exorcism

[charles cure]

heres something i've always wondered about.

how can people think that exorcism would ever actually work?

i suppose that i could see it as something that might have an effect in a psychosomatic way, a lot like a placebo in some drug tests (ie: if someone believed they were possessed then the exorcism would work because in the persons mind that is the only remedy)

but really, people being infested with demons, we've all got to know by now how utterly ridiculous that is.

the reason i was thinking of this is because i saw the ad for that Exorcism of Emily Rose movie that is supposedly "based on a true story" except that they left out the part that the "real" Emily Rose (whose name was actually Annalise) was severely mentally ill. and it bothers me that someone somewhere is going "OH MY GOD, this all really happened!".

whats the score on this guys?

 

[dr. cello]

it's not hard to fathom. people believe in demons. people believe that demons can possess/oppress people. and then, here's the swinger, people believe that demon possession can look nearly identical to severe mental illness.

jung, i believe, noted psychologist etc., has some cases in which he says that he cannot tell whether the patient is insane or possessed. i've read various other accounts of exorcism. i'm not what you would call a believer, but the reports i've read do not bear the taint of obvious falsehood; i like to maintain an open mind about it.