Even when religious practice is legitimate, it is not a blank check for adults to endanger the health of children. And in this case the “religion” itself is a fraud.

Does anyone know of reputable surveys or statistics?

1. The person on the receiving end is a minor and our laws generally provide extra protection for them.

2. If any physical harm is being done, I don’t see how that can be shielded by any laws or guarantees concerning religious practice. I’m not an attorney or a constitutional scholar, but this would seem to be so. One can certainly work oneself up into a frenzy like that and even vomit with no outside assistance — I’ve seen it.

3. This sort of thing goes on in pentecostal churches somewhere in this country virtually every day. If not for “demons of homosexuality” then for something else. The scene here was erily familiar to me as I started my faith in a pentecostal denomination (Assemblies of God).

Keeping in mind previous legal caveats, I think it would be nearly impossible to legally discourage or punish whatever mental anguish might come from such an event. Perhaps it has been done, I do not know. But quite frankly, I doubt we will ever be able to legally punish religious groups for mental anguish, at least those groups considered anywhere near a genuine religion and not a cult. It would be interesting to know if this has been done or even attempted.

I am personally appalled by the scene, and I think if there is any kind of outside influence that can cause this church to rethink this type of activity, it should be exercised. However, I have no doubt that many people even among those reading XGW will recognize the theatrics and atmosphere exhibited in this clip as something they have witnessed without a second thought.

The act of exorcism is in scripture, Christian and otherwise. Realistically, It won’t be going anywhere anytime soon just because many of us are offended by it. That said, I believe if these people in the video were to actually meet whatever a demon really is, they would faint dead away and/or lose control their bodily functions.

PS: I see no reason for race to be part of the equation, the church I was part of was 100% WASP. I’ve seen little difference between what happened there and in churches of color.

It helps me learn how to keep cool, when what I really want to do is something else.

There are always people who question for the right reasons and have not certainty and know it.

These are the teachable and reachable.
I also like knowing how committed I am to going DIRECTLY to who I need to.

It was a long distance call and worth the time.

Dr. Cass’s attitude that what he calls ‘pagan’ religions which are non Christian are invalid and don’t have the same worth as Christianity. Dr. Cass’s decades long experience AROUND gay people who he says changed their homosexual ways dismisses so many things, and dangerously so.

He denies that religious taboos against other personal or social issues never changed or aren’t a denial of necessary personal freedoms. As in the case of blood and organ donation (even from animals), autopsy and contraception.

He wants Christianity to take credit for everything good that’s occurred in this country, but none of the bad.
When I told him about the abuses of Native Americans by missionaries, to not even keep their names, he dismissed it as justified since the Indians were pagans.

He’s bought into believing that homosexuality is caused by some kind of sexual abuse, but dismisses the idea that gay children are initially mentally and emotionally abused by the expectation that religious belief can and should change them, or else they suffer any number of threats.

He didn’t care that people belonging to any given group under such socio/political duress is no stretch that a member of that group wouldn’t WANT to be such a person.
And lastly, sometimes abusers say they are hurting, controlling and macromanaging your life out of love.

He counts on gay people and people in general not knowing the difference.
I think saying it’s about your eternal soul and relationship with God is a terrible thing to say while allowing the most vital social networks do the job of abject pressure.

This ultimately forces a person into going along to get along. He supports all the discriminatory laws in place. And although he told me to prove MY feelings in Scripture or else he would too.
DADT, the Boy Scout ban and so on, are NOT in Scripture, neither is marriage bans for that matter or school bullying.

In a country where we are and should be free to choose which religious path we want to take, hedging that in favor of governmental public policy against a single group takes the sincerity out of Christians acting out of ‘love’.
It shows a lack of patience for God getting to any one of us in due time.
Most of all, he argued most forcefully that being gay is changeable and should be changed.
And THIS is what makes credibility for gay people so extremely difficult.

I don’t think it’s wrong for me to think, since this attitude is so entrenched and persistent, that ex gays think about this.
The ones who say they WANT to help and that their conduct is valid as a personal social choice, would ONLY be right, WERE there a choice.

There is no choice to be gay, THAT’S the point.

Thrusting into someone’s abdomen until they vomit is extremely dangerous, no matter how many “demons” the assailant imagines to be in the victim’s belly.

The issue is the awful beliefs and attitudes leading up to the exorcism.

The race card is also wrong. A white church tried excorsizing a white gay for mine.