THE ministry of deliverance is a controversial area of pastoral care, because experience shows that exorcisms, when carried out inappropriately, can do more harm than good. Nevertheless, Jesus was an exorcist, and people still turn to the Church when they feel that they are being afflicted by unwelcome spiritual forces; and Christians pray regularly “But deliver us from evil.”
The Church of England can proudly claim to have responded to this need most notably when, in 1972, a report was published by a commission convened by the Bishop of Exeter, with its recommendation that each diocese should appoint a suitable person to undertake this ministry. For many years, the Christian Deliverance Study Group, which I co-chaired with a psychiatrist, trained Anglican and other clergy for deliverance ministry.
In the past 50 years, there have been a number of developments affecting deliverance ministry, most notably the Charismatic renewal, which takes evil seriously, but where enthusiasm is not always tempered with wisdom and discernment. Then there has been the development of safeguarding and the recognition that most who seek this ministry are “vulnerable”, and, sadly, some have suffered spiritual and even physical abuse from it. There has also been a growth in diaspora communities in which the practice of exorcism is commonplace; so ministry today is often cross-cultural.
This book is a welcome examination of where deliverance ministry has been, and it examines the present situation and offers helpful pointers for the future. The nine chapters each have a different and specialist author, and the book is divided into three sections: Mental Health and Vulnerabilities, Theologies and Cultures, and Biblical Studies. The sections look at such matters as the desirability and difficulties in having an inter-disciplinary approach when clergy work with healthcare professionals. It examines the phenomenon of hearing voices, and the nature of evil; and there is a helpful exegesis of an exorcism in St Mark’s Gospel.
In one significant chapter, “Evil and the Supernatural in Popular Culture”, Anne Richards reports about the enquiries received by the Church of England’s central structures. These are enquiries from people caught up in a world mediated through television, video games, comic books, and online forums about the cosmic battle — death, judgement, heaven, hell, demons, the devil, angels, heroes, and the continuous battle for human souls.
Covid-19 has disturbed some caught up in this popular culture, who fear that their fantasies have become a reality, and they turn to the Church for answers and reassurance. Many clergy will not be familiar with Generation Z, zombies, the walking dead, aliens, and the myriad of mythologies that make up popular youth culture. So this chapter provides a helpful guide.
The editors and contributors are to be thanked for this timely contribution that draws on a variety of disciplines from experts in their own fields. It provides another helpful guide as the Church continues to confront evil in the world, to set people free, and to build the Kingdom of God.
The Rt Revd Dominic Walker OGS is a former Bishop of Monmouth.
Deliver us from Evil: Church, theology and deliverance ministry
Jennifer Strawbridge, Nicholas Adams, and Isabelle Hamley, editors
SCM Press £25
(978-0-334-06348-3)
Church Times Bookshop £20