The Exorcism of John Safran

John Safran is an Australian documentary maker and radio broadcaster, known for combining humour with explorations into religion and other issues.

In August 2004 he debuted his new show John Safran vs God. The first seven episodes were typical Safran informative satire. The series' finale featured Safran being exorcised of demons which had supposedly possessed him during his dabblings with world religions. The exorcism was performed by well known Christian fundamentalist Bob Larson.

Safran did say that he "doesn't remember any of it", "felt something was going on", and that "there was something about the expression on my face". In an interview on Andrew Denton's Enough Rope program, he claimed that he had no memory of the events during the exorcism.

source

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the exorcism of John Safran:

well something happened, that much
h is evident

I have been to see Bob Larson and been on his email list for a few years. In my opinion he is a legitimate Christian exorcist. Any Christian can do what he is doing, he just has a knack for it. I believe the show was legit. John Saffran is Jewish if anything. He has no interest in making this up, if nothing happened then he would have got just as much mileage out of it as if it did. There would have been plenty of people he could have filmed being exorcised if nothing had happened for him. Evenhis cameraman was freaked out by it and was worried about him during the episode. This is the last episode of his 5 or 6 part series. He was genuinely out there to try everything and he did.

Glad you ran with this as it has bugged me for years. The silence about it (except a few mentions in interviews) made Larson more money... who despite "doing what any Christian can do" i.e. exorcising something they think are "demons", is a scammy, smarmy evangelist who I'd wager doesn't believe half (or any) of what he does himself. But perhaps I'm simply painting with broad strokes, tainted by other evangelists as I am.

The first shows of the John Safran vs. God series are classic and quite entertaining. This ending, though, was weird.

I chalked it up to a young, unsure kid getting caught up in the brain-washing of religion that he had set out to explore and deride, as an atheist. His initial honesty and humor made this episode a major puzzle.

That's the grey area in religion... there seem to be spirits, probably is a god of sorts, but imo, people don't have much of a clue and certainly muck up whatever religion they touch, no matter how pure or truthful it's start.

Anyway. certainly of interest and I highly recommend the other, earlier shows.

I missed this episode on tv, but I've seen other John Safran shows and I like his investigative style.
He always comes across as being genuine and informative. Watching this freaked me out a little as I too concider those evangelist Benny Hinn types as mere showmen, something much more was going on here. I don't think it was hypnosis either.

Larson is a scam, and currently pimps his daughters as the "wonder women exorcists"

His daughters have been caught on tape revealing the scams/money/hoaxes and that their father idolizes Marjoe Gortner.

Marjoe made a documentary of his final preaching tour and exposes the hoaxes, how to heal, speak in tongues and do it all and he empties bags of cash in his motel bed.

Also secret video of preachers revealing the entire tax free scam as preachers don't pay taxes they are exempt.

Documentary: www.disclose.tv...

Hmmm,
I will say John is a man of his convictions, or willing to try any shock tactic to make a statement.

This footage is rather disturbing and shows him going through a crucifiction, yes real nails in his hands and feet. Viewer discression advised.

While that may slightly t&c breaking it is important I think in understanding that this was his opus in a way for the religeous based documentaries he was involved in. Certainly has some balls that's for sure, not many out there are willing to try to go to such a shock factor. So, I'm led to believe he's putting it on a bit during the exorcism. He knows it's a load of codswallop but think of the ratings potential to give it a little more of a kick!

Thank you for posting this. I saw the reference to this on another thread but hadn't found the clips myself yet.

The real proof, I think, would be in a conversion. Honestly, if this were all real I would anticipate that Safran would become a very vocal Christian. From what I've gathered in googling around on him, though, it seems like he mostly is identified as Atheist (with Jewish heritage). Most Christians have ups and downs in their faith and their walk, but if that exorcism was a true spiritual event than I would expect that he would have been talking about his big conversion. It would be completely life changing.

VegHead
Thank you for posting this. I saw the reference to this on another thread but hadn't found the clips myself yet.

The real proof, I think, would be in a conversion. Honestly, if this were all real I would anticipate that Safran would become a very vocal Christian. From what I've gathered in googling around on him, though, it seems like he mostly is identified as Atheist (with Jewish heritage). Most Christians have ups and downs in their faith and their walk, but if that exorcism was a true spiritual event than I would expect that he would have been talking about his big conversion. It would be completely life changing.

Well lately he has been co hosting a show with elderly priest covering a range of topics called ¨Speaking in Tongues¨. Here's an episode:

reply to post by Ribidus


Ok. Where do I start.

Firstly, my background is baptist and Pentecostal christianity. I have seen all the alter calls of pastor who would lay their hands on the forehead of the sinner and knock them to their feet in the name of Jesus. I have spent many year reading and better understanding this phenomenon.

