Fr. Malachi Martin & "perfect possesion"
Dear Brother John-Paul,
I had a question and comment about your reply to "Jim" from his May 26, 2004 question entitled, "exorcise perfectly possessed?"
It seems to me that Malachi Martin's assertion of a "perfect possession" is not heresy but doctrinally sound. Take for instance Our Lord's teaching about those who are guilty of the sin against the Holy Spirit. Christ said, if I remember correctly, that this sin will not be forgiven. I was always taught that this is due not to some inability of God to extend forgiveness and mercy but to a person completely cutting themselves off from the working of the Holy Spirit. This person is no longer able to receive God's mercy due to the working of his or her own free will and decision and even God will not violate someone's own free will. Of course, I am assuming that such a person has the capacity to freely choose.
So, is it not possible for a person to so give themselves over to a demon or demons that they cannot be exorcised due to the person's own actions and free will?
This kind of person might live in accord with a demon and function fine in the world and all the time be headed for ruin. This person could also be content in their life choice and have no desire to change it. I believe that is what Malachi is saying about "perfect possession." Not that demons have free reign over the earth. A demon only has the power that God allows it to have and it seems you were implying that a perfectly possessed person was not complicit enough in their own possession to where they could be "perfectly possessed" in the first place. Malachi never said, that I can remember, that God cannot do whatever he wants to do. If God wanted to intervene in some special way, He has the power to do as he wills. To me, there are those persons who have by their own choice completely turned away from God and if they died at this moment in such a state would be damned, of course depending on the individual circumstance. Only God can judge. But, still the same, the church does teach us that those dying in a state of mortal sin will be lost. And hence, Christ's command to "pray always." I've never heard of a case where God forces a person to do right. Correct me if I have misinterpreted what you said.
I listened to many radio interviews with Fr. Martin before he died and heard him address this subject many times. I also read a couple of his books and listened to some of his tapes. If he is spreading heresy and discord in the church, let me know where. But, he has, to my knowledge never misled me in my faith in the church or the Holy Father. This is not to say that I agree with him on everything.
Could you please address my comments and questions and if you have time, say if you actually use Malachi's book (Hostage To The Devil??) as a doorstop. Maybe you were just kidding. I was not sure.
Thank you for your time. I truly enjoy your website. It is full of great material and wisdom.
Sincerely,
Blake
QUESTION from Blake on June 2, 2004
ANSWER by Staff on June 2, 2004
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Dear Blake: Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is about a person refusing to accept God's saving grace even unto death. Martin uses the term "perfect possession" and says that the person cannot be exorcized. This is nonsense as is most of Martin's assertions. It is possible for a person not to be freed from demons because they choose not to be, but this is a point of the person's free will, not the possession itself. There is no such thing as a possession that is invulnerable to God. The only thing that can stop God is one's own free will. God has chosen never to intrude upon one's free will. In cases of full possession, if a demon is preventing the person of the use of his free will, this would not stop God from granting that person freedom. Then AFTER the exorcism, the person can always invite the demons back. Yes, I use Martian's book as a doorstop. That is all that it is worth. If you have listened to many of Martin's interviews and have not noticed his trying to stir up discord, then, with all due respect, you have not listened very well. This is understandable, however, since Martin was a slick salesman that would make a used car salesman proud. For example, in order to give the appearance that he is not against Pope John Paul II he, in one interview, he mentioned how the Church is being led into hell, or something to that effect, then 40 minutes later he mentioned Pope John Paul II as the leader of bringing the Church astray. The 40 minutes separation of these comments allows the listener to not catch that he is saying the Pope is leading the Church to hell. Classic technique. Martin was an ultra-traditionalist kook and like all ultra-traditionalist thought that his opinion outranked the Pope's. This is the definition of a liberal. Both those whom we generally call "liberals" and those whom we call "ultra-traditionalists" are actually both liberals; they are nothing more than two sides of the same coin -- lacking faith and replacing that faith with their own brand of orthodoxy and constantly sewing discord, especially through conspiracy theories bare of any actual proof. I have more than 25 interviews of Martin on tape. I was going to use them to expose this man and his tactics to sell books. As a former publisher, editor, and public relations person I know the tricks of the trade. Martin used about every one of the standard tricks to sell books. I have no respect for the man or his memory and was not going to waste my time doing the report on him after he died. His groupies, however, are still going strong and so I may go ahead with the report to prove the assertions I am making; and I can prove them. When I can get that done with the time I have I do not know. In the meantime I recommend avoiding this man for anything serious. His novels might be good but remember that they are only novels. That reminds me. Art Bell once asked Martin why he didn't write a non-fiction book to expose all these corruptions that he claims are in the Vatican. His response are comical. He said that he wrote novels as "Fact-ion" -- a combination of fact and fiction. The reason for this was to protect the people involved (why do this, if they are corrupt then needed exposed) and to protect the public. He thinks the public could not take it if they were to know the truth. Give me a break! Art Bell asked about how much of the novels are truth. Martin replied 80%. I thought he did not want to alarm the public. Instead he tells the public that 80% of his novel is truth, but does not say which portions are true and which are not, leaving the public to wildly speculate causing confusion and discord. However, the real reason for writing FACT-ion is an old book selling trick. It peaks the imagination of the public to figure out which is which tantalizing the public's hunger for conspiracies, and most importantly, as a FACT-ion book he does not have to provide footnotes or one shred of evidence. Such an approach is the stuff of the "National Enquirer". I feel sorry for the man. He was very confused at best. I pray for his soul.
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