DELIVERANCE MINISTRY - ANOTHER WAY CHRISTIANS TARGET INNOCENT FOR ABUSE

Abuses down to LGBT conversion therapy, deliverance ministry [to break demonic influence over you] and exorcism [to get demons out of you who are living in you or even taking control of you] are inevitable.  The only solution to those evils is to get rid of the beliefs that create demand.  End demand and you end the harms.

In Christian circles there is talk of demonic possession and demonic obsession. The first describes the demon using your body as if it were the occupant. Notice how this presupposes your body is not really you anyway. In modern religious and psychological circles, such a view is considered unhealthy. Catholicism for example strangely enough says that the body and the soul make one unity and one person and neither is really independent of the other so you need resurrection to be whole again when you die. Obsession is when the demon is clinging to you but rather than possessing you is making you feel bad or bringing bad things into your life. Exorcism deals with possession. Deliverance ministry handles obsession.

The problem with both possession and obsession is that you would expect a demon to be crafty and an excellent manipulator so it would be hard to tell exactly what is wrong if anything. Either the person does not have a demon or it has a stupid demons which means that the smart possessions and obsessions are undetected.

Christians provide a service called deliverance to those who are somehow oppressed by demons but not possessed. As with possession, the condition may also involve psychological issues and mental illness. Deliverance involves prayer for the victim first and foremost. It is usually done face to face which is a sign that the Christian knows a placebo may be at play. A placebo always involves lying to the victim and can risk making them worse. They end up realising and feeling foolish and less hopeful.

Christians who believe in demons and deliverance ministry are hinting that maybe the demons cause homosexuality? If your homosexuality torments you, they will argue that this is a sure sign that it is from demons.  Liberals who say homosexual acts are not sinful are still indicating that the latter is a possibility. Liberal religionists in fact argue that some homosexuality is a sin! They only tolerate LGBT who fit into the heterosexual model. For example, the talk is about committed relationships which are monogamous.

Some liberals are not really liberals but people think they are for they learning about the religion. Such a liberal is no different from somebody starting to take instruction in the Catholic faith. The latter may end up a bigot. There is a potential threat.

Biblically speaking everybody has the influence of evil spirits and their wiles in their lives so it is not clear what justifies selecting some people for deliverance ministry. Deliverance ministry seeks to end the demonic oppression and replace it with God's action and love. In reality it means coming under God's authority and protection and accepting them. What really seems to happen is the person is unwell and thinks a demon is involved. The Christian faith suggests a demon could be making an input. Then the person brings in somebody who will not really know what medical and psychological help the person is getting and that is where it gets dangerous and abusive. Deliverance ministry is not exorcism but does involve some prayers that suggest demons being present and active and needing to be dealt with and removed. This confirms the patient's fears and their belief can make them act like some demon is affecting them.

Victims report shivering and fear when under the deliverance ministry. That tends to be ignored. It is terrible to blame what may be down to the prayers and the scary context to some natural cause that can be overlooked.

The victim will be asked if they invited the demon in and so victim-blaming is happening. Even if there were a demon, how can they tell what is from any mental or emotional disorder they have or from the demon? The victim is blamed if the ministry does not bear fruit.

The victim has to recite deliverance prayers that are centred on deliverance from evil and demons. This reinforces any danger and delusion.

The victim is directed to the gospels and may read Matthew 12:43-45 where Jesus speaks of a whole generation, his, being possessed. What happens, he says, is they get demons out and the demons return with their friends and now there are many more unwanted guests! The victim now has no hope...

Many deliverance ministries take money from the victim. We have no right to treat ministries done by greedy fortunetelling cranks as different from Christian ones.

Deliverance people compile no data on the success rate!

Deliverance ministry is bad for these reasons:

-What right has any individual Christian to treat anybody? A priest or minister is not a psychologist!

-It can suggest that demons are there which makes the person far worse and adds more terror to the mix.

-No studies have been done of those who went through deliverance ministry and ended up reportedly possessed.

-Many of the victims are going to get better anyway.

Solution: GET THE LAW INVOLVED!