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HEALTH, ILLNESS AND HEALING
Wellness as orderHealing as restoration of order
Illness as disorder
Cognitive (misunderstanding)3. Connect individual problem to larger mythic system
Emotional (misconnection)
Moral (misdirection)
Identify source of demoralization (disorder)
Identify restorative agent
CHRISTIAN MYTHIC STRUCTURE
HEALTH
Health is fundamentally spiritual in nature
Health involves wholeness (spirit, soul, mind, body) and holiness (good relationship with God)
Health is the product of an “ordered” spiritual relationship
ILLNESS
Illness is likewise fundamentally spiritual in nature
Illness is primarily caused by sin (personal sin, original sin, sinful condition of humankind)
Physical or emotional factors (anger, bitterness, resentment) may be proximate causes but sin is root cause
Illness is the product of a “disordered” spiritual relationship
There are a great many types of disorder for which healing is sought. Most common are emotional, spiritual, and relationship problems (fear, depression, anxiety, bitterness, resentment, compulsiveness, suicidal urges, tension, disintegrating marriage or other troubled relationship, handicap, conflict with a boss)Illness may be a punishment from God (for individual or collective sin) or Satan, if you allow him to be
Possession by Satan is a particularly dangerous form of influence that can lead to illnesses
Individuals
are to some extent responsible for their own illnesses (failure to repent,
forgive, or unite
with God)
HEALING
Healing requires tapping into God’s power directly or through intermediaries (healers)
Healing involves the process of overcoming sin, becoming closer to God
God uses illness and healing to teach people and to bring them closer to Him
Healing can therefore be distinguished from being “cured”
Healing may be coping well with one’s condition or using one’s condition to glorify God
Healing may be gradual improvement
Healing may be unexpectedly rapid recovery
Healing may involve improvement in another condition
or another person
EXPLAINING SUCCESS AND FAILURE
A variety of factors are used to demonstrate that healing has occurred (a feeling of joy, a sensation of healing energy)
A number of factors contribute to successful healing
Healing is promoted by the ability to pray correctly by knowing what is really wrong
Healing is promoted by creating an atmosphere of faith
Healing is promoted by the laying on of hands
Healing sometimes occurs without being recognized because the healing occurre in an area different from what was requested
A number of factors contribute to unsuccessful healing
Healing sometimes is not experienced not because it fails to occur but because the individual does not have faith without doubts or conditions
Healing sometimes does not occur because individuals have failed to remove blockages To the flow of healing power. The most significant blockage is sin.
Healing sometimes does not occur because God is trying to teach them a lesson
Healing sometimes is not sustained because the individual has
not stayed close enough to the Lord to keep the healing
HEALING RITUAL
1. Ritual Process
Destructuring
Creation of an emotionally charged relationship
Realignment (liminal state)
Transformative rituals
Restructuring
Learning experiences
Creating a sense of mastery (conceptual scheme, means to succeed)
Opportunities for practice
Setting, props2. Creation of "therapeutic eros"
Competence (credentials and testimonials)
Demonstration events (tricks and paradoxes)
Trust
High degree of group support
Acceptance despite confession
Permissiveness
Denial of reciprocity
Salt representing purityThe exorcist and others present are vulnerable if they have any secret sins that the demon can use against them. The greatest danger to the exorcist is becoming possessed by the demon.
Wine representing the blood of Christ
A crucifix
Holy water
An alien presence is felt
The demon purports to be the victim (the pretense) and the exorcist seeks to learn the demon’s name
The demon’s pretense collapses and produces pandemonium. There is a crescendo of abuse, horrible sights, noises, and odors. The demon’s voices must be silenced
The exorcist battles the demon directly, urging the entity to reveal more information about itself so it can be controlled
God's will triumphs and the demon leaves in the name of Jesus. The feeling of an alien presence dissipates. The victim may or may not remember the exorcism events