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Tormod Engelsviken - Spiritual Conflict in Today S Mission
Tormod Engelsviken - Spiritual Conflict in Today S Mission
Tormod Engelsviken - Spiritual Conflict in Today S Mission
SpiritualConfict
in Today! Mission
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. Tormod Engelsviken
Publishedby
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The Lausanne Committee for'W'orld Evangelization (LC\7E) is an international movement Preface ...............4
for the purpose ofencouraging Christians and churches everywhere to pray, study, plan and
work together for the evangelisation ofthe world. I n t r o d u c t i o.n. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .........5
@2001 by Lausanne Committee for rVorld Evangelization. 1. The BiblicalFoundation ...................9
All rights reserved.No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any form, except for
v 2. SpiritualConflictin the Historyof the Church..................
18
brief excerptsin reviews, wirhout prior permission of the publisher.
Brazil ......42
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Engelsviken, Tormod. N o r t hA m e r i c a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : i . : . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . 4 3
Spiritud conflict in today's mission : a report from the Consultation
on "Deliver Us from Evil," August 2000, Nairobi, Kenya / Tormod
5. SpiritualConflictandFolk Religions ................45
Engelsviken ; edited by A. Scott Moreau. y' 6. Spiritual.Conflict
in the Ministryof the Church.................51
p. cm. - (Lausanne occasional papii;z9)
Includes bibliographical references. t/ 7. The Issueof TerritorialSpirits .........55
ISBN I -887983 -24-4 (ilk. paper)
l. Missions-Theory-Congresses. 2. Consultation on "Deliver Us from 8. SpiritualConflictin Socio-political
Contexrs
............
..........63
Evil" (2000 : Nairobi, Kenya) 3. Spiritual warfare-Congresses. 4.
Evangelicalism-Congresses. I. Moreau, A. Scott, 1955 -L Title. IIL 9. SpiritualConflict in Light of Psychology
and Medicine......69
Series.
8V2063.E537200r 10.Contextualisation
of SpiritualConflict .............77
235'.4-dc21
200r003669 11.A'Wordof \TarningandEncouragemenr ..........
80
V 12.Consultation
Statemenr
............ ......82
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Appendix
A: List of Participanrs............. ................97
AppendixB: \7hat is Lausanne?................ .............99
Preface Introduction
required to fit the spaceallowed. For the full treatment of the con- In the consultation, we sought a broad representation of the views
sultation, including all paperspresentedin edited form, the reader
is advised to consult the comprehensive volume, Deliuer U from
Euil, to be published by.World Vision under its MARC imprint. ,
'W'e
givelredit to the authors and participants at the consultation
among the various strands of spirituality through churches,
for all significant contributions in this paper, and claim the blame
ofganisations and nenvorks. The participants included church and
for all the shortcomings. May God bless this work and the con-
mission leaders,pastors and evangelists,and academicsand practi-
tributors!
tioners from different churches and regions of the world (seeAp-
Author: Tormod Engelsviken pendix A) . The African semingof the ctjnsultation was strongly taken
Oslo,NorwayApril200l into account both in the planning of the programme and in the
work of the consultation.
" Editor:A. ScottMoreau
\(heaton, Illinois,USA April 2001 Background
In the last decade or so of the twentieth cenrury, there has been a
gready heightened inreresrin this subject in evangelicalcircles.The
reasonsfor this interest - and the controversy that sometimes ac-
companiesit- aremanyandvaried. Severaltrendshavecontributed:
. In a post-modern \flestern world, there hasbeen a grow-
ing disillusionmenr with the purely rational or materi-
alistic approach to modern life.
. In the church, there has been a seriousdecline in the
numbers and fervour in mainline denominations that
have been strongly influenced by this modern, radonal willingness and ability of believersro co-operateare be-
approach. ing undermined.
