Overexorcising Or Overstating?
Bob Larson. He’s still at it. Traveling around the world, rescuing demon-possessed people, driving evil entities back into The Pit!
I’ve followed Larson’s impressive career over the years, first on his radio program, then on TV. Then he seemed to have dropped off the spiritual map. But the other day I found an article about him online, an uncritical piece featured in the Toledo Blade by David Yonke, Blade Religion Editor. ("Pastor feels called to fight demons," Saturday, February 11, 2006.)
If you want to win the reader’s attention, you have to have a good hook, grab them right from the first line. Here’s how Yonke opened his article:
“The Rev. Bob Larson has been kicked, bruised, choked, and spit upon. His ribs have been broken, he has been scratched and bitten, and he's received death threats.”
Wow. And it’s even more startling when it is stated that Larson is 61 years old!
In the article Larson proclaims that he’s “The Exorcist.” That’s nice.
Then there’s one statement made by Larson that caught my eye: he claims that he has performed over 6000 exorcisms over the last twenty years.
That 6000, not 600, exorcisms. By one man. Over twenty years. Do the math. That’s an average of 300 exorcisms per year. (There’s only 365/366 days in a year.) Some of that has to include being beat on by demon-controlled victims, lots of scratches and bites. And don’t forget the broken ribs. Did Larson keep performing exorcisms from his hospital bed so the wouldn’t fall behind on his 300 per year average?
Obviously the movie, The Exorcist, is fiction. Not every exorcism involves dodging orally-ejected green pea soup and tolerating freezing temps. But there was a piece on exorcism years ago on one of ABC-TV’s news magazines. It showed a group of exorcists trying driving the demon out of a possessed teenaged girl. The process was a long haul, tremendous mental strain for all involved. And after that great effort, the girl still ended up seeing a psychiatrist and being prescribed anti-psychotic drugs.
With more than 6000 exorcisms under his (bible) belt, one would think Larson would slow down and spent a few months recuperating. Or does he do like 50 exorcisms at a time, like a priest giving his congregation a mass blessing? A McExorcism kind of service.
Maybe Mr. Larson could document all the exorcisms he has done to allay the skepticism of questioning individuals such as yours truly. That’s if he isn’t on the verge of collapse from overexorcising.
SOURCE: http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=
/20060211/NEWS10/602110339
Bob Larson. He’s still at it. Traveling around the world, rescuing demon-possessed people, driving evil entities back into The Pit!
I’ve followed Larson’s impressive career over the years, first on his radio program, then on TV. Then he seemed to have dropped off the spiritual map. But the other day I found an article about him online, an uncritical piece featured in the Toledo Blade by David Yonke, Blade Religion Editor. ("Pastor feels called to fight demons," Saturday, February 11, 2006.)
If you want to win the reader’s attention, you have to have a good hook, grab them right from the first line. Here’s how Yonke opened his article:
“The Rev. Bob Larson has been kicked, bruised, choked, and spit upon. His ribs have been broken, he has been scratched and bitten, and he's received death threats.”
Wow. And it’s even more startling when it is stated that Larson is 61 years old!
In the article Larson proclaims that he’s “The Exorcist.” That’s nice.
Then there’s one statement made by Larson that caught my eye: he claims that he has performed over 6000 exorcisms over the last twenty years.
That 6000, not 600, exorcisms. By one man. Over twenty years. Do the math. That’s an average of 300 exorcisms per year. (There’s only 365/366 days in a year.) Some of that has to include being beat on by demon-controlled victims, lots of scratches and bites. And don’t forget the broken ribs. Did Larson keep performing exorcisms from his hospital bed so the wouldn’t fall behind on his 300 per year average?
Obviously the movie, The Exorcist, is fiction. Not every exorcism involves dodging orally-ejected green pea soup and tolerating freezing temps. But there was a piece on exorcism years ago on one of ABC-TV’s news magazines. It showed a group of exorcists trying driving the demon out of a possessed teenaged girl. The process was a long haul, tremendous mental strain for all involved. And after that great effort, the girl still ended up seeing a psychiatrist and being prescribed anti-psychotic drugs.
With more than 6000 exorcisms under his (bible) belt, one would think Larson would slow down and spent a few months recuperating. Or does he do like 50 exorcisms at a time, like a priest giving his congregation a mass blessing? A McExorcism kind of service.
Maybe Mr. Larson could document all the exorcisms he has done to allay the skepticism of questioning individuals such as yours truly. That’s if he isn’t on the verge of collapse from overexorcising.
SOURCE: http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=
/20060211/NEWS10/602110339
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