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FROM THE HEART: THE CONVERSION OF THE PRIEST IN THE EXORCIST
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! 😊
ADDICTED TO GOD
NIAGARA FALLS, Ontario, September 22, 2022 – Everything good in your life comes from God.
It might come THROUGH people or nature or something else, but it originates in God.
God and God alone is the source of all goodness.
I mention this, because people (including born-again believers) sometimes have a tendency to take credit for good things when they happen, or to attribute good things to other people or to anything other than God. We must be careful not to do that. We must be careful always to thank God for blessings, understanding that he’s behind all of them.
God doesn’t get offended when we misdirect our thank-you’s, but we miss out on the blessings that come with thanking him. When you leave God out of the thank-you equation, you lose. Go ahead and thank people, by all means (lest they get hurt or offended), but don’t forget to thank God.
*****
Bad habits that keep you from being on target with God’s will are not something that you can break on your own or in isolation (that is, one at a time). For instance, wanting to quit smoking without understanding why you smoke in the first place will only lead to your failure. I have spoken with dozens of people (including Christians) over the past few years who are desperate to quit smoking but find they simply cannot do it. Their desire to inhale nicotine-laced smoke is stronger than their desire to quit.
Addictions are sensory- and memory-based. Even the thought of smoking gives addicted smokers the same sensation as actual inhalation of nicotine smoke. In fact, for some addicts, thinking about the addicted behavior is more satisfying than actually doing it. That’s because the thought of the desired addicted behavior releases the same chemical in the addict’s brain (dopamine) as is released during the the execution of the addicted behavior. Which is also why it’s so difficult to quit addictions like smoking, as you’re fighting not only the physical desire for nicotine, but also the strong memory of how it satisfies you, which is accompanied by a dopamine rush. Such a powerful force cannot be overcome just by wanting it to be overcome.
The day I was born-again, I went from drinking 6 to 8 drinks a day to drinking none. I had no desire to drink alcohol in the months following my rebirth. I did start to drink again later, but only sparingly and socially (one drink a few times a week). And then I stopped altogether.
I mention this because I’d been an alcoholic since I was a teenager. I’d been drinking heavily almost daily for 20 years before I was reborn. I never thought about quitting and would likely still be drinking heavily had I not turned to God. I’m not against alcohol per se (Jesus drank socially, and his first public miracle was turning water into wine), I’m just against alcohol for me.
But I know I could never have quit on my own or through any kind of a program or buddy/mentor system. Alcohol was my “medicine” that I legitimately thought I had the right to take. It was my default when things got stressful or hectic, or when I was feeling down or in the mood for a party. I used any excuse to drink, so that over the years nearly every activity I did was memory-stamped with alcohol and the initial euphoria it induced in me.
Such a pervasive addiction would have been almost impossible for me to escape on my own. I’m strong-willed, but not that strong-willed. I thank God that he sprang me from alcohol addiction not because I asked him to, but because whatever alcohol gave me, God then gave me instead. The reliance on alcohol was turned into a reliance on God, so that whenever I felt stressed or depressed, I turned to God. If I was unhappy with something, I turned to God. God rather than alcohol became my default, but this change I could not have arranged on my own. It came through submission to God and only through submission to God and was ultimately effected by God, not by me. First came my submission to God, then came my healing from addiction.
There is no other way to be fully healed from addiction than through divine intervention (in other words, a miracle). But it first requires full submission to God. Prayer – however fervent – without full submission to God will not stop the addiction.
*****
Do you have an addiction that you’re trying to quit? Stop thinking about your efforts to overcome it and focus instead on submitting yourself, body and soul, to God. The more you submit to God, the less power your addiction has over you. The more you submit to God, the more dependent you become on him and the more you will turn to him for all your needs rather than to drugs or to people. Fully submitting yourself to God will not only solve all your problems, it will give you the best ongoing high you’ve ever had, without any hangover or other nasty withdrawal symptoms.
If you have only one addiction during the rest of your time on Earth, let it be to God. We’re made to be addicted to him. Let your dopamine rush come from thinking about God and spending time with God. Let it come from just thinking about spending time with God. Let your focus be on him and him only, and he will get rid of everything that doesn’t belong in your life. You won’t have to do a thing. That’s a scriptural guarantee:
“Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and everything you need will be given to you.”
*****
All good things come from God. He is the originator and source of all goodness. Goodness can come through people and things, yes, but it originates in God. He sets it in motion. He sends it to you.
May your addiction be only and always to God.
A BORN-AGAIN BELIEVER 