. Through increased contact and co-operation in Facedwith theseand other challenges,the churchesand their min-
evangelisationbemreenchurches around the world, the istries have tended to fall into five categories:
experiencesof churchesin spiritual conflict in the non-
\Testern world have impacted the views of the rest of l. Those who dismiss the idea of the real existenceof a
the world church and created more opennessto spiri- spirit world altogether;
tual realities. 2. Those who may believe in it in a theoretical sense,but
. Pentecostaland charismatic churches, with their open- are not aware of it in any pracricil way and have not,
nessto spiritual experiences,have grown greatly in al- therefore, developed any pracricesrelated to it;
most all regions of the world. 3. Those who have alwayshad what they consideredto be
. biblical views and prayer disciplines related to the spirit
ll Changesin belief and practice in evangelicalcircles, fos-
world and who dismissthe new approachesasunbiblical
tered by new literature and teaching seminars,have dis-
seminated a new vocabulary with prominence given to or theologically unsound;
demons, spirits and other supernatural beings ho* 4. Those who are awareof the spirit world, have absorbed
to deal with them on different levels. "nd
and, to some degree,gone along with current changes
,
. ,Violent ethnic conflicts have raised the question: - but stiil have qu.riions and hustrations with soire
How
do we understand evil in the world today in the light of elements;and
spiritual conflict? '
5 . Those who unquestioningly haveacceptedthe new views
Additionally, serioustheologicalproblems and questionsfor world and practicesassociatedwith spiritual warfare and prac-
evangelisationhave been raised: tise it.
Far frop simply being a sourceof healing, God can also be depicted
as the origin or user of infirmity or death. \Mhen describedin such
a way, there always seem to be specific reasonsfor God's actions.
God is seen to be sovereign, one who may acr in ways that will
achievethe Lord's will, a God who is to be approachedwith a holy Wr*ity and Natural Causes
fear.The New Testamenr wrirers did not alwrys attribute infirmity
A number of infirmities in the New Testament might best be de-
to Satan,but worked with a more dialectical worldview where God
scribed as owing their origin to neutral or natural causes.The vast
could also afflict. Such an understanding suggeststhat God is not
majority of referencesto infirmities do not give any indication as to
only able to use suffering indirectly, but can also take a more direct
their origin. \U7h.ileit may be theoretically possible to attribute dl
role in this activiry.
theseinfirmitiCI to the Devil or a world estrangedfrom God or the
The Deuil andlor Demons as Source of Infirmity effectsof si'nin the world, rhe texts themselvesdo not explicidy offer
'
support for such a view. "
The New Testament evidence is found primarily in the synoptic
Gospelsand in Acts. It may be divided into three main areas:-(l) Responsesto Affiiction
demon possession,(2) demonic affliction distinct from possession
:.h
and (3) attack by Satan or sinister forces. Given the various origins of and purposes for affliction and infir-
miry in the NewTestament, the responsesto it also take a variety of
forms, including prayer, discernment, confession and intercession,
exorcism and medicine.
Prayer
sions and other body responsesprove ro be so violent and uncoli:'
One of the more common responsesisprayenJames5 indicates that
trollable that they place both the victims and those near them in
prayer plays an integrd role in the healing of the sick. Pault practice
danger of physical harm. In contrasr to claims made both at the
in I Corinthians 12 also indicates that prayer may have been his
scholarly and popular level, the New Testament writers generally
<iwn habit in the face of infirmity.'W'e may also assumethat prayer
make a clear distinction betweendemon possessionand illness.
had a place in the ministry of those with the gifts of healing and
accompanied the laying on of handq. Peter raisedThbitha from the
dead after prayer(Acts 9:40) and Mark 9229 aJsosuggeststhat prayer
plays a crucial role in the disciples'castingout of demons.
13
Medicine dualistic struggle between two equal powers, but between an all-
powerful God and lesspowerful forces in rebellion against the Lord.
In 1 Timothy 5:23,Timothy is admonishedto take a little wine for
his stomach'ssake on account of his frequent illness. The conrext,
Simplistic Equations
which is concerned with Timothy's health, makesclear that the wine
is being prescribed here as a medicinal aid. Thus, while perhaps Despite the fact that Jesusand the disciples are engagedin a spiritual
representingonly a small strand in NewTestament thought, the use struggle,one cennot alwaysassumethat the Devil standsbehind a given
of medicine as a responseto infirmiry cannot be ignored. infirmity or affliction. Simplistic equationsrhatdwap seea relation be-
tween illness or adversiryand the Devil confi.se the issueby nrling out
Evangelisation and Spiritual Conflict ofhand Godt role and purposein someevents,while demonising infir-
mities that the NewTestament may ffeat in a neutral fmhion.
