Tuesday, October 28, 2008

What do you even say in response to this?


From the Toledo Blade....

Exorcist to star in reality show

Larson challenges Satan, casts out demons in new television series

The Rev. Bob Larson has been circling the globe for decades, battling Satan and his minions with a Bible and a cross.

Now you can watch him cast out demons from the comfort of your couch.

Mr. Larson, who was in Toledo earlier this month to lead one of his Spiritual Freedom Seminars, is joining the ranks of such luminaries as Ozzy Osbourne, Gene Simmons, and Jessica Simpson as the star of his own reality TV show.

The Real Exorcist premieres in a four-hour marathon on the Sci-Fi Channel on Thursday night - not coincidentally, it's Halloween eve.

Mr. Larson admits it's an unusual combination of spirituality and entertainment, saying he can envision fans "throwing house parties with pizza and popcorn" while they watch him command demons to depart from tormented souls.

But he also sees it as an opportunity to show the world that evil spirits and demonic possession are real, and that people who are suffering can get help, he said in an interview with The Blade.

"I'm going to be in the bars and hotel rooms and bedrooms of America, where I could never get otherwise, with the people who need it the most. [People] who are tormented and who are afraid to talk about it," he said. "Who do you tell about these strange things that are happening?"

By watching Mr. Larson cast out evil spirits on The Real Exorcist and by witnessing the victims' lives being changed, people who think they have demon problems will feel as though they've been "given permission" to talk about their fears and seek help, he said.

"They don't have to go to church to get the help. Let's face it, a lot of people just don't like the church. They don't like religious institutions. So I'm able to connect directly with them and help them," Mr. Larson said during a lunchtime interview at a Bob Evans restaurant in south Toledo.

Wearing a sharp gray suit, with a full beard and swept-back red hair, Mr. Larson speaks matter-of-factly about his 25 years of experience delivering people from demons.

The 63-year-old minister, sipping a can of Red Bull energy drink, said he has performed well more than 6,000 exorcisms in 90 nations, and reports having been kicked, choked, and spat upon by people whose demons resisted the prayers of deliverance.

What in the world is this guy thinking? Hmm, a guy who sees the casting out of demons as something to be done for profit. Never heard that story before. Or have we...

Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was much joy in that city. But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the power of God that is called Great." And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed. Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, "Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." But Peter said to him, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity." (Acts 8:5-23)

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