I recently watched this movie and I was very moved by it so I decided to do a little research on it. I came across your blog….it saddens me to see you mock the story. Maybe you’ve never had something unexplainable happen to you. But does that really give you the right to laugh at what it’s trying to get across to people?

I appreciate that you have left a comment and let me try to give you a brief explanation about why I respond to things like this the way that I do.

If I were to encounter something “unexplainable,” I would have to seriously analyze what was actually happening. People genuinely recount having been abducted by aliens in UFOs. Perception is one of the worst tools we have to determine if something is true or not. If you like, I can make a follow up post explaining much of the research done regarding human perception and memory (our only way to access those events) that discuss how fundamentally flawed they are.

I have the “right” to mock anything I like. To rephrase your rhetorical question, you might mean, is it appropriate? Yes, not only is it appropriate it is laudable. For centuries upon centuries “faith healers” and “exorcists” have made fortunes scamming (either knowingly or unknowingly) people out of money and livelihood. Also, sincerely believing in concepts like demonic possession leads to people neglecting proper medical treatment — there are several prominent cases about this and I can also write an article detailing the prominence of faith healing gone wrong if you like.

I don’t write these things to set out to hurt people’s feelings; I write things like this because unsubstantiated claims like demon possession and exorcism need to be shunned and ridiculed. There is an oft-quoted saying that ridicule is the only weapon that can be used against unintelligible positions. I do not entirely embrace this view, as I often try to have open dialogue against these propositions — but ultimately we must recognize that they are absurd. Lastly, being touched by a movie adaptation of an alleged real life event does not mean that this is remotely what happened (even irrespective of the supernatural claims).

Tom, that’s exactly what the priest does. “They exorcist does seriously analyze what was actually happening.” I have found that people like you are not only ignorant, but proud to be ignorant. As part of their training, the exorcist must know for certain that what they’re dealing with is indeed demonic. My advice to you would be, pull your head out of your ass. xD Mmk. And before you begin to toss that “you’re a hypocrite” nonsense out there. Remember, I am human. I am Roman Catholic.. and I must admit that I have a giggle-fest when I spot those of a very feeble and ignorant mins.

“Ghost Busters” you say. Tsk tsk tsk, don’t be coy. It further adds to you stupidity mate.

Oh and sorry to myself for the typos. It’s just that reading what you posted lowered my IQ a bit.

Poor me.

Hey Tom, notice how I exorcised my “right” to mock the stupidity in which you spew. Ironic, no? =D

While it is overwhelmingly likely you are a troll, I will respond to you as though you actually hold this position because no doubt many people do.

Let me establish that based on personal testimony you believe in:

Demonic possession

The ability of humans to remove demons from people by channeling the power of God

Satan and his ability to interact with the human world

This list also does not include the supernatural beliefs you likely ascribe to beyond demonic possession that makes more sense in the narrative (such as angels, God, divine intervention, etc.). People also base their belief on UFO abductions on personal testimony. There are multiple people who agree to very similar events. Do you believe in UFO abductions?

You also recognize, I hope, that my explanation of my right to do something was in response to someone saying I have no right to? You are rebutting Amanda’s response if anything.

Well I agree with you, Tom. I also enjoy movies along the lines of The Rite, I don’t even mind when they are said to be based on a true story, as it is usually a way to add some final scare to the movie. But this time, it seems as if the primary message of this movie was religious.

Until I read this, though, I hadn’t really thought about the number of people who legitimately believe the claim. I was also rather surprised to see that the only comments written were by people who believe. It’s a little horrifying to see people who consider themselves reasonable and sane who believe that its okay to fabricate an explanation for the unexplained.

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Exclusive-Interview-The-Rite-Director-Mikael-Hafstrom-22846.html