In this section we will draw amention to the more general biblical
view on the relation berween evangelisationand spiritual conflict. Similarly, a preoccupation with a paradigm of spiritual warfare in
world evangelisation may obscure God's role and purposes in
Signs and'W'onders evangelisingthe nations or mistake neutral or natural eventsasSatant
The New Testament is very clear about the fact that signs,rniracles attacks. It is clear from the Scriptures that the Devil and demons
and wond.ers are very much part of the churcht proclamadon of the, oppose the mission of the church; a realiry that should never be
gospel.Evidence for this is found in all the Gospels,in Acts and thp ignored or underestimated. Yet, it is at the sametime apparent that
Paulineliterature (eg,Rom I 5: 18- 19; 2 Cor 12:72;Gal 3:5; I ThCss God may causq providential delays or struggles in world
1:5; Heb 2:4;6:5). Thus, while there may be room for some dis- evangelisation for the sake of our Lord's greater plan (seeeg, Acts
agreementon the issueof spiritual conflict, those who are commit- 8:l-4;16:6-10). It is possiblethat the churchmay misinterpretsuch
ted to the task of world evangelisationshould have an appreciation delaysor strugglesowing to a preoccupation with spiritual warfare.
of and a place for signs and wonders asparr of the gospelproclama-
The Diuersity of the Neut Tbstarr4ent Wimess
tion.
'We
also need to be aware of the iliuersity in the New Testament
TheKingdom of God witness. The kingdom of God paradigm, which is so dominant in
There is a very strong emphasis in the first three Gospels on the the synoptic Gospels,is nearly absentin other NewTestament writ-
hingdom of God. They are consisrenrin affirming that the kingdom ings. For example,Johnt gospeldoes not tell of any exorcism,and
is presentand yet, has a future dimension. One of the ways in which the only one who is accusedof having a demon is Jesus(7:20;8:48,
'We
the presenceof the kingdom is demonstrated is through the exor- 52; 10:20). do not suggestthat there is no cosmic struggle in
cismsof Jesus(Matt 12:28; Luke 17:20), showing that part of the the Johannine writings, but rather that there is some degreeof di-
proclamation of the gospel involves conflict benyeen God and the versity (not contradiction) among the NewTestament writers. There-
emissariesfor good and the Devil and his forces (Luke 10:18-19; fore, an evangelisticstrategy that focusessolely on one paradigm of
seealsoActs 10:38). spiritual conflict may be a lessthan holistic biblical approach to the
mission of the church.
The NewTestament alsounderscoresthe ongoing conflict betvveen
God and the Devil. It is therefore not inappropriate to describe the The \Wrh of tbe Holy Spirit
Christian life as one engagedin spiritual conflict or spiritual war-
The main biblical account of the evangelisticwork of the early
fare (seealsoEph 6:ll-17).Yet, it is alsoclearthat this conflict is no
church, the Book of Acts, is literally full of examplesof how God,
r4 rt
through the Holy Spirit, is integrally involved in the mission of the Demonic Influence on Belieuers
church. Godt activities include, among other things, empowering
for witness(1:8), enablingSpirit-filledsermons(2; 4:8;13:9), giv- \7ith regardto the question ofdemonic influence on believers,rhere
ing specificdirecions (8:29;10:19; ll:12), calling certain people appearson the one hand to be no direct biblical evidencethat Chris-
to mission (13:l-4), solving difficult theologicalissues(15:28), re- tians may be controlled or possessedby a demon. On the other
straining from preaching in cerrain areas(16:6-7) andwarning of hand, it is clear that there is at leasrsome precedenrfor the affliction
dangersahead (20:23;21:4,11). From this it should be clear that of a believerby a demon. The role of the Devil and/or demonsin
part of the missionary task is to pay careful artention to what the temptation, deception, persecution and accusarion of believers is
Spirit is and is not saying with regard to the expansion of the king- amply documented.
