It's really a 'devil' of a subject!

WITH A DRAMATIC SUDDENNESS, the small native woman's timid face became a snarling mask of defiance. And then she began to convulse.
As the preacher prayed: "Come out of her in the Name of Jesus," three large men attempted to hold her flaying arms, however, she flung them aside like pieces of waste paper.
Then guttural sounds came from deep within her and moments later she sank to the floor like a limp rag doll. The preacher continued praying and then the small native woman smiled and her once grotesque features became almost child-like.
It was the mid-1980s and I had just witnessed one of a number of "exorcisms," which I had previously relegated to the movies such as 'The Exorcist' (1973) and 'The Amityville Horror' (1979). And of lines such as "An I'm the Devil. Now kindly undo these straps" and "For God's sake, get out."
Of course, besides the movies there had been TV characters such as the late Flip Wilson (as Geraldine), who always got a laugh with his/her most famous line: "The devil made me do it."
It was repeated countless times throughout the 1970s by anyone who had ever fouled up. I know I've said it on more then one occasion.
And then there was another constant: "(He's or she's) full of the devil." Now, you're really showing your age.
Those familiar and often trite lines, however, were dismissed upon hearing that the world's No. 1 demon hunter -- Rev. Bob Larson -- is going mainstream on British TV on Wednesday, March 19. 'The Real Exorcist' will, undoubtedly, reach across the pond to the U.S. and Canadian markets.
Of course, I'm familiar with Larson, having received his newsletters on an almost daily basis and in the British tabs there's been an avalanche of reports.
There among blurbs about 'Britney might become permanently bald' and 'Keith Richards: I'm a Bible basher' was Rev. Bob's next project of deliverance, troubled singer Amy Winehouse.
Of course, Britney Spears, was not spared Rev. Bob's assessment of possibly being under "the devil's influence."
And just who is this Rev. Bob?
In the blurb about his life, he had planned to pursue a medical career, but after he became a Christian at the age of 20, he felt a call to the ministry. This one-time rock musician would become a motivational speaker, author and radio-TV host.
Along his journey, Rev. Bob became interested in the occult phenomenon, world religions and alternative spirituality and he witnessed demonic possession first hand.
As founding pastor of Spiritual Freedom Churches International Inc., Larson is now about to appear on a regular basis on British TV. It can be a dangerous undertaking, but Rev. Bob has conducted more than 10,000 exorcisms over 30 years, according to a newspaper report.
Of course, dealing with Satanism and occult practices is not new, for probably the world's most well-known preacher, Billy Graham, was quoted as saying: "A generation ago, when I began as an evangelist, people generally, and intellectuals, in particular, thought of the devil as an anachronistic symbol, a handy expression of profanity, or as a superstition believed in chiefly by religious eccentrics. Today, the devil is getting maximum exposure, precisely as the Bible predicted would happen prior to Christ's return."
At the top of this column I detailed an exorcism I had observed. It occurred in Edmonton while I was working, briefly, for a well-known and globe-hopping evangelist.
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OPRAH AND MY MOTHER: In January, 1999, I wrote a two-part series for World Net Daily, about that media darling, Oprah Winfrey, and her obsession with New Age "religion." At the time, I received letters questioning my mentality.
As TV's leading personality, she was advocating "remembering your spirit." And millions started to believe what she had to say. Now, almost a decade later, Oprah, who claims she is a Christian despite a strange belief system, is promoting Marianne Williamson's "A Course In Miracles" and also a book by Eckhart Tolle about 'A New Earth.'
But I have a suggestion for you, Ms. O, it's time you put my 92-year-old praying mother on your show and let her explain how a true miracle from Jesus healed her after a long and extremely painful bout with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Of how she abandoned her wheelchair and within a year had a "miracle baby," and then she returned to her schooling -- attending the University of Alberta in Calgary. And of her becoming a beloved teacher for 22 years.
Yes, Oprah, you could talk with her about a real miracle, rather than you living in your putrid New Age with its false beliefs.