The truth of the matter is that 100% of it is fake within the perimeters of the way it is being presented. It is real on another level, however. That level is strictly an energy-based, emotional, and self-healing ritual that is being instigated by a man posing to be something he is not.

My first bit of evidence is the simple question... How much is Mr. John charging for a session of demon deliverance? It is a business and he is a master of the ritual.

Now I know that some Christians on this forum will refuse to believe the presentation of my thoughts, but it doesn't change the truth behind it.

How he does it is simple. He gets you to a point where you can finally addressing all of the hidden negativities in your life. that is why you fill out a 20 page bio where you are supposed to write down all your transgressions and then he will use those against you to further the process of liberating those dark foibles. On one hand it is great what he is doing, but on the other hand he is misrepresenting the source of that liberation... IT IS YOU who is doing the liberating.

However, he merely pulls one imprisoning operating system away and replaces it with another, albeit a less intrusive one.

Most people are professional shielders of their darkest secrets. The very process of bringing these to the surface is such an emotionally debilitating act that one feels as if they have been cleansed... because they have.

Now, there are very bad spirits out there that can gravitate towards you and latch on. These spirits can also be puled from you. The only person that can remove these spirits from you is yourself. Because only you have allowed them to be in you. These spirits do everything to distract you from realizes that they are in control.

If it takes a man like John and his charisma to reveal these spirits to you so that you can rid yourself of them yourself, then fine. But the fact that he is replanting another controller over you that is not yourself, is the problem.

You are in control of yourself, no one else. Your relationship to GOD (yes the same god that everyone is from no matter what religion they practice on Earth) does not change.

To me this man is doing nothing but using his gift at utilizing sensitive personal information, using your GOD as a crutch, and then charging you money to rid yourself of the bad energies in your body (or bad spirits in the few) to bolster his own presence and power.

AAC

reply to post by AnAbsoluteCreation


Bob Larson certainly comes across as a money making TV evangelist and I hate that stuff. But it doesn't mean there isn't an element of truth to what he does. I have actually done what he does, partly based on what he taught. It is real. I dont know if he started off genuine and has since turned it in to a business, or if he bases his fund raising strategies on the other big tele evangelists' methods. He does go for the wow factor but I am not sure if that is just part of being an American or not. He gets non-christian people in to his meetings/shows by appealing in a showman kind of way, but his message once there is pure Chrsitianity.

Cinrad
reply to post by AnAbsoluteCreation

 

Bob Larson certainly comes across as a money making TV evangelist and I hate that stuff. But it doesn't mean there isn't an element of truth to what he does. I have actually done what he does, partly based on what he taught. It is real. I dont know if he started off genuine and has since turned it in to a business, or if he bases his fund raising strategies on the other big tele evangelists' methods. He does go for the wow factor but I am not sure if that is just part of being an American or not. He gets non-christian people in to his meetings/shows by appealing in a showman kind of way, but his message once there is pure Chrsitianity.

To better put it... He is a magician. A great one. The kind where people ask, how did he do that trick? It must be real.

AAC

Yes I've been involved in deliverances myself.

The spiritual phenomena has less to do with the genuine character of a person than many might believe. In fact Jesus even spoke of this and if people knew their bible they would clearly see this in Matthew 7:22-23 which says....

"Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?” Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”"

Corrupt and false people can still exorcise demons but it's not going to be a good outcome at judgement when they didn't know Jesus, and incidentally Jesus never knew them as the above verse states.

reply to post by AnAbsoluteCreation

The truth of the matter is that 100% of it is fake within the perimeters of the way it is being presented. It is real on another level, however. That level is strictly an energy-based, emotional, and self-healing ritual that is being instigated by a man posing to be something he is not.

Let me dumb it down for you: what happened in these videos is a form of hypnotism.

reply to post by AnAbsoluteCreation


Nice summation of what I, myself, think about this. As I said, it's a grey area and Larson is a scam... but your carefully considered take of it being the repressed person himself, doing the liberating once primed psychologically, makes good sense.

Weird phenomena, either way. People are strange.

reply to post by surrealist


You're aware that there are other cultures that drive demonic possession out of people using other names of gods too, right? The Hindu chant to Krishna to assist in expelling demons.

I look forward to the day when people realize god is a product of the culture you're from. There are as many gods as there are cultures. As long as cultures fight each other their gods will too.

The real god is not a man. He is a force. And we are all part if that force.

AAC.

I can't say it any more clearly. He will do anything for 'entertainment'. He took nails through his hands and feet, intense agony purely for shock factor. It's what he does. This whole charade is nothing more than him exploiting naive religeous folk.

Can someone tell me why he thinks doing seated meditation, or "Buddha", has something to do with demon attraction? really strange...

darktouch
Can someone tell me why he thinks doing seated meditation, or "Buddha", has something to do with demon attraction? really strange...

Emptying the mind and opening it up to any spiritual entity good or bad/ lower or higher depends on what you want to call it.