dom. This underscoresthe need for an absoluterelianceon rhe Spirii,
Conclusion
not only to empower the mission, but dso to direct it. An ou.i.--
phasis on the spiritual warfare paradigm for evangelisarionmight, .We
have in this section listened to the biblical restimony relating to
oddly enough, result in lessof a reliance on rhe Holy Spirit by hav- 'We
some of the serious questions that are before us. should, how-
ing room for only one aspecr of the Spirit's ministry: the powef ever, be aware that while listening ro rhe biblical rexr is the most
encounter. important part of the theological task, the hermeneutical method
found in Acts 15 revealsthat the early church not only had a place
Tbnitorial Spirix for the text in their interpretive activiry but also a very real appre-
\il7ith regard to the currenr issueof territorial spirits (seealso sectbn ciation for the activiry of the Holy Spirit, aswell as an appreciation
8), the Old Testamenr can speak of spirits and/or angels in several for the role of the believing communiry in the interpretive process.
ways. Reference is somerimes made to spirits who happen to be
located in certain geographicalareas,but who do not appear to have
control over their placesof abode. Specific menrion is made of de-
monslocatedin deserts(Lev I7:7;Isa13:21;34:l4,cp Matt 12:43).
In some texts, the gods are tied to specific geographicallocations (l
llngs 20:23; 2 Kings 18:33,35). The gods are sometimesidenti-
fied with demons (Deut Jl,:8-I7).
r6 17
r'
I
I
It is often assumed that thepagaz influence in the newly converred The reasonsfor witch hunts include a combination of social, eco-
tribes contributed to a change in the popular Christian view of de- nomic and psychological factors, but the churcli also had a respon-
monic influence, and createda close association,almost identifica- sibiliry becauseduring this period it accepted a "witch doctrine"
tion, of some humans with demons. An expressionof this was the that made the secularcourts take the accusationsseriously.The un-
idea of a common flight of witches and demons. It is importanr to derstanding ofwitchcraft was a combination of different ideas,many
note, however, this view was rejected by the official church. These of them of nonrChristian origins, eg, the concept of magic, the idea
thoughts, towards the end of the Middle Ages in the fifteenth cen- of an'"i'rfiplicit or explicit covenant between humans and demons
tury and the pre-Enlightenment era of Europe, developed into rhe and a projection of feal,and anxiery. The theological justification
witch hysteria that led to the deplorable execution of tens of thou- \Masexpressedin the literary work Malleus Maleficarum (Witch
' sandsaccusedas witches. Hammer) ftom.1487.
This witch huntis often held against the church as an almost inevi- In perspective,we have to saythat there h no Christian justification
table result of the churcht doctrine of the Devil and demons, and for violent persecutionof so-calledwitches.There is dso no'neces-
i| \ many studies have been made of this very sad incident in the his: sary connection between a biblical understanding of the Devil and
/ tory of the \Testern church, both Protestanr and Catholic. Some demons and this hysteria that gripped some areasof EuroBe during
facts should, however, be emphasisedto correct some errors in the this time. Any church participation in this persecution must be
popular opinion. ,. ,i deeply deplored. The sad experienceof the church in Europe in this
First, witch hunts in Europe did not belong in the Middle Ages, !-St regard should stand as a warning against similar abusesat other
in the Renaissanceand the post-Reformation period. The main pe- times in other cdltures.
riod in Europe is the time hom about 1580 io 1680. Both before
and after this one-hundred-yearsperiod, there were fewwitch-hunt-
The Lutheran Refomation
ing campaigns. The Reformation in the sixteenth century did not significantly alter
Second, the rypical "witcli'was nor a beautiful young woman. In- the worldview of the Middle Aggq. Severalworks of the German
reformer Martin Luther contain riferences to Satan and demons.
deed, most were old and roughly one-fifth were men.
