Homosexual Exorcism
By Rev. Richard A. Moyer
Pastor, Community United Church
I attended a church-related college which required every student to take a freshman course in introduction to Christianity. It was called something like Religion 101. The professor was an older man who was strict and dogmatic in his religious beliefs.
It wasn’t long before I concluded that the professor interpreted the Bible and Christian doctrine according to his own presuppositions and previously held ideas. It seemed to me that he wasn’t willing to let the Bible speak for itself. He came to his conclusions about God and Christianity and then went to the Bible to try to prove them and to justify his beliefs.
I thought back to that early experience in Christian education when I read an article in the current edition of “Details” magazine. The article, written by Matt McAllester, is called “Deliverance.”
The first sentence says “many Pentecostal Christians believe the deliverance rite can exorcise the demons that cause homosexuality.” McAllester goes on to describe an exorcism that actually takes place at the Holy Ghost Temple Church.
On a February Sunday, in the presence of 100 worshipers, a 20 year old man named Kevin stands before a minister who suggest that Kevin is demon-possessed because he is gay. The preacher (called a prophet) places her hands on Kevin and prays over him. “Come out, come out,” she shouts, “In the name of Jesus, I command you to come out! You gonna free him right now.”
The words and actions of this “prophet” at Holy Ghost Temple are so much like the biblical accounts of Jesus calling demons out of possessed individuals that it isn’t funny.
As I am writing this, the lectionary reading for the following Sunday was the account from Luke’s Gospel, where Jesus calls many demons out of a man who is living in a grave yard. According to Luke, Jesus then deposits the demons into pigs that wildly run into a lake and drown!
There’s no question about it. The Bible does describe something called demon possession, but it is no clear as to what that actually is. To be sure, the Bible never says that it is homosexuality.
There is not one place in the Bible where demon possession is ever equated with homosexuality. And there is nothing in the Bible where it even implies that a person with homosexual tendencies is in some way demon possessed.
Even if one were to conclude that homosexuality is a sin according to the Bible, that is far different than suggesting that a homosexual person is possessed by the devil. This kind of reasoning is an example of gross biblical misinterpretation due to someone’s prejudices and presuppositions.
The Bible does, for instance, conclude that gluttony and gossip and sinful. But who would ever say that one who gossips or eats too much needs to come forward in a public church services and undergo an exorcism?
One exorcist, according to McAllester, stated that she has the ability to “cleanse and bind demonic powers…out of genitals, out of anal canals, out of intestines, out of throats and mouths if there’s been ungodly deposits of semen in those area.” Just when I thought I’d heard everything…!
The problem for fundamentalist Christians who attempt to exorcise demons from gay people is that none of this is found in the Bible. They are just making it up as they go. Gays have no demons to exorcise.
The Community United Church is an open and affirming congregation and is is a member of United Church of Christ and Church of the Brethren denomination. . It is located at 1011 W 38th St. in Erie. Services are Sunday at 11am. (814) 864-4429. The pastor is Richard A. Moyer and his assistant is Dr. Richard McCarty. Website is www.uccwebsites.net/commuceriepa.html
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Erie Gay News
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Co-editors Michael Mahler and Deb Spilko