CAMPBELLTON, New Brunswick, July 20, 2023 – Growing up an atheist, I loved watching horror films. One of my favourites was The Exorcist, which I saw several times. I didn’t know then what drew me to that particular film (or why I cheered for the demon rather than the little girl [lol]), but now I know. I also recall being struck by certain scenes which have stuck with me ever since. These weren’t the more infamous scenes, like the head-spinning or levitation, but rather (and oddly, in retrospect) quieter moments that were not at all demonic.

One of these quiet scenes that struck me and then stuck with me over the years was where the priest pours his bottle of liquor down the drain. He’d been having a crisis of faith and had turned to alcohol as a comfort. But after he witnessed Regan’s full-on demonic possession, his crisis came to a screeching halt and out the booze went in one fell swoop. He’d been instantaneously and miraculously healed of his alcoholism.

I recalled this scene tonight when I was reading some comments under a YouTube video. The comments were from people who claimed to be born-again but were fighting addictions such as alcohol or drugs. I couldn’t help but think that if these people truly were born-again and therefore truly believed not only in God but in the existence of evil, they would know first and foremost to go to God for help, and he would help them. That was my first thought.

My second thought was the scene in The Exorcist where the priest pours his liquor down the drain. I remember how the tenor of the movie shifted after that scene. In layman’s terms, “sh*t got real”, and what had been for the priest a theoretical belief became a real belief. He’d witnessed evil so up close and personal that he could no longer deny its existence. In witnessing evil face-to-face, he finally came to believe in everything he’d been taught in seminary; that is, he finally believed in God.

When the God-penny dropped for the priest and he became a believer, nothing else mattered to him but acting on that belief. He’d already been equipped with the tools of his priestly trade so he knew what he had to do to deal with the demon, and off he immediately went to do it.

What does this priest have to do with us? Well, comparing this scene in the movie with the comments I read on YouTube, I’m wondering how many people who say they’re born-again actually believe in God. Because, to my mind, if they actually believed in God, they’d be like the priest who just poured the booze down the drain and that was that. No more addiction. I guess what I’m trying to say is that many people seem to have a head belief in God but not a heart belief. They want to believe, they think they believe, but their lives and their fears belie their belief.

When you truly believe in God, you’re like Jesus. You’re like Moses after he saw the burning bush. You’re like Elijah or any of the prophets in the Old Testament. You’re like Paul. What I mean is that God is your whole life and doing his will is what motivates you. You don’t have to force yourself to do it, like an obligation – you want to do it. You might even have to be held back for a time, like Jesus was, so strong is your desire to serve God.

Yes, you might still want to do things that you want to do, but if they’re not God’s will for you, you don’t do them. You don’t even think about doing them after God lets you know they’re not his will for you. If you truly believe in God with a heart belief rather than just a head belief, then you don’t have addictions. Why? Because an addiction is an idol that you worship and bow down to. You cannot bow down to an idol and truly believe in God at the same time. It’s not possible.

That quiet scene with the priest pouring his beloved booze down the drain shows what it means to truly believe in God, which is why I’m of the opinion that most people who say they believe, don’t actually believe.

I haven’t watched The Exorcist since I was born-again 23 years ago. Maybe I should watch it again, just to check that scene, to make sure it was as I represented it here. One thing I do know for sure, though, if I do decide to watch the movie again – I won’t be cheering for the demon this time!   😊