But in this area,aswell asothers, he had a mor€ biblical orientation
Additionally, the court casesagainst them were not initiated by the than his Catholic predecessors.
church and were held befoie secularcourts. The chargesagainst the
"witches" most often came from the local community, not from the According to Luther, human beings are, in their sinfulness,subject
ecclesiasticalauthorities. It often concerned marginal people in to the powers of the flesh, the world and the Devil. These powers of
marginal areas (eg, the mountain areasin the Alps, Pyreneesand corruption are often mentioned together becausethey are "allies" in
Norway), not in the central areas(eg, Rome or other major cities). their efforts to lead people to damnation. Satan, the prince of this
Priestsoften played little or no role in the cases,but could some- world, does his work primarily through human sinful nature. He
times be drawn upon as "spiritual experts." seducesand tempts peopleto sin and keepsthem in bondageto sin.
A personal evil will is the origin of sin and it catches the will of
Finally, the infamous inquisition in Spain played a surprising role individual people as well as that of the whole of humaniry.
in dampening rhe witch-huntingfrenzy. The investigarion and re-
Luths's radical view of the reality of Satan had as its background
port of Spanish inquisitors often put an end to witchcraft accusa-
tions, revealing that the falsechargeswere founded on superstition. his own spiritual struggle. "By the grace of God I have come to
know a lot about Satan,"Luther says.He takesSatanand evil more
r
seriously than most of his contemporaries. satan is the great adver- 'We
have seenthat exorcisrnin connection with baptism was kept in
sary of Christ. According to Luther, the conflict bemreenGod and
the church down through the centuries frorn the'earliesttime, with-
Satan runs through all of historp and it is impossible for human
out implying that all who were not baptised were possessedby evil
beingsto be neutral. But it is not an equal battle in a dualistic sense.
spirits. fu infant baptism became more common, exorcism became
part of the baptismal ritual itself. In the Danish-Norwegian church,
theforrnula "Dbpart [it. Go out] you evil spirit, and give room for
the Holy Spirit" was used until 1783 when it was removed after
some controversy. The removd took place at the time of the En=
Luther understood the Lordt Prayer,and especiallythe prayer "De- lightenment. However, a renunciation of the Devil and dl his works
liver us from evil," as directed againstthe Devil as weflas'to God. was retained in the baptismal liturgy prior to the confession of faith
His famous hymn, 'A Mighry Fortressis Our God," is a testimony and it is still in use.
to Lutherk realistic conception of Satan aswell asto his triumphant The Church Ritual of 1685 contains guidelines for the ffeatrrient of
senseof victory in Christ.
demonic possession.The pastor is not to assumethat possession
Luther also holds on ro a biblical realism as far as rhe demons are occurs often "for such examples are at the present time rare in
concerned. He maintained that one could and should drive the evil Christendom", but neither should he think "that we now are totally
spirits out of the possessed
by prayer. free from these attacls by Satan". After a thorough investigation
together with doctors ahd other pastorsin order to ascertainwhether
\Weknow of at leastone caseof possession
from the time of the {ef- it is.a natural diseaseor whether the person is "bodily possessedby
ormation that clearly shows the attitude of the reformers.Johannes the Devil so that he rules and governs in the whole body and all its
Bugenhagen,one of Luther's close co-workers, wrote a letter to the members, aswell as in mind, reasonand the attributes of the soul",
the pastor may go on to pray for the possessedperson.
At this point, it might have been possible to go on to present and
discussthe forms and reasonsfor th€ post-Enlightenment theologi-
Bugenhagenand acceptsthe possessionasa fact. cal rejection of the realiry of a personal devil and the possibiliry of
demonic possession.It would, however, take us far into \(estern
intellectual history and necessitatea discussionof the modern'West-
ern rationalistic worldview. Suffice it here to state, that in contem-
porary Protestantism, the concepts of the Devil and demons are
mostly used in a merely metaphorical sense.The general assump-
prayer drive him away. tion by most people in the W'esternworld, an assumption that also
is reflected in the dominant theological worfts and dictionaries of
The Post-Reformation Era our time, is that it is no longer poSsibleto believein the existence
It is-not possiblehere to describethe views