Leaders at the Lighthouse Church in Wyoming, Delaware, have begun conducting “Exorcism Classes” for the masses. They have even been advertising the program as a way to get closer to God and act as his holy army.
The practice of ridding a body of a troublesome spirit dates back thousands of years. But to date, we have trusted only ordained ministers of the church to liberate people from the clutches of evil. Now the kind ministers at the Lighthouse Church, nestled between two homes on Route 15 and just across the street from the Wyoming Town Hall, are conducting classes which aim to teach common folks the dangerous act of pulling out evil spirits from a live human being – a practice commonly referred to as an exorcism.
The church’s door is adorned with a large banner that urges people to enlist in “God’s Army” to help eradicate Satan through the church’s teachings. Alongside pink and white flowers, the church also hangs an Israeli flag and weapons like a broadsword to complete the effect and ensure people they mean business.
Christopher Gore, a deliverance minister for the church, regularly holds three-hour-long sessions which discuss, at length, the history and necessity, along with the biblical roots, of exorcisms, reported Delaware Public Media . He explains how Jesus Christ and his disciples alike would cast out demons, but laments how the practice has slowly and steadily fallen out of popularity.
He says it is his duty to eradicate the fear associated with performing exorcisms.
“There’s a general lack of education among believers. They don’t read their Bible. They are looking for more people to kind of spoon feed them a feel-good message. If you’re thinking of a demon randomly inhabiting someone, that’s generally not how it happen. Daily stress in life can chip away at your very being, almost creating a landing pad for demonic energy to latch.”
He stresses that an evil spirit just doesn’t decide to invade a body, but the event occurs after multiple instances of the person wounding himself or herself over a period of time.
“But over time with multiple events, there is that one trigger point that just kind of pushes the person over the edge and we call it the ‘one wounding event’.”
Gore insists that exorcisms aren’t harmful or detrimental, but in fact can be perceived as therapeutic. However, exorcisms can vastly vary, taking anywhere between a couple of hours to a whole day “from dawn to dusk.”
All exorcisms start with a quite prayer, before investigations about the person’s past. Once the history is known, the actual process begins, which can be quite traumatizing for both, explained Gore.
“They can be punching, kicking, biting. Obviously, they cuss. When they get in this enraged state, they’re very angry, they’re very upset. When these spirits come out to the forefront, they do not like being disturbed. They do not like us coming at them with the power of God trying to set this person free.”
Some of the most commonly seen manifestations of increasing demonic influence are rampant drug abuse, elevated cancer rates and other common public health issues, cautions the minister in the class. Classes at the Lighthouse Church will run through March, with Gore planning to offer more advanced classes in the future.
[Image Credit | Warner Bros / Everett Collection, Delaware Public Media]
