But Deliver Us from Evil: An Introduction to the Demonic Dimension in Pastoral Care by John Richards is an important twentieth-century Christian study of exorcism, deliverance ministry, demonology, occult experience and pastoral care. First published by Darton, Longman and Todd in 1974, the book examines how the Church should respond to people reporting experiences interpreted as demonic, psychic or occult. Google Books
Rather than treating exorcism as an isolated or sensational practice, Richards places it within the wider context of the Church's ministry of healing and pastoral care. The book considers both theological understandings of evil and the practical difficulties faced by clergy when attempting to distinguish spiritual interpretations from psychological, psychiatric or medical explanations.
Richards discusses what he called the contemporary "occult explosion", examining subjects including spiritualism, mediums, séances, Ouija boards, witchcraft, psychic phenomena, poltergeists and parapsychology. The contents also address possession, deliverance ministry and the exorcism of both people and places. Google Books
One of the book's particularly interesting features is its attempt to engage with different possible explanations for disturbing experiences. Its index and subject matter encompass psychiatry, schizophrenia, hysteria, epilepsy and psychological explanations alongside Christian concepts of evil, possession and exorcism. Richards therefore approaches the subject as a question of pastoral discernment, rather than assuming that every unusual or troubling phenomenon necessarily has a demonic origin. Google Books
Written during a period of renewed British interest in the occult and supernatural, But Deliver Us from Evil provides a fascinating record of how sections of the Church were attempting to develop responsible approaches to deliverance and exorcism during the 1970s.
The book explores:
Christian understandings of evil and the demonic
Exorcism and deliverance ministry
Pastoral care and spiritual discernment
Possession and alleged demonic influence
Occult practices and spiritualism
Mediumship, séances and Ouija boards
Psychic and paranormal phenomena
Poltergeist experiences and ghosts
Psychological and psychiatric considerations
The exorcism of people and places
Healing ministry and prayer
The role and responsibilities of clergy
This title will appeal to readers interested in:
Christian exorcism and deliverance ministry
Demonology and Christian theology
Paranormal and psychical research
Occultism and spiritualism
Pastoral responses to supernatural experiences
Healing ministry
Christianity and paranormal phenomena
The history of modern Anglican approaches to exorcism
The book is especially relevant to anyone studying the intersection between Christian ministry and reported paranormal experience. It offers a historical example of attempts to negotiate the difficult boundary between theological interpretations, psychical phenomena and psychological or medical explanations.