Casting Out Evil Spirits - Two of A Kind

[MineralMan]

Look at these two photos:


A Hmong Shaman casts out evil spirits to heal a boy.


A Lutheran Charismatic Church Bishop exorcises evil spirits in a woman to heal her.

This is the 21st Century. Both of these rituals are being carried out in our time. We likely scoff at the Hmong ceremony and think it is outdated and useless. On the other hand, The Roman Catholic Church, the largest organized denomination of Christianity, is still performing similar ceremonies for the same purpose. Some other Christian denominations also have such exorcism rituals. Many will defend the second practice while dismissing the Hmong Shaman's healing ritual. They are the same thing, exactly, and are being conducted for the same purpose, exactly.

Both ceremonies are useless. Both deal with non-existent supernatural entities. Both are irrational. We look at the two things differently, though. At least some of us do. We should not distinguish between the two, however. Both should be dismissed by 21st Century knowledge. Both are ancient, superstitious nonsense. And yet, if it is our religion engaginh in banishing supernatural entities, we tend not to scoff in the same way we do when it is not our religion.

A little thought will resolve this dilemma, I think. A little thought will lead to dismissing both as superstitious claptrap. When will we finally move into the 21st century and put aside ancient, useless rituals? When will we make an end of superstitious foolishness?

Note: I have updated the caption for the second photo. The Bishop in the second photo is from the Lutheran Charismatic Church in Argentina. That is also a Christian denomination. Here is a link to a video of the ceremony and a news story:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/watch-priests-perform-exorcism-screaming-5392567

[PragmaticDem]

1. I don't think that is a Catholic priest in the bottom photo.

[MineralMan]

2. You are correct. It is a Lutheran Charismatic Church priest.

I have edited the caption. However, the Roman Catholic Church also conducts exorcisms to banish evil spirits. Both are Christian denominations. Here is a link to the source of the second photo:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/watch-priests-perform-exorcism-screaming-5392567

[PragmaticDem]

3. Personally I think exorcism is pointless.

[MineralMan]

4. People who reason understand that.

I've further edited the OP to make sure it's clear.

[struggle4progress]

5. I'd never heard of "Charismatic Lutherans"

It seems to have been the result of a movement to promote pentecostal ideas (such as "speaking in tongues&quot , closely associated with the late Larry Christenson of Trinity Lutheran Church in San Pedro

Trinity Lutheran San Pedro (like a small number of other American Lutheran Church (ALC), Lutheran Church in America (LCA) churches and Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC) churches, apparently opted not to join the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) -- formed by the ALC, LCA and AELC merger in 1987 -- but instead joined the American Association of Lutheran Churches (AALC), which was a successor to the ALC. The AALC currently seems to work closely with the very conservative Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS) which likewise refused to participate in the 1987 merger: both those denominations seem to be biblical literalists and neither seems to ordain women

The relative sizes of the denominations can be gauged by noting the ELCA has about 3.5 million members, the LCMS about 2.25 million; and the AALC about 16 thousand

[MineralMan]

6. Of the thousands of denominations of Christianity, there are many

that are unfamiliar to most people. Naturally, many of those have very small numbers of congregants. Where I live, ELCA, Missouri Synod and Wisconsin Synod Lutheran churches are everywhere. There are at least a dozen within a 10 minute drive from my home. All three organizations are represented among them.

The Wisconsin Synod is notable for still having in its official doctrine the idea that the Pope is the Antichrist. I find that extremely interesting. Michelle Bachmann was notable for being a member of a Wisconsin Synod Lutheran Church. She did leave that church, however for another denomination.