Exorcisms make for good horror.The concept of a possessed little girl with solid black eyes and a rotating head — and disturbing projectile vomiting — is now a classic horror image for good reason.But do demons actually exist? And do they actually posses people?For some religious people, the answer is a definite yes.Recently, a charismatic church made headlines when a video of a purported exorcism in their sanctuary was posted on YouTube.  The video shows members of Manifested Glory Ministries, a nondenominational church in Connecticut, gathered around a boy, who lays writhing on the floor. As the crowd’s chanting and the boy’s convulsions intensify, certain phrases become audible over the confusion: “You demon, loose yourself!” “You sex demon…you snake!” “You homosexual demon, get up on outta here!”As the video progresses, it becomes increasingly obvious what is happening.  The church members are expelling — or believe they are expelling — a “demon of homosexuality” from the young man.It is, to put it lightly, an eerie scene.The question of demons —     actual spiritual forces of wickedness that directly influence the world we live in — is an ancient one, and its one that continues to be addressed within the modern American faith community.As a graduate of Parkview Baptist High School, right here in Baton Rouge, I personally experienced the deeply-held belief in such spiritual forces that some Christians have.Our junior year, we were required to read Christian author Frank Peretti’s “This Present Darkness.”  The novel directly addresses demons, juxtaposing the spiritual struggles of real-life Christians with the invisible war between angels and demons that occurs all around them.  Demons directly posses teenagers, driving them to drink and do drugs.  Sometimes, the spirits intervene more directly — at one point, one of them drives his sword through an engine block to stall a Christian’s car.More humorously, the school board once tried to ban the Harry Potter books, because they “glorified dangerous and evil dark magic and sorcery.” Needless to say, more practical administrators and faculty and a skeptical student body meant that the Potter phenomenon still lived at Parkview.But the most breathtaking exposure to the belief in demons and exorcisms was my experience with, of all things, a Latin teacher named Mr. Collier.Mr. Collier once directly asked us who in the room had exorcised a demon. When, as you might imagine, no one raised their hand, he looked at us incredulously.  “This is the problem with our country today — we don’t have enough young people willing to stand up and fight against the spiritual forces of darkness!”Mr. Collier believes passionately that demons exist — in fact, he believes that he had once been possessed by a demon of alcoholism.  He told us several times of his exorcism, in which he claims that his neck was swollen to tremendous proportions and a deep voice emanated from his throat, laying claim to his life.After his pastor removed the demon, Mr. Collier never had a drink again in his life.Whatever these stories may make you think of my high school, it was an excellent place of learning that left me perfectly ready to face college. And I still carry a deep respect for Mr. Collier — as a teacher, and as a human being, whose faith defeated alcoholism and led him to a lifetime of service.Which is perhaps the most fascinating — and perhaps dangerous — part of the equation: not everyone who believes in angels and demons is a lunatic. In fact, a 2008 Pew Forum study indicated that as much as 68 percent of Americans in some way believe spiritual forces besides God work in the universe.It’s obvious to anyone who has talked with someone like my Latin teacher that the concept of spiritual forces that directly affect the world is very real — and very powerful — to those that believe in them.But as powerful as the concept may be, it is equally as dangerous.Although it is true that demons do appear in scripture — Jesus “exorcises demons” in the gospels — there is mounting theological evidence that this was largely metaphorical, if not actually misinterpreted (Biblical references to Lucifer, a name many associate with Satan, actually reference astrological phenomena). Equally heavily-cited evidence is contained in the writings of Paul, and this evidence is even more metaphorical.Instead of interpreting “spiritual forces of darkness” as actual malevolent entities hell-bent (literally) on corrupting humanity, Paul’s admonitions are likely in reference to the forces we fight within ourselves.Mankind has plenty of dark forces at work within itself. Why is it necessary to believe that we need scaly, sulfurous demons to corrupt us?This is the fundamental problem with demonic possession.  It serves as a kind of metaphysical cop-out — instead of owning up to the flaws, sins, and evil deeds we do all by ourselves, it’s much easier to just say “the devil made me do it.”Maybe I’m wrong.  Maybe I just don’t like the thought of an invisible monster subtly influencing my thoughts and actions.Maybe it’s a demon of cynicism that prevents me from thinking like Mr. Collier. Or maybe I’m just wary of allowing myself to think that the flaws in the world that need fixing aren’t of our own making and can be fixed merely by casting them out with holy water.—–Contact Matthew Albright at [email protected]