Hostage to the Devil by Malachi Martin

A few weeks ago I finished a fascinating book by Malachi Martin titled “Hostage to the Devil: The Possession and Exorcism of Five Contemporary Americans.” Now I don’t know how many thousands of books I’ve read over my lifetime, quite a few I’m sure, but I can’t seem to recall one as heavy and dark as this one was.

Martin, a (now deceased) former Catholic Priest, writes of five firsthand accounts of demon possession and subsequent exorcism. Martin thoroughly researched each case, interviewing those involved and studying the recordings and transcripts of the exorcism, to present an accurate portrayal of what demonic possession is like. As you can imagine, all of the possessed were involved in sinful lifestyles and Martin doesn’t pull any punches in his recap (Read that: Mature Audiences Only).

Having studied demonology in seminary as well as encountering demonic possession first hand on the mission field (CLICK HERE for that post) I must admit I was quite intrigued at what Martin had to say. Especially because this book is considered a classic in its field, and students of demonology (which I caution anyone against becoming) are bound to read it sooner or later.

Martin’s experiences fit superbly within his Catholic worldview. Items such as sprinkling the possessed with holy water and holding up a crucifix are presented as powerful weapons against demons. Martin teaches us which prayers are to be used to “provoke” the demon and then explains how exorcisms rarely last less than one and often times up to five days.

However when I think back to my experiences, or the experiences of others I know, or even compare it with the biblical accounts of exorcism, I feel like I’m missing something. In the Bible we see Jesus conducting multiple exorcisms. (See Luke 8:26-39, Luke 9:37-43, Matthew 15:21-28, etc.). Time and again he instructs the demons to depart and they do. Never do we see him using “holy objects” or taking several days, or using only special prayers. While not always instantaneous, my experiences and the experiences of those I respect, are that exorcisms usually last less than a few hours and sometimes just a few minutes. None of us used any holy objects or recited magical prayers. We simply gave the situation to the Lord and followed his examples.

So what’s my point? Well I guess what intrigued me most about this book is how do I reconcile my experiences with the demonic being one way with Martin’s experiences being different, while at the same time both experiences actually happened?

Does the enemy play into our worldview? Meaning if we expect them to respond a certain way, will they try to twist it to their advantage, even during exorcism?

Or does God allow the demons to linger on longer as a way to get the Priest’s attention and to show that only He can expel the demons and not the Priest?

I’m not sure how it works.

There are some really good aspects to this book. Martin’s emphasis on making sure you are right with God before even thinking about conducting an exorcism is great. (Even if you aren’t planning an exorcism this is important.) I also really appreciated how Martin traced back over the possessed person’s life and showed how personal choices, deemed insignificant by the person, would eventually snowball into demonic possession and by the time the possessed realized what was going on, it was too late. But there is a price to be paid by reading this book. It definitely wouldn’t win the feel good book of the year award.

Bottom Line:

If you are a student of demonology, have a solid understanding of correct theology and are not easily offended by graphic depictions and language, I recommend reading this book which you can purchase by CLICKING HERE.

However, if even one of those areas does not describe you, than this is definitely not the book for you.

Here Come Labels!

Well it was bound to happen sooner or later.... I just wasn't expecting it to be today. I logged on this afternoon planning to write up a book review of a book I just finished to find that the nice folks at blogger were being kind enough to give me the opportunity to upgrade to the new blogger, or my account would be deleted.

You can probably tell by the new look that with the upgrade came some changes. I had been avoiding the upgrade because the new system uses CSS instead of HTML which basically means I couldn't use my old template. Not a huge deal but I don't know the first thing about editing CSS code so I predict some "growing pains" are coming around the corner.

One great new feature that I'm real excited about is my site now has labels! Each post entry has been given a label. If you scroll down the right hand side to the "Table of Contents" you can pick a category and every post I've written under that label will appear. How great is that!

Now if I could just figure out how to resize boxes......

