Exorcisms
Exorcism is a rite mainly thought to be practiced by the Roman Catholic Church, but some Protestant denominations such as the Pentecostal and other charismatic groups practice it as well. These groups refer to the practice as deliverance ministry, where gifted people drive out devils and heal while they touch the persons with their hands, called laying on of hands, and pray over them.
Technically, exorcism is not driving out of the devil or demons, but it is placing the devil or demon on oath. And, in some incidences, there may be more than one demon possessing a person. Exorcism is derived from the greek preposition ek with the verb horkizo which means "I cause someone to swear" and refers to putting the spirit or demon on oath or invoking a higher authority to bind the entity in order to control it and command it to act contrary to its own will.
In Christian sense, this higher authority is Jesus Christ. This act is based on the belief that the devil has demons, and evil spirits are afraid of Christ.
The Catholic church has a procedure out-lined rite of exorcism which is set forth in the Rituale Romanum. Other than this text, the ritual has great variance determined by the exorcist performing the exorcism. The code of cannon law allows authorized ministers to perform solemn exorcisms not only over the faithful but over non-catholics and those who have been excommunicated from the church.
The greatest danger to the exorcist is becoming possessed by the devil or demon himself. This is the reason why the exorcist must feel as free of sin as possible and feel no secret need for punishment.
Malachi Martin, a former Jesuit professor, claimed in his book "Hostage to the Devil" (1976) that much of the success of the exorcism depends upon the exorcist. He describes the type of priest best suited to be an exorcist as being a man of good physical health, being of middle age, routinely going about his normal pastoral duties.
The setting where the exorcism takes place is usually in a location where there is a definite connection between the demon and the victim, like the victims bedroom or residence.
The Stages of Exorcism as described by Martin:
The presence
Breaking point
The Voice
The Clash
Expulsion
Other religions such as Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Shinto and others have some form of exorcism rituals. One of the best known Judaic ritual cited in Judaism rabbinical literature, dating from the first centaury AD, concerns the dybbuk, an evil or doomed spirit, which possess a victim and causes mental illness and personality change. The dybbuk is expelled through the victims small toe and is either redeemed or sent to hell.
