Afternoon TV watching is not usually on my schedule, but to due to a variety of circumstances I found myself in front the TV yesterday. After a bit of channel surfing I ran across Anderson Cooper's new talk show. His guests were Rev. Bob Larsen and three teenage girls who are in training under Rev. Larsen's guidance to be exorcists. The girls, who range in age from 17 to 20, claim they have cast out demons for years.
They were sincere and convinced that what they are doing helps people. I commend them for their eagerness to make a positive difference in the world. But I must admit, I have some serious questions about the whole concept.
I do believe in evil, though the jury is still out on demons. I am not willing to rule them out, but I am not ready to embrace the personal personification of evil quite yet. But even if I were to admit there are demons, is it a good idea for teenagers to be engaging them? A Catholic priest that was on the panel as well, pointed out that the girls don't have the spiritual maturity to be able to do an exorcism. Good point. To go head to head with evil requires maturity, confidence and experience. It is a dangerous business which should not be undertaken lightly or by children. I fear the invulnerablity of youth is not serving them well. Also, where are the adults in their lives? Bob Larsen is the father of one of them. If he is to be believed he himself has performed over 15,000 exorcisms. You would think he would know the dangers of it.
Whatever you believe about evil, one thing is certain, children need to be protected from it. Fighting of evil best belongs with folks like Superman or Harry Potter. If they aren't available, then at least let the hand to hand combat be done with adults and let teenagers worry about what college to attend or what dress to wear to the prom.
They were sincere and convinced that what they are doing helps people. I commend them for their eagerness to make a positive difference in the world. But I must admit, I have some serious questions about the whole concept.
I do believe in evil, though the jury is still out on demons. I am not willing to rule them out, but I am not ready to embrace the personal personification of evil quite yet. But even if I were to admit there are demons, is it a good idea for teenagers to be engaging them? A Catholic priest that was on the panel as well, pointed out that the girls don't have the spiritual maturity to be able to do an exorcism. Good point. To go head to head with evil requires maturity, confidence and experience. It is a dangerous business which should not be undertaken lightly or by children. I fear the invulnerablity of youth is not serving them well. Also, where are the adults in their lives? Bob Larsen is the father of one of them. If he is to be believed he himself has performed over 15,000 exorcisms. You would think he would know the dangers of it.
Whatever you believe about evil, one thing is certain, children need to be protected from it. Fighting of evil best belongs with folks like Superman or Harry Potter. If they aren't available, then at least let the hand to hand combat be done with adults and let teenagers worry about what college to attend or what dress to wear to the prom.
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