The Saddest Thing I Ever Heard…

In a recent online interview with America Online utilizing Instant Messenger, actress Eva Mendes was asked about her character in the upcoming movie “Ghost Rider.” During the interview we see a moment of brutal honesty about the reality of her world. The following from Eva (writing under the user ID RoxieLovesBlaze and complete with typos) just broke my heart:

MoviefoneKevin: that's cool. did you check out the comic books at all?

RoxieLovesBlaze: yes! comic book roxie looks different than i do, and i just hope that die hard fans embrace me in this role. also, i love the idea of selling ur soul to the devil since i work in hollywood and i sell my soul a little every day.........

At first I thought this was just another victim of the Hollywood lifestyle. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized Jesus came in contact with people just like Eva two thousand years ago.

Jesus addressed the crowd in Mark 8:36-37 and asked “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? What will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

It appears that Eva has answered “a career in the limelight.”

Such a fleeting, temporal endeavor in exchange for the most precious of all gifts. My heart breaks when I think of the day when Eva comes face to face with the reality of Luke 12:20 where Jesus says:

"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?'

Who was St. Valentine?

Valentine's Day is celebrated every year on February 14th, but why? Who is the man behind this holiday known for candied hearts, chocolate, roses and love notes?

There are three Valentines who are noted as having lived in the late third century in the Roman Empire during Claudius II's reign. One was a priest in Rome, another a bishop of Interamna (modern Terni, Italy), and the third a martyr in a Roman province of Africa. Some believe the martyrdom of all three men named Valentine (or Valentinus) occurred on February 14th. Many scholars believe two of the Valentines, the priest in Rome and the bishop of Interamna, are the same, suggesting the bishop of Interamna was a Roman priest who became bishop and was sentenced there and brought to Rome for his execution. It is believed Valentine's execution occurred around the year 269 A.D. In 496 A.D., Pope Gelasius marked February 14th as a celebration in honor of Valentine's martyrdom to replace the pagan Roman holiday in celebration of the goddess Juno and the eve of the Feast of Lupercalia.

Many would agree Saint Valentine's life is a mystery. History proved his existence when archaeologists unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to Saint Valentine. He is mentioned in Jacobus de Voragine's Colden Legend, written circa 1260, about saints. (It is written that this was perhaps the most widely read book after the Bible during the late Middle Ages.) He was also featured in a woodcut in the illustrated book called The Nuremberg Chronic/e, printed in 1493.

Sources indicate it was Emperor Claudius II who had Valentine executed for secretly marrying Claudius' soldiers, defying an order from the emperor that soldiers were not allowed to marry. Claudius was having difficulty recruiting soldiers and believed the reason was an unwillingness for Roman men to leave their loved ones, as a soldier would be required to fight for at least 25 years. Therefore, Claudius banned all marriages and engagements. However, Valentine, along with Marius, secretly married couples until he was caught, apprehended and brought before the Prefect of Rome. It is even believed Valentine tried to convert Emperor Claudius and was then imprisoned. One legend says Valentine restored the sight of his jailer's daughter while he awaited his execution. Yet another legend says that on the eve of his death, he wrote a note to the jailer's daughter and signed it, "From your Valentine."

Despite the mystery and questions surrounding the man we have come to know as Valentine, the accounts of his courageous decision to marry couples against the Emperor's law and share the gospel with him stand as testimonies, encouraging us to stand up for Jesus Christ!

~ The Voice of the Martyrs, February 2006

Colosseum, Roman Forum, Mamertine Prison

***Well this is it, the last post of this trip. It has been a long, and amazing 3 1/2 weeks. We have successfully made it home in one piece, with all of our luggage, and Emily and I are feeling much better. We appreciate all the prayers and emails of encouragement we received while we were gone. We are really looking forward to being able to teach to others what we have learned, in the near future.***

Sunday was spent seeing a final few sites in the city of Rome. We started out at the Colosseum.

I learned two interesting facts about the Colosseum. First, it hadn't even started to be built until 72AD so Paul wouldn't have seen it. Secondly, it wasn't finished until 80Ad and since Nero was already long dead by then, we can eliminate the myth that Nero killed Christians in the Colosseum.

