File:Mariusz Blochowiak ESC2017 full video.webm

English: Rational justification for the existence of the devil and the exorcism"

Mariusz Blochowiak European Skeptics Congress 2017

Mariusz Błochowiak studied physics at the University of Adam Mickiewicz in Poznan, Poland. Afterwards he did his PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, Germany, focusing on polymer physics. Then he started working at a scientific institute SINTEF in Oslo, Norway, where he continued research in polymer physics cooperating mainly on projects with industry. Finally, he came back to Poland and got involved in publishing "The Exorcist monthly" and books in the publishing house "Monumen". He is interested both in science and theology (religion) and possible relations between them.

Rational justification for the existence of the devil and the exorcism Believing in (the existence of) God (as Creator of everything that exists) and at the same time be rationalist is not only non-contradictory but more reasonable than atheism. It is not possible to be a conflict between a true religion and science because the two are completely separated fields of cognition. There can be a conflict only between two different worldviews like materialism (believing that only matter exists) and believing in God (meaning Being non-materialistic). Science is not the same as materialism, which is a common misunderstanding today. Methodology of (empirical) science is not able to judge whether materialism is true or not. Science is not methodologically interested in this subject and, moreover, has no research tools to answer this question. Therefore, it is not justified to draw a conclusion that God (or spiritual world meaning not obeying physical laws) does not exist. The lack of research tools to investigate God or spiritual world is a problem of scientists but not God. Reducing the whole reality only to matter is called onthological reductionism. It is an atheistic worldview (opinion, believe) that has nothing to do with science.

Exorcism is an act of prayer to God to prevent an influence of a personal, intelligent, evil spiritual being (that does not obey laws of physics) on a human being. We can see only effects of e.g. possession (by the devil). It can be e.g. speaking and understanding foreign (even ancient) languages that a possessed person does not know, strong aversion to the sacred, sometimes levitation and appearing of e.g. screws and nails in the mouth of exorcized person. Such effects are and were observed by many exorcists and lay people in the world. It is a common experience. The literature on this topic is quite big today