The Film The Exorcism of Emily Rose - Essay Example

? God’s Existence (Insert God’s Existence The film The Exorcism of Emily Rose depicts Emily as a womanthat is in need of God’s intervention in order to save her from the evils spirits tormentingas argued out by John Stuart Mill. John Stuart Mill is an English philosopher who did not agree with the traditional religious view that God was an all-powerful and benevolent being that was entirely omniscient. Though he was a theist, Mill had his belief in God’s existence. He argued that the nature of the world we live in was a point of contention on the traditional religious belief on the nature of God1. The world as we know is full of evils which are rampant and this could not have come from the God that was acclaimed traditionally. Mill believed that though God existed, he was either limited in power or was not entirely benevolent. This means that he purposefully lets the evils that ail society to take place and rids them when he sees necessity or when one seeks intervention2. Emily is a victim of the evil that is rampant in the world. She is haunted and possessed by evil spirits which take control of her after she leaves home for college. The whole idea of God being entirely benevolent is fogged up by the fact that Emily is overcome by the forces which are beyond her control, which are the evil spirits after she chooses to discontinue her medication and rely entirely on her faith in God to help her overcome the evil spirits that taunt her. In the film, Emily is overcome by forces which she cannot control. The forces turn out to be evil spirits. She is initially advised to use medication so that she can overcome these evil spirits which seem to be slowly taking control of her. She starts speaking in quire tongues and getting in to a trance where she starts being destructive and her behaviors become shocking. When in the trance, she has a tendency of destroying religious symbols and artifacts, a proof that she is possessed by forces that oppose religion. The whole ordeal begins one night when Emily encounters a strange burning smell which comes from the hall-way in her dorm room. She decides to go and see what is burning and in the process, she notices that the door shuts itself and opens several times. She then goes back to her room and in what seems to be like hallucinations, she sees her jar of pencils move by itself and her bedclothes rolling themselves down. She then experiences a great weight which seems to be pulling her down and at the same time choking her.This prompts her to leave school and go back home. Both her and her parents are now convinced that she is possessed by demons and the only way that she can be helped is by performing an exorcism on her. The local parish priest, Father Moore, is called to perform the exorcism but unfortunately Emily does not make it out alive. Father Moore is arrested and charged with negligent homicide on Emily’s death. There are good reasons to suppose that Emily is sick and not possessed. After she encounters several more visions after her first, she is hospitalized and after tests, she is diagnosed with epilepsy. She is given medication to counter what is thought to be seizures but the anti-seizure medication is not of help to her. She still encounters her visions and bodily contortions which increase in severity. According to the doctor and the prosecution, Emily’s behaviors can be as a result of psychosis due to the visions that she encounters or epilepsy due to the severe bodily contortions. Another possible argument would be that Emily suffered from schizophrenia and is not demon possessed. For example, during her exorcism, Emily named 6 demons that had possessed her and this could be a logical base for arguing out that her condition was not spiritual but more of mental illness. The prosecution in the film actually puts up a solid case based on the medical proof that is being suggested. It is also possible for a viewer to argue out that God cannot exist amidst all this evil that is depicted in the film. The possibilities of Emily being sick cannot be overlooked. She shows all the possible symptoms of an epileptic and also her behaviors are similar to those of a schizophrenic. The fact that she also sees visions that are abnormal is a possibility that she could be suffering from psychosis. All this possibilities are however nullified because the medication that she is subscribed to does not alter or lessen the severity of her situation; the trances and visions. The possibility of her being schizophrenic is also nullified by the fact that all the demons that possess her name themselves one by one and more so show their manifestations through her actions and voices. They also speak in different languages such as Hebrew, Ancient Greek, German, Latin, Aramaic, and English acquainting themselves to people in history who were associated with a certain evil3. The atmosphere at the barn where the exorcism takes place also disqualifies the fact that her condition is medical. This is because the gust of wind in the barn is unnatural and cannot be in the control of a human being. The voices and screams that Emily also makes are also a disqualifying factor that her condition is medical. The existence of God is the ultimatum of the film. This is because Emily is finally relieved of her misery. The fact the priest also uses the name of the Lord during the exorcism and the demons fear and tremble upon its mention is proof enough that God does exist4. The whole situation of Emily Rose is in line with the sentiments of John Stuart Mill who believes that though God is benevolent, his benevolence is partial5. This is because God let Emily to go through her ordeal with the demons until she sort help from him. God also proves his existence through a letter that Emily writes before her death. Father Moore reads the letter when he is called to the witness stand. In the letter, Emily describes a vision that she experienced the morning after the exorcism. This vision is unlike any of the others she had. When she walks out of the house, she has an experience where she is told that although the demons will not leave her, her suffering can come to an end by her leaving her body.This is her first option. Her vision continues and she is told that she can help prove to the world that God and the devil are a reality in our world by returning to her body. Emily chooses to return because she believes that if she shows the devil to the world, then their thought of God’s existence being a myth and Him being dead, would be crippled. Conclusion This paper shows that there are evil spirits operating in the world. These spirits are out to devour us as humans and can possess anyone. Emily was an innocent college girl who had everything going for her but she was suddenly possessed by the demons. It is also key to be aware that the demons will also try and forge an attack against whoever is against them and is willing to expose them. Bruner, Father Moore’s lawyer, begins to experience strange occurrences in her apartment at wee hours of the night; strange smells are present in her apartment and she can also hear strange sounds. However, above all, God is always aware and ready to help. When Emily and her parents decided to seek intervention from God, He came through for Emily and exposed the demons that had possessed her and freed her of from their captivity. Just like Emily, all we need to do is ask for His intervention and things will be fine. The spirits may be persistent and inhibit our efforts in prayers but we should always be resilient when praying. This is the only way we can get closer to having an experience of God’s reality in this life and His love for us. The words quoted on Emily’s grave from the book of Philippians 2:12 “work out your own salvation, with fear and in trembling”, should also help us in our resilience in prayer. Bibliography Linney, Laura, Scott Derrickson, Tom Wilkinson, Campbell Scott, Jennifer Carpenter, Colm Feore, Tom Stern, and Christopher Young. 2005. The exorcism of Emily Rose. [Culver City, CA]: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Mill, John Stuart. 1961. The philosophy of John Stuart Mill: ethical, political, and religious. New York: Modern Library. Mill, John Stuart. 1990. The autobiography of John Stuart Mill. Raleigh, N.C.: Alex Catalogue Mill, John Stuart, and Louis J. Matz. 2009. Three essays on religion. Peterborough (Ont.): Broadview press. NIV Bible. 1997. London: Hodder & Stoughton. Read More