This is an inscription on the Arch of Titus which was erected in 81 AD. I found this fascinating. Look closely at the inscription. It depicts the looting of Herod's Temple in Jerusalem by the Roman army after it's destruction in 70AD. Notice the menorah, the table of showbread and the two silver trumpets.

This is a view of the remains of the ancient Roman forum (marketplace).

The ashes of Julius Ceasar are here and people still pay their respects.

This is the "Milliarium Auream" or "Golden Milestone"(at least the base of it). Remember the phrase "All Roads Lead to Rome?" Well this is where mile marker zero was.

Perhaps the highlight of the day was seeing the Mamertine prison. This was the prison Paul (and probably Peter) were imprisoned in right before their executions. (Not to be confused with the apartment prison Paul stayed in during his first Roman imprisonment). Two things to note, first I'm 6 feet tall and my head is touching the ceiling. Secondly, the gray post on the left side of the picture is where the chains would have been attached to.

This is the only flat space in the entire cell. It is very probable that this is the exact location Paul wrote 2nd Timothy from.

For visitors there is now a convenient staircase but Paul (and Peter?) would have been lowered down, and received food through, this hole in the ground. (The white object you see is a person in the cell area).

St. Paul's Basilica (Burial Site) and Three Fountains (Execution Site)

After spending the morning at the Vatican we journeyed just outside the city limits to two of the sites I was really looking forward to; the execution and burial locations of Paul. It was much more intense than I was expecting. Probably because for the previous 3 weeks we had been recreating his every step, reading passages from the Bible in their cities of destination or origin, and these two locatoins are where it all ended.

While visiting these two sites the irony was not lost on me that Paul started out as a persecutor of Christians and then died as a persecuted Christian. I wonder if this would have been some form of closure for him for the guilt he surely felt at times?

These are the stones Paul walked on from his holding cell as he was marched to his execution spot.

This monument stands over the spot that church tradition says he was executed at. Because Paul was a Roman citizen, he couldn't be crucified. (Peter was not a Roman citizen.) Therefore he was beheaded which was seen as much more humane.

Church tradition says that Paul's head bounced three timies and in each location a fountain sprang up. There is an altar like this one in each of those three locations. (Paul's execution location is now a monastery). Considering that these fountains are about 30 feet apart from each other I'd say that it'd be just about impossible for this to be true, but it's interesting non-the-less.

After his death one of his friends in Rome took his body a few miles down the road to her family burial location. St. Paul's Basilica now stands over that location.

This altar stands over the spot Paul's body is located.

This is as close as you can get to Paul's coffin.

Scientists have identified Paul's coffin because it has these words on it which mean "Paul, Apostle, Martyr." However for some reason they are hesitant to open it to verify that Paul is in there. (I guess the only way to verify would be if the neck bone is severed than it's probably Paul but if it's not than you got the wrong guy.) Why won't they do this? Is it perhaps because of the loss revenue if it isn't him?

The Vatican

Saturday was a very busy day in Rome. The first half of it was spent touring the Vatican. While I'm not going to spend the time right now to explain the numerous reasons why, it's safe to say I'm not Catholic. That being said I was very interested in seeing the Vatican, especially since it has had such a huge impact on history. I had mixed reactions. On one hand I was wowed by the sheer splender of the place. The architecture and paintings are stunning. On the other I was saddened. It seemed so spiritually empty. So many rituals but no passion. One of our group members went to take communion in St. Peter's. The Priest asked him if he was a Catholic. He responded with "I'm a devout follower of Jesus Christ." The Priest again asked him "But are you a Catholic." He responded with "I'm a Christian." "Then you may not take communion" and he walked away. Truly Sad.

Photo of St. Peter's taken from the square. St. Peter's was built partly as a statement of the counter-reformation.

If you look at the four yellow windows, apparently the Pope lives in the second one from the right. (At least I overheard a tour guide say that).

This is the Papal altar where the Pope gives mass. It is also the alledged burial site of Peter. Traditionally on June 29th (64 AD or 67 AD depending on your view), church history holds that both Paul and Peter were martyred. Peter was crucified upside down (alongside of his wife) at the Circus of Nero which was just outside of present day St. Peter’s. Excavations have found the bones of a 60ish year old man from the 1st century AD have been found under the altar but how can one know if they belong to Peter?

