Exorcism

Q: I recently watched the movie The Exorcism of Emily Rose. I found later that this is based on the actual notes, etc from the trial. I’ve tried to find where The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod stands on this issue. From only one church site could I even find the word and then you are mentioned as having performed an exorcism — or perhaps I’m reading it wrong. I cannot remember ever hearing it mentioned in any Bible studies, etc. Please enlighten me as to the LCMS’s stand on this.

A: No, I’ve not participated in an exorcism. I have discussed them with other pastors and seminary professors. The consensus is that there may be times when one must be done but only if all other efforts prove useless. Generally speaking, if the person suspected of being possessed is a member of a particular congregation, that church’s pastor should perform the exorcism, since it was he who was called by God to serve among those people.

We first look to eliminate all physical, emotional, or psychological excuses for the person’s behavior. Schizophrenia and other mental disorders as well as certain drugs may produce effects similar to those we would expect from one under demonic influence. Even a voice coming from the person claiming to be a demon may actually be the manifestation of psychosis or hallucinogenic drugs.

If we determine that someone quite possibly is possessed, we enter the conflict only after careful preparation. One thing anyone thinking of performing an exorcism must keep in mind is that it isn’t a personal battle between evil spirit and holy person. The conflict is between God and the demon and the exorcist is only Christ’s instrument of speaking His Word and offering prayers. To issue a personal challenge to a malignant demon could result in what happened to the sons of Sceva (Acts 19:11-20) or worse.

Sometimes, the results are almost immediate At other times, due to factors that God doesn’t explain, the process may be long and involved. We recall the demon that the other disciples could not drive out while Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration with Peter, James, and John (Mark 9:14-29), evidently because of weakness of faith and lack of persistence in prayer.

Because possession seems so rare in these days, most pastors probably are not fully prepared should they be called upon to perform an exorcism. The paucity of possessions in these days may be because Satan works better by keeping attention away from the supernatural and instead focusing people’s attention on the “ordinary” world and “scientific” explanations for everything. Perhaps he fears that if he draws attention to himself and the realm of the demonic, people will be more likely to seek help from God rather than from science and medicine. Since “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, (2 Corinthians 11:14)” he appears to prefer seducing people to his side over terrifying them — especially if the terror shakes them out of a spiritual slumber.

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version™, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book What Do Lutherans Believe.

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