Any reader of the Orthodox Lives of Saints and other spiritual literature knows that all of these spirits — both “good” and “evil,” the “lower” with the “higher” — are equally demons, and that the discernment between true good spirits (angels) and these evil spirits cannot be made on the basis of one’s own feelings or impressions. The widespread practice of “exorcism” in “charismatic” circles offers no guarantee whatever that evil spirits are actually being driven out; exorcisms are also very common (and seemingly successful) among primitive shamans,14 who also recognize that there are
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