Malachi Martin
Paperback | Pages: 477 pages Rating: 3.94 | 1741 Users | 224 Reviews
Point Of Books Hostage to the Devil: The Possession and Exorcism of Five Contemporary Americans
| Title | : | Hostage to the Devil: The Possession and Exorcism of Five Contemporary Americans |
| Author | : | Malachi Martin |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 477 pages |
| Published | : | January 6th 1999 by HarperOne (first published 1976) |
| Categories | : | Nonfiction. Religion. Fantasy. Paranormal. Horror. Christianity |
Interpretation Supposing Books Hostage to the Devil: The Possession and Exorcism of Five Contemporary Americans
I am not entirely sure what to make of this book, but it's not a cheap-thrills read. It's meticulous, intelligently written, and compassionate towards those who seem to be afflicted by evil. Martin seeks neither to mock nor to exploit the suffering, and seems to be a sincere and likable fellow.Having said that, I doubted the professional decisions made in many of the case studies in this book, and felt bewildered that these possessed folks were declared mentally stable by psychiatrists and/or psychologists who assessed them. Given their symptoms, I would have diagnosed most of them in a heartbeat and recommended a doctor to prescribe psychiatric medication, accompanied by an appropriate course of psychotherapy.
I wonder, would I have been correct to do so? Or, would I have only exacerbated their problems? I can't say but it seems to me that trying standard treatment protocols prior to exorcism might be prudent, since validating a person's belief they are possessed by demons would no doubt cause further trauma and potentially worsen their illness, in the event that you are mistaken.
I do wonder how the people who were exorcised turned out, years later, after their life-altering experiences. If they were truly possessed, one might expect a full and lasting recovery. If they were actually suffering from mental illness a relapse would have been inevitable. Given that we don't know their real identities, we can never know how their lives played out, decades on. It is also said in the literature on this topic that a person can be both mentally ill and under demonic influence which would presumably be much harder to sort out.
Malachi Martin writes a compelling set of life stories that whisks aside the veil that surrounds our daily lives to reveal an unseen world that he believes has the potential to affect us profoundly, for better or worse. Judging from what I've read before about possession, it seems to me that the people most commonly claiming to be afflicted by demons are those who, firstly, believe such beings exist and, secondly, that they have the power to possess humans. That said, Martin writes that most of the afflicted persons in this handful of cases were either never religious at all or had abandoned the faith of their childhood somewhere along the way.
So are we wrong to assume that it all comes down to what you believe? Surely, if you believe you have made a pact with Satan or become dependent on one of his minions, it will no doubt affect you profoundly, whether or not such creatures are actually harassing you. Belief is powerful. But then how to explain these unbelievers who appear possessed and are helped by exorcists? Well, I was not convinced that any of these folks were truly unbelievers in the supernatural, deep down, despite what they might have claimed in their daily lives.
However, I'm certainly not willing to say such things as possession are definitely unreal just because we cannot explain them from a scientific perspective. I simply do not know. The older I get, the less I feel sure about how the great world spins. What I do know, though, is that communities of faith and the beliefs that support them can be an important part of people's overall health, so I do not scoff at spiritual beliefs. That said, I would think long and hard and exhaust all other efforts before telling someone in my care I thought they were possessed by a demon.
Define Books To Hostage to the Devil: The Possession and Exorcism of Five Contemporary Americans
| Original Title: | Hostage to the Devil |
| ISBN: | 006065337X (ISBN13: 9780060653378) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Rating Of Books Hostage to the Devil: The Possession and Exorcism of Five Contemporary Americans
Ratings: 3.94 From 1741 Users | 224 ReviewsCritique Of Books Hostage to the Devil: The Possession and Exorcism of Five Contemporary Americans
I have done quite a bit of research on possession for a story, and I can honestly say that this book actually scared me. I can list on one hand the amount of things in the world that scare me and this book easily made the list. My sister was so creeped out that she wouldn't even finish the book. Dr. Martin delivers on his harrowing tales of true demonic possession. He tackles the book objectively from both sides (much like a reporter) and lets the reader come to their own conclusions. AlthoughHere I was thinking that I was comfortable in my retreat from childhood Catholicism into guilt-free adult agnosticism. Silly me. Then, I read this book and literally scared myself so much I was terrified to be in the house alone. Not that being in the same room as someone helped too much. I'm pretty much uncomfortable and filled with terror all the time now. Thanks Malachi Martin. I appreciate that.Five accounts of real Catholic exorcisms that occurred in the United States as late as the
This book really surprised me. I grabbed it from my boss's office to have something to read on the train--tales of five "true" American possessions? I was expecting something a lot less interesting than what I got.I believe the book dates from the 70s. It's interesting to see how the attitudes of that time period clearly inform all the possessions. This being a book about exorcisms the book obviously takes the possession that Christianity is real and everyone really needs to rely on Jesus for to
I have some weird fascinations-- for instance, I am fascinated by possession and exorcism, and I have no idea why. Actually, that's not true. I think it's because I believe in the concept of "evil" being some sort of entity that exists in the universe (in the form of the devil and his demons) and I guess I believe that given the right person and the right circumstances, this evil can possess people. This idea, to me, is far scarier than zombies or vampires or werewolves. I've read a bunch of
Very slow paced. I kept nodding off while reading this.
This is a shocking account of possession, deviant psychology, and most importantly: the religious approach to combating it. I found this book in the footnotes to "People of the Lie" and found it to be another intriguing page-turner, but clearly something that I would not recommend just anyone to read. Some of the accounts are so diabolical that they descend into a depth of evil most of us would never even conceive of; and, quite frankly, are better off not even being exposed to, even in a book.
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