From the biblical description of Christ expelling demons, to the Charismatic Christians in the 1960s, to the story behind that movie in 1973, people have been trying to expel demons for centuries.
" Exorcist " is adapted from the novel of the same name published by William Peter Brati in 1971. It has been a cultural touchpoint for a mysterious religious ritual since it was released in theaters in 1973. In fact, this is only part of the latest chapter in the long history of practice, and the content of practice is much more than the spinning head and those green projectiles.
"Exorcism is a prayer or ritual designed to eliminate the effects of demons and evil forces on a person," said Stephen Okey, a theologian, assistant professor of philosophy, theology and religion at St. Leo University in Florida.
Many religious traditions believe that the power of evil can have many negative effects on a person's life, and the report shows that the demand for exorcism has also increased since the turn of the century.
According to Okey, the word “exorcist” is most often associated with Christianity, especially Catholicism, partly because of the many explicit mentions of Jesus exorcism in the Gospels. In 2017, Pope Francis told the priests that if they needed an exorcist, they should “have no hesitation” to invite an exorcist who was trained in Vatican .
The following content will share with you the famous events in the history of exorcism.
70 AD: Jesus drove out evil spirits in Mark
above picture: Christ expels evil souls, as Georg Penka (John 1500-1550) depicts.
The first four volumes of the New Testament, namely the Gospels, tell the story of Jesus of Nazareth 3 people. Jesus was a Jewish prophet whose life and doctrine became the foundation of Christianity. The first mention of Jesus expelling evil spirits appeared in Mark's Gospel, which is believed to have been written around 70 AD, about 40 years after his death.
"In the New Testament, Jesus' exorcism ritual is evidence of his authority over the devil," said Rob Haskel, a theologian and former pastor who specializes in the New Testament. "They show that he has spiritual power." He added that in addition to describing human exorcism, Bible also includes at least one description of animals possessed by demons.
These contents mentioned in the Bible are all introductions to this practice. Rob Haskel also explained: "Because of our understanding of exorcism in the modern world, from the Christian worldview, all the New Testament lays the foundation for everything that follows."
1526: Martin Luther Added the exorcism ceremony to the baptism
Photo: Martin Luther (second from left) and other German reformers Melanson, Pomeranus and Klusig.
A German theologian named Martin Luther was angry and disappointed by the Catholicism's practice of selling indulgence . At that time, indulgence would be sold to believers to repent for their sins. Later, he wrote a list of dissatisfactions with the Catholic Church and nailed it to the door of the church in his university in 1517. Soon, his act of resistance triggered the division of Christianity, the so-called Protestant Reformation, and was expelled from the Catholic Church by the Pope himself in 1521.
Although Luther was not the only reformer of that era, he was the most prolific, making full use of printing presses and words to spread his ideas about what Christianity should be like. He issued the Baptism Order in 1523, and then revised it in 1526, adding the Exorcism to the Protestant Baptism. In this case, baby exorcism becomes a way to help babies stay away from devils, sins and evil throughout their lives, rather than expelling demons.
Katherine Walker, an assistant professor of English at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who specializes in the history of magic, said that not all Protestant denominations will adopt exorcism rituals, but the question of how exorcism should be carried out during the Renaissance period was enough to become a controversial topic.
At that time, exorcism was a common technique for Catholics, who had writings, doctrines and rituals to guide them in their rituals.On the other hand, the Protestant exorcism rituals are mostly conducted through prayer and fasting, and often involve the entire community, resulting in these public events that may be close to performance.
"In early modern England, we had many records of exorcism performed by priests or professional exorcists," Walker explained. "Some of them have been revealed as fraud."
With these dramatic events, the exorcism rituals became even more eye-catching when writers like William Shakespeare began to quote exorcism rituals in their works (such as King Lear and 12th Night ).
But in all these concerns, doubts also begin to appear. “Protestants are increasingly looking at the entire exorcist ritual with an attitude of hostility,” Walker said. Although this transformation led to the gradual disappearance of the exorcist among the Protestants in the early 17th century, the existence of the exorcist in literature of that period helped form its lasting cultural heritage.
early 20th century: Evangelicals promote the exorcism revival
Protestantism continues to spread in parts of Europe, and eventually spread to North America through British colonists in the 17th century. Puritanism was the dominant Protestant sect in the United States in the 17th and early 18th centuries, but changed during a series of revivals called the Great Awakening in the 1830s and 1840s, 1890s, and 1850s and early 20th centuries.
Baptist and Methodist sects have developed significantly due to these revivals, especially in the newly settled western and southern regions. At the same time, the 19th century also witnessed the rise of evangelism: Evangelism is a more encompassing term used to refer to those who believe in strict compliance with the Bible, “rebirth”, the need to change the faith of others, and the redemption that Jesus’ crucified on the cross would lead to humanity.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Pentecostal movement rose among American evangelicals. Pentecostals focus on the Holy Spirit, including supernatural components such as glossolalia, uses non-existent language nonsense , faith healing, miracles and exorcism.
Although exorcism has continued in the Catholic Church, they were not as popular among Protestant denominations throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. But the temptation of the worship service of the Pentecostal school and the possibility of obtaining supernatural gifts from the Holy Spirit made the movement attract batches of new members and continue to develop throughout the first half of the 20th century.
1960s-70s: Charismatic Christians revived and exorcist
Photo: In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower met with religious leader Billy Graham at the White House.
Evangelical Protestantism began a period of rapid growth since the 1950s. Evangelical preachers like Pastor Billy Graham enter American families via radio and television. Become more influential when he served as the spiritual advisor to the president of Eisenhower .
In the next decade, more and more mainstream Protestants (mainly Presbyterians and Anglicans) and some Catholics began to adopt Pentecostal worship styles and refocused the Holy Spirit, a movement called Charismatic Christianity. Like Pentecostals, Charismatic Christians also perform exorcism rituals, which were in the late 1960s to 1970s, in the United States, as well as in Africa and Latin American . Rekindled interest in this ritual.
It didn't take long before the exorcism ritual was once again part of popular culture, just like the Renaissance. William Peter Brati's 1971 novel "The Exorcist", adapted from the true story of a 14-year-old boy, who started this trend by accepting the Catholic exorcism ceremony in Maryland and Missouri in 1949. The book also topped the list of the bestsellers for the New York Times , and remained there for 17 weeks.
The movie version of Bratty's book, released in 1973, said Stephen Okey, was a transitional period between film and Catholicism. He also explained: “The Exorcist had a huge impact on the rise of horror-themed films, and the 1970s movies were usually rougher than those of the previous decades."At the same time, the Catholic Church is working to overcome the early influence of Vatican II and its influence on rituals, its relationships with other religions, and its relationships with the modern world. ”