Embalmed bodies of past Popes (such as this one of Pope John XXIII of Vatican II fame) are found throughout St. Peter's for devout Catholics to pray to.

While walking through the Vatican museum I was disturbed to see many statues of various dieties such as this one of Artemis. Why would you have images of false gods in the Vatican?

This is a double edged sword found on a statue. I included this photo because this is the type of sword used to execute Paul.

Ostia Antica and the Appian Way

We successfully made it from Athens to Rome very early friday morning. Unfortunately Rome doesn’t have as much internet access as I was hoping for so these last three posts are a bit late. (I'll post one now and the remaining ones tomorrow when I get back to the States.)

After landing in Rome we immediately traveled down to Ostia Antica. Ostia was the ancient port city for Rome. Paul’s journey into Rome started down in the boot of Italy so he wouldn’t have come in through Ostia. However, if Paul was released at the end of his two year imprisonment (which I believe he was) and if he did travel on to Spain (which some of the Epistles hint at and Church history states that he did) than he would have most likely departed from this seaport.

Ostia has one of the few known (and best preserved) synagogues from the 1st century AD in the Roman world.

The early church (pre-Constantine) in Rome met in one of three locations: villas, synagogues or apartment blocks. Below is the picture of the remains of an apartment block. Never higher than 50 feet, apartments offered absolutely zero privacy. Since the poorest lived on the top floors, it is likely that’s where the Christians met as well.

We then left Ostia and drove to within a few miles of the city walls of ancient Rome and walked the final two and a half miles of the Appian Way which leads into Rome. This is the road Paul took to enter Rome.

Roman law mandates that the dead are buried outside of the city. As Paul was walking up the Appian Way and about to enter into Rome he would have seen thousands of graves such as the one below lining the road. As he was journeying to Rome a prisoner to be tried and likely executed, I imagine this was incredibly difficult emotionally.

This is me on the ancient steps of the Appian Way, just a few miles outside of Rome. Paul walked these very steps.

Hundreds of thousands of graves like this one, line the entrance into a city.

Athens

We visited the city of Athens today. Interestingly Athens, like Rome, Istanbul and Lisbon, has 7 hills in the city. I also found in interesting that there are no skyscrapers in the city. I couldn’t find any building higher than 6 to 10 stories tall. They don’t want anything coming close to the height of the acropolis I guess.

Emily and I in front of the world famous Parthenon.

Climbing to the top of Mars Hill.

This is Mars Hill from the Parthenon. Notice the agora at the far right of the photo.

Acts 17:16 “While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.”

These are just a few of the idols that Paul would have walked by. It was said that in ancient Athens it was easier to find an idol than a human. Later in the day we walked through the National Museum of Greece in Athens and it was packed full of idol statues found during excavations. I can easily see why Paul would have gotten so upset.

As we realized in many other sites, there is such a deeper understanding of the Scriptures having actually been here. I’m realizing things that never noticed before. For example, as Paul is defending his case against the aeropagus (the court responsible for defending Zeus against new ideas), he says:

Acts 17:24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands”

Paul would have been saying this less than 100 yards from the temple to Apollo. Not only that but right over his shoulder the aeropagus would have been looking directly at the temple to Athena (now known as the Parthenon) looming against the skyline. This would have been a very clear message to the court. There are tons of other examples of this in the passage.

Corinth, Isthmia, and Cenchreae

We visited Isthmia, Cenchreae and Corinth today. Isthmia is where the famous Isthmian games of ancient times originated and Cenchrea is mentioned in both Romans 16 and Acts 18 as the harbor Paul used coming in and out of the Corinth area. But since Corinth is such an important Biblical site, I'll keep my post focused there.

This is a view ALMOST from the top of Acro-Corinth where the Temple of Aphrodite and her 1000 temple prostitutes were. Sailors would come into port and hike two hours up a grueling path just to ...um ... visit with the temple workers. In the background nestled in the mountains is the city of Delphi.

