. . . And The Power Of The Devil.

I came across this article a few weeks ago about the Roman Catholic Church looking for a few good priests. Apparently there is a severe shortage of trained exorcists in the United States. According to the article there are only about "five or six exorcists in the United States."

That is not good.

How does the Roman Catholic Church in the United States allow itself to let something as significant and important as trained exorcists dip to such low levels?

Follow up question -

Does the Lutheran Church still believe in such things?

I'm serious here. I do not take this topic lightly.

During the time of Luther, there was an acknowledgement that the Devil did exist. It was was firmly believed that the Devil and his minions were very active. Even in Luther's Order of Baptism (1523) there are minor exorcisms.

When I attended seminary, the question was asked in my Pastoral (Mal)Practice class about what a pastor should do if they came across a member that was suspected to be demon possessed. The response from the professor was none too helpful. The response consisted of having that individual seen by a psychiatrist to make sure that it was not mental illness (which made sense). If it was determined that it was not mental illness, than we as pastors were to contact our respective district president who would then "take care of things."

What exactly did that mean?

Was there some secret "black ops" team of trained exorcists that would just magically appear after that phone call was made?

Or did it mean that the LCMS was "sub-contacting" exorcisms to the Roman Catholic church? That their people would take over and "take care of things."

If there is one thing that should never "go out of fashion" in the Lutheran church is the fact that the Devil and his minions are just as active today as they were then. Some may not believe that. Others may want to refuse to accept that concept.

Again, I do not take this topic lightly. Personal experience leads me to firmly believe that this is a force that should not be ignored. 

I guess I worry how, today, it seems that the Devil is thought of in more of an abstract way. It sounds great to talk about "the Devil" in a sermon in an impersonal way. A really neat "straw man" to blame things on. Yet, the Devil is much more than than. The Devil is a very real thing that people do struggle with.

I think there needs to be a renewed focus on this. Just as the Roman Catholic church is looking to add new exorcists to its ranks here in America, the Lutheran Church should not be that far behind in looking at topic and discussing it openly.

The thought I had then, I still have now.

I left that class wondering if the church of today really believed as the church of Luther. Especially those words "the power of the devil."

Bits and pieces

I'm back!

I know, I was greatly missed.

I know I also have a lot of catching up to do.

Shame I missed the whole election cycle in October and November.

I do have a few thoughts on that.

Mainly, the amount that was spent.

The best guess estimates from the 2010 midterm election cycle peg this one at $3.98 billion and still counting.

That's right, billion.

That makes this the most expensive midterm, ever.

If this doesn't turn a Christian off to the political process, I really don't know what will.

$3.98 billion dollars spent. To elect what?

Just think about what could have been done with that money. Even half of it.

Please don't shovel me the crap that the "good guys" are in control now. There are none in politics. If you believe that, please stop singing "A Mighty Fortress". Especially the part about not trusting in princes.

If you have donated money to a particular candidate or political party, or PAC. Please stop.

Your local parish, mission project, missionary, or food pantry could do so much more with that money.

Bonus! You also can get a tax deduction and there are no contribution limits.

OK, enough of that.

On to other things.

Stayed tuned.