So this episode of a tv show SO mind-boggling stupid had a synopsis that made me curious (not unlike a rubbernecker slowly rolling past the carnage of a multi-vehicle pileup on the interstate-- you just can't help but peer and gawk as horrendous as it may be...): Georgia single Mom Cindy Sauer tries to get over the sudden death of her husband when dark shadows and nightmares convince her that a demon is haunting her. Cindy turns to a Pastor to exorcise the entity before it drives them literally insane. So this woman's husband committed suicide in the house where she still lives with her teenage daughter. She meets an ex-pastor (red flag!) who, like she, has a penchant for haunted things (houses, mostly). Why the guy is an ex-pastor is only alluded to, as is his experience with a couple of possessions that left him...well, spent. BUT. Because he "studied theology" he is able to quickly diagnose the problem and recommend "a religious intervention." Really. I wonder if any of the writers of this crap have even set foot inside a church? But Expastor isn't the hero of this tale, lawdy mama no! He has connections to (an obviously non-Roman Catholic) "priest" somewhere in the Georgia outback where this nonsense plays out, a "Father Darren" who shows up (with a tin of pre-sanctified wafers and a sidekick-- Paranormal Mary, a woman from some local Ghostbusters outfit). After demanding-- twice!-- that the demon possessing the woman give up its name, it did. What I heard was Albert, which made me giggle with a mouthful of potato chips, but it turns out the name was Albin. Albin. What self-respecting demon would go on tv with a name like Albin?! (Seriously, it's like a demon named Hortence or Francis or Theodore...) Anyway, this Father Darren saved the day and they all lived happily ever after (including Albin, whom the woman belched out in a dark, miasmic puff...and then he was gone). Just like that. Case closed...
...not so fast. I did some digging on this Father Darren and all I could find were two podcast pages with broken links and a tenuous connection to the Anglican Diocese of the South, which doesn't even list his church.
Once again my caveat: I am an unpaid amateur, a seminary student, so I am far from an authority on things ecclesiastical or theological, which includes exorcisms. But if you're going to make a tv episode entitled "The Exorcism of Cindy Sauer," you need the Catholic Church-- they, literally, wrote the book on exorcism. So once again, I make the point that apologetics is very, very important in a world where people get their theology from tv shows like A Haunting. And, speaking of aplogizing, the writers and cast and real-life characters of that episode need to. Apologize, I mean.
However, speaking of priests, I am right now knee-deep in a great read, Silence (being made into a movie), about the persecution of Portuguese Jesuit priests in Japan in the early 17th century. It's historical fiction and I just marvel what these trailblazing priests endured to spread the Gospel, guided only by faith.
Well, that's it for now. It's grillin' time on the patio and a cold beer awaits...
Until next time...
С Богом!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.