This is a very important inscription. It used to be filled with bronze letters but those were stolen. It reads "Erastus in return for his aedileship [a top city official position] laid [this pavement] at his own expense." Due to several factors such as Erastus being a very uncommon name as well as the job description we are virtually certain this is the samae Erastus of Romans 16:23 and 2 Timothy 4:19.

This is the Bema seat that Paul would have stood before Gallio at. This was a huge event because when Gallio refused to hear the case, he was acknowledging Christianity as a part of Judiasm (which was a protected religion). When the Roman governnment realized Christianity was something very different several years later, that is when the persecution began.

This is the Corinth Canal. It was built in the 1800's so that they no longer had to put boats and cargo on rollers to get across the isthmus.

Here is one of the few known busts of the infamous Nero. Do you think perhaps his insanity was due in any small part to the fact that he had enormous ears? (Click on the photo to see what I mean).

Delphi

Delphi. For those familiar with it the name is synonymous with evil. If Jerusalem was the throne of God, than Delphi was the seat of Satan. This was the center of all ancient cult worship. This is where people would come from all over the known world every year to consult with the future-telling oracle. I don't have enough time to really go into all the details, but let's just say 2000 years ago you probably wouldn't want to raise your kids here.

This is the Temple to Apollo and the center of the cult city. People would hand a priest a written question to ask the oracle. The priest would then enter into the temple where the oracle was sitting in a special chamber. Interestingly this chamber was directly over a fissure in the earth that emitted noxious vapors. These vapors would cause the oracle to utter nonsense words which would be interpreted by the priests. (These interpretations were very vague). The oracle could never be wrong.

This is the entrance to the oracle chamber.

We walked through the Delphi museuem which is loaded with artifacts from the cult days. You can still very clearly feel a strong sense of demonic oppression in certain parts of the museum.

Thessalonica and Berea

Okay, I think this post should just about bring us up to date. Yesterday Emily and I visited Thessalonica and Berea (which I'll write about in just a minute) and today we took a long bus ride down through the countryside and visited a monestary high atop some cliffs. We then continued through the country and are spending the night in Delphi. I should have some pictures of Delphi in my next post.

Emily's throat is much better but she still has a bit of a cough. Both of our stomachs are feeling better but are still not 100%.


We've been so many places it seems a bit confusing so here's a map with a rough estimate of the route we've taken so far:






We began the day in Thessalonica. I was disappointed as there are hardly any ruins at all. Most of this modern city has been built on top of the ruins so there's no way to excavate them.

Modern Thessalonica. I doubt Paul stopped at this Starbucks on his journey. Note the ruins to the left.

These agora remains are about the only ruins in the entire city.

After Thessalonica we visited Vergina (where Phillip II was assassinated and Alexander the Great crowned King) and saw the royal tombs. We then headed to nearby Berea. I was really looking forward to visiting Berea but when I got there I discovered there are no ruins left. The entire city has been built up. However there was this monument built in the old part of town.

This is the site of an ancient Synagogue although there is no way to know for sure if this is where Paul met with the Bereans.

Philippi and Neapolis

Following Paul's route (though we went by land instead of by sea) once he received his vision of the Macedonian man, we left Assos very early in the morning and took a ferry across the Dardanelles. After a long bus ride we crossed the border into Greece and headed towards Kavala. Kavala is the modern day name for the city of Neapolis, the seaport Paul landed in as he entered into Greece for the first time on his second journey.

Now a storage area for old boats, this is what's left of the ancient harbor Paul sailed into.

Sunrise over the Egnatian Way. This is the road Paul took from the harbor of Neapolis towards Philippi.



Philippi is only about 5 miles from Neapolis, easily a one day's journey.

This is the traditional location of Lydia's baptism.

It's a bit difficult to see from here but in the foreground is the bema (judgement) seat that Paul and Silas stood at as the city government decided to send them to jail. The marketplace they were dragged to for exorcising a demon is in the background.

This is the traditional site of Paul and Silas' jail.