Catholics & Satan

Quote: FrGamble

Any exorcist worth his blessed salt will tell you that demons is the last thing they hope it is and every other explanation and avenue must be explored first.

That's like taking comparative religion classes
at a Christian college and hoping they handle
the other religions fairly and honestly and
don't arrive at the end to Christianity being
the only viable one. Of course that's the
whole point in offering the class, but they must
at least go thru the motions of not having
an agenda. Just like the exorcist.

Catholics and Satans?

Jews and Gefilte fish?

Elizebethan 'maidens' and The Incubus along the trail in the dark woods.

Quote: Evenbob

Of course that's the
whole point in offering the class, but they must
at least go thru the motions of not having
an agenda. Just like the exorcist.

You are sadly mistaken about how desperately a real exorcist never wants to encounter the diabolical. It is not a dream, much more like a nightmare.

Quote: FrGamble

You are sadly mistaken about how desperately a real exorcist never wants to encounter the diabolical. It is not a dream, much more like a nightmare.

I'm laughing as I type this. It's such an
oh-so-serious business. Get over your
bad self, dude, as they used to say about
20 years ago. You probably thought
Ghostbusters was a documentary. Wake
up!

It is partly because I can't deny Evil that I have to believe there is a God. The capitalization is intentional, however I am not one to anthropomorphize these things.

Quote: Wizard

Anyway, not to say that these people didn't have serious problems, and you were a good man to try to help, but I don't buy the part that it was specifically German, unless he already knew some of the language.

I could buy that it was gibberish German, just from WWII flicks most Americans can understand a few words even if they cannot get what is being said. FWIW the "German" in "Die Hard" is nothing but gibberish, which they had to account for somehow when the released it in Germany. I forget if the overdubbed it or what but leaving for work and can't look. IMDB for anyone who cares.

Quote: odiousgambit

It is partly because I can't deny Evil that I have to believe there is a God. The capitalization is intentional, however I am not one to anthropomorphize these things.

That sounds unusual to me, because The Problem of Evil is one of the arguments people use to deny the existence of god(s).

Quote: Dalex64

That sounds unusual to me, because The Problem of Evil is one of the arguments people use to deny the existence of god(s).

It's misplaced thinking to me to go from a "Good and Evil" concept to "only Good should exist", but I understand how you get there.

I can't go there, this place of "there is Evil but no God"

The problem was known to St. Thomas Aquinas and others who dealt with it to the satisfaction of many, but I am not well read in this.

Quote: FrGamble

I wish they would have stuck around long enough for me to recommend a good psychiatrist and counselor for the family.

Here are two tips for you:

1) Next time, don't try to get them to drop their superstitious nonsense. Yes, it's harming them, but they need to see it as harmful for themselves before they'll let go of it.

2) If you use a story to illustrate the reality of the devil, it's hard not to understand you're implying demonic possession right away, especially when relating odd and strange anecdotes related by someone else, and when you add all of it was "unexplainable." People on drugs will do really strange things.