Parker Family wrote:I haven't heard about Reverend Bob Larson so I won't really comment on him, but I'll try to give the facts that I know.
I don't think demon possession should be taken lightly; its really scary stuff. About making it into a TV show, I'm not really sure is it right or wrong; but I'm don't think teenagers should be doing it. Its not that simple as say a few words and *poof* the demon is gone; instead, it may a really long time. A pastor (who was our neighbor and was an "exorcists") had to fast a few days before he went to the person who was demon possessed and casted the demon out. He had to battle with the demon word to word for hours. The demon would keep saying "No, this person is mine, I got to him before Jesus did," but he would keep telling it to get out "in the name of Jesus." Finally, the demon will have to leave. I don't think teenagers should do this (especially since its dangerous and most teenagers are still emotion and mentally unstable); it could really harm them.
Well if there's anyone who takes demonic power seriously, it's Bob Larson; as I said before, he's performed thousands of exorcisms, and nobody on earth knows more about exorcism than he does. And yes, fasting is a helpful preparation, but it is not a prerequisite--you can exercise the authority of Christ any day, any time, whether you've been fasting for a week or you just got off of work and a buddy of yours needs a little spiritual confrontation. And though exorcisms do often take a long time, there are far more effective ways to cast out demons than what was just described--did the pastor try to identify the legal right that the demon had to the man? The renunciation of sins and generational curses is usually necessary to get the demon out. If you don't remove the spirit's right to the person, they still have something to cling onto and they won't leave.
And yes, most teenagers probably aren't properly equipped for this type of ministry, but all of these girls have been trained by Bob Larson and have been performing exorcisms for a while--especially Brynne Larson, Bob's daughter, who has grown up around this stuff her entire life, and she performed her first public exorcism in Africa when she was thirteen. These girls know what they are doing, and they know how to protect themselves (both spiritually and physically, I might add--three out of five of them are black belts in karate!).
As for filming this stuff, why not? People film sermons, and youth rallies, and mission work overseas--why not spiritual deliverance? It's just as important, if not more so, as any of that stuff mentioned. People need to know the truth and get free, and if we don't show them that this stuff is real and effective, how else are they going to learn about it? The church certainly doesn't preach about it. (Interesting fact: approximately one third of the synoptic Gospels talks about confrontations with the demonic, and yet only about 1% of teachings in the church address the issue. I sense some disproportion here.)