In Christianity, deliverance ministry refers to groups that perform practices to cleanse people of demons and evil spirits.
These groups attribute certain people's physical, psychological, spiritual, and emotional problems to the activities of these evil spirits in their lives.
"demons"), helping people overcome negative behaviors, feelings, and experiences through the power of the Holy Spirit.
[6] Jesus also casts demons out of a little girl (Mark 7) and a young boy (Luke 9), both events that the Bible expressly connects to strengthening the faith of their parents;[5] modern practitioners of deliverance ministry interpret their experiences expelling demons as an opportunity to strengthen their own faith as well.
[5] There is also the reminder that, even those who say they are capable of casting out demons in the name of Jesus, will be repudiated by Him on the Last Judgment, for not having been able to faithfully fulfill His word.
[7] Martin Luther practiced it in Germany during the 1500s as a way of participating in the "war with the devil," a tradition continued by Lutherans throughout the Reformation to the present day.
[1] Some believe that objects, by their very nature, harbor demons; for example, certain types of literature, especially if it leads the reader to question their faith and other media such as fantasy/horror novels or films, Dungeons and Dragons or other types of role-playing games, CD recordings of alleged satanic music, art with non-religious or blasphemous/sinful themes, or artifacts depicting pagan gods.
The usual cause is ancestors who were Satanists, Freemasons, or witches, or who died unrepentant of terrible sins such as abuse, adultery, or murder.
Some claim that negative traits and practices run in families because of the demonic presence that is passed down from parent to child.
[6] People may also perform rituals over objects that contain evil spirits, destroy them by breaking or burning them, then remove them from the home.
[1] The demon may resist the expulsion using the body of the possessed person and may speak, scream, cry, laugh, vomit, or lash out physically.
If needed, the person may have to take other steps of action as well, such as removing certain media from their home and creating boundaries with certain individuals who may have "spread" the spirit(s) to them.
Don Jeffrey, an exorcist in Arizona, states that any of these objects should be exorcised of evil spirits and blessed before burning them or sending them to the dump.
For example, some believe that ouija boards can act like a gateway for the demonic and must be exorcised and blessed, as the gate must be closed before it is destroyed.
[12] For some Christians, deliverance ministries are activities carried out by specialists such as Bishop Larry Gaiters, Rev Miguel Bustillos, and Rev Vincent Bauhaus,[13] or groups aimed at solving problems related to demons and spirits, especially possession of the body and soul, but not the spirit.
Some deliverance ministers who also use the term "exorcist" wear the clerical collar (first used by Presbyterians) and also incorporate a stole.
Frank Hammond and his wife Ida Mae have been called "perhaps the most influential practitioners of deliverance ministry.
[19] In diagnosing demonic presence, they focused more on the moral, ethical, and spiritual signs of possession rather than more dramatic physical manifestations like writhing on the ground.
[18] Reverend Bob Larson has also achieved widespread public notoriety, not just within the deliverance ministry movement itself.