a portin of your paragraph above because this type of belief system is what erodes the foundation of religion and why so many people are turning away from organized religion.

Obviously (although erased … thanks Captain) I wrote something that may be of interest to your class: offer some insights into the Anneliese Michel case on which “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” was very loosely based. You can find many audio tapes of the “actual possession” on YouTube and other sources. You can find resources quickly by Googling them.

Her case is one of the saddest because it too relates to your quote above in which religion overrides the wisdom of conventional medicine and psychiatry. Anneliese's epilepsy and your former client's homosexuality are a part of normal human conditions where religion has no value nor panacea.

Father Bowdern

[ChillerPop]

How fascinating! I wish I could take that class.  Good luck and could you let us know how it goes, what the required reading is, etc.?

 

Also, I wonder if you'll incorporate Michael Cuneo's fascinating “American Exorcism”? It discusses how exorcism is becoming a cottage industry in U.S. evangelical circuits.

 

http://www.amazon.com/American-Exorcism-Expelling-Demons-Plenty/dp/0385501765

[iamnoone]

Thanks for the words, and the link to American Exorcism; first I had heard of that, actually, but certainly something of interest for the course.

 

The class yesterday certainly came in with an open mind, and all were in agreement that the use of exorcism for natural human conditions like sexual orientation, etc. are both heinous and irresponsible.  The conclusion many came to is that it is conceivable that a person who believes in the power of god and the devil and is indeed internally suffering somehow could, in essence, be helped psychologically (and spiritually) by an exorcism; even if this “help” is in the form of a placebo effect. 

 

More to come…

[fatherbowdern]

iamnoone said:

Thanks for the words, and the link to American Exorcism; first I had heard of that, actually, but certainly something of interest for the course.

 

The class yesterday certainly came in with an open mind, and all were in agreement that the use of exorcism for natural human conditions like sexual orientation, etc. are both heinous and irresponsible.  The conclusion many came to is that it is conceivable that a person who believes in the power of god and the devil and is indeed internally suffering somehow could, in essence, be helped psychologically (and spiritually) by an exorcism; even if this “help” is in the form of a placebo effect. 

 

More to come…

 

I certainly know from own classes that the youth of today are indeed taking a more healthy and holistic approach to variants in society; i.e., ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, etc. I do believe that organized religion has lost ground in capturing younger people when the preaching is geared toward hatred of differences among their fellow man. A good example would be that late Jerry Falwell who preached from the pulpit of narrow-mindedness that formed a “cult” of followers in his church. Shame.

On the side, there is an exorcist, Bob Larson, who has completely defrauded many. Check out Bob Larson Exposed on YouTube. He is just as worse as Benny Hinn and many others who work in the name of God to gain personal financial profit. This is yet another angle to share with your students for yet another thought-provoking discussion.

Father Bowdern

[iamnoone]

I just wanted to offer you all an update.

 

As of this morning, the course I am teaching, entitled “Demons & Diagnoses” has a officially begun. It is a “First Year Seminar” here at Mount, and is a small class with 16 freshmen; ideal for what we are about to do. Surveying the students before we met, there is a virtual split with regards to whether or not one believes that possession is possible. At its heart, the course has evolved into a course on critical thinking, with the backdrop of possession and exorcism as the bait.

We will be reading Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World, The Rite (which is very different from the film if you have not read it), and American Exorcist.

 

On Wednesday, we begin viewing The Exorcist (uncut, the version you've never seen). There is almost too much to share, but the real highlights are the speakers I have lined up, which includes:

1) A psychiatrist

2) A Catholic priest who has observed exorcisms

3) A Catholic priest from India who has actually performed exorcisms

4) A woman from Indonesia who, from her own account, was possessed and successfully exorcised over a period of 3 years

 

And, we have a Facebook group, if you are interested. On the site will be some random media we watch (which includes the old ABC 20/20 footage of the real exorcism, the “true” story documentary of The Exorcist from the Discovery channel, etc.).  Here is the link if you want to take a look/join…I will add you if you like.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/375354779201671/

 

Cheers!

 

-Dr. Meyer

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