The Dark Sacrament Read Free Page A

Glimpses of the Devil, that Malachi Martin “was perhaps the most bald-faced liar I have ever known.” It is a curious statement, given that Dr. Peck was a great admirer and confidant of Father Martin; he actually dedicated the book in question to the exorcist. Yet he went on to aver, “In everything that deeply mattered to me and my quest for the Devil, I knew him to speak only God’s truth.”
    Whatever the truth about his personal life and unorthodox activities, Malachi Martin’s book had a profound effect on both Church and laity. Never before had the subject of exorcism been examined in public, and in such detail, by a professional exorcist, and one, moreover, who wrote with such verve and élan. Hostage to the Devil became a best seller.
    By this time, possession and exorcism were being openly debated around the world. This renewed interest had given rise to a frenzy of demon hunting, especially among the more extreme evangelical movements. By the start of the 1980s, at prayer meetings across America, demons were being expelled from the “possessed” as routinely as the collection plate was passed. The meetings were awe-inspiring, if not to say frightening, events, with hysterical people dropping to the floor, roaring and foaming at the mouth. Such “deliverance ministries” had America in thrall. Before long, the rest of the world would follow suit. At the time of this writing, the Ellel Ministries, a born-again group offering deliverance from “unclean” spirits, is expanding rapidly. Begun in Lancaster in 1986, Ellel has a presence on four continents—Britain alone has four training centers. There is even a “Pastors’ School” in Siberia; ten years ago such a venture would have scarcely been conceivable.
    The Church of England bishops have, of late, become increasingly concerned by the proliferation of such maverick exorcists and fundamentalist groups. Whether this reflects a jealous fear thatothers are encroaching on their turf or a concern based on careful evaluation of such ministries remains to be seen. The difference between the established churches and the newcomers is, inter alia, the length and comprehensiveness of training. Whereas the Anglicans require many years, Ellel training is accomplished in a matter of weeks. The courses are packaged slickly, and the language used owes less to the theology lecture hall and more to the business seminar. “Satan’s strategies and tactics” are examined with the enthusiasm of an advertising executive evaluating a competitor’s latest campaign, and the training shows “how demonic footholds can be established in a person’s life and presents key principles by which the captives may be set free.”
    It will hardly come as a surprise that clerics of the old school are expressing their disquiet. Dr. M. Scott Peck once asked Father Martin his opinion of the exorcisms—or, more properly, the deliverances—performed with such aplomb by the charismatic “healers.”
    â€œThey’re generally just casting out their own fantasies,” he replied. “But very occasionally, usually by accident, they do catch a real fish.”
    THE RESTLESS DEAD AND EVIL SPIRITS
    Ghosts are sometimes known as the “restless dead.” It is important to establish that such entities are considered to be the “souls” or “spirits” of human beings. This is to distinguish them from non-human entities that have never drawn breath, those which are often referred to as demons. It is such a broad area of investigation that it would be impossible to do more than touch upon it here. We do so in order to clear up a misconception: namely, that all paranormal activity is somehow of demonic origin.
    The exorcist will be at pains to point out that, while demonic oppression may accompany paranormal activity, there are many instances where it plainly does not. In such cases the