Deliverance ministry
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In charismatic Christianity, deliverance ministries are activities carried out by individuals or groups aimed at solving problems related to demons and spirits, especially possession. Leaders of and adherents to these ministries emphasize the activities of evil spirits in many physical, psychological, or emotional maladies that people experience. The practices and many of the underlying beliefs of these ministries are not accepted by all Christians.
[edit] Methods
Deliverance ministries focus on casting out the spirit or spirits believed to cause an affliction. The method of casting out varies. Some adherents directly recite Biblical examples in prayer intended to command a demon to depart an afflicted person, and do not believe an ordained clergy is required perform the deliverance. Though many people confuse deliverance with exorcism, they are not the same. Exorcisms use the "holy" water as the main expulsion technique, while deliverance uses the authority Jesus Christ gave His church through his victory on the cross with his shed blood.[citation needed]
Ministries also organize the removal from homes of items that are believed to harbor demons, including fantasy or horrornovels, and artworks / artifacts depicting pagan gods or frogs.[citation needed]
[edit] Popularity
The rise of deliverance ministries in the United States appears to have occurred almost immediately following the release of the film The Exorcist in 1973, and the film has been credited with creating interest in casting out demons, even though the practices of deliverance ministries differ widely from the highly ritualized exorcisms carried out by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. The same year, a Baptist minister named Frank D. Hammond and his wife Ida Mae Hammond published a book entitled Pigs in the Parlor which was a 'hit' book on the subject. Derek Prince was also viewed as an authority on deliverance during his lifetime.
In the United States, the best-known current practitioner is Bob Larson.
