Word: martinisms
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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THERE IS a decidedly medieval cast to Martin's mind that undermines the credibility of Hostage to the Devil. His claims are hurt by not divulging the names of the possessed or offering to release the tape recordings. And he has an unreasoning prejudice against psychology and liberal reform in the Catholic Church. The little humor found in this book centers around psychiatrists who meddle in exorcisms. A New York psychiatrist advises a college professor who is plagued by a spirit that his problem is religious guilt and that he should "lay some broads." "That 'll do the trick...
...some ways, Martin's book deals more with exorcists and the price they pay for battling with spirits than the possessed themselves. As he relates their stories, it seems the physical and spiritual price is very high indeed. One exorcist, a virgin, makes the near fatal mistake of personally challenging the spirit named "Girl-Fixer," without attacking it in the name of Jesus Christ. The virgin priest is "raped," the spirit clawing his buttocks and genitals so badly that he must be hospitalized. Another, Father Peter, faces humiliation as his personal secrets are exposed during the course of an exorcism...
...MARTIN IS QUITE AWARE of the skepticism that greets exorcism. He stresses the precautions that the Catholic Church takes. First, anyone who is believed to be possessed by "Evil Spirit" must undergo a battery of physical and psychological tests. Only when qualified doctors cannot find a medical reason for the symptoms will an exorcist be called in to expel the spirit. Martin describes the procedure and ceremony carefully, even to the point of printing the text spoken by attending priests, the Roman Ritual of Exorcism, as an appendix...
...Martin, a former Jesuit professor and religion editor of The National Review, also takes a dim view of any deviation from orthodox Catholicism. The French theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, who tried to rationalize evolution and scientific discovery with Christianity, is attacked for contributing in a roundabout way to the possession of two priests because of his potentially heretical views. All of the hero figures in the book--the exorcists--are not intellectuals; they are middle-aged plodders from rural backgrounds, deeply rooted in god, country and Church...
There are valid scientific objections to Martin's portrayal of possession. Skeptics note that in the past, both physical and mental diseases have been mis-diagnosed as demonic possession; these range from psychiatric disorders like paranoia and schizophrenia to diseases which affect the nervous system. Parapsychologists working with ESP, telekinesis and other psychic phenomena can also raise questions about the demonic origins of the possessed individual's reputed ability to mentally hurl objects around and read minds. Martin tries to deal with this criticism; one of the exorcists challenges a group of parapsychologists dabbling in astral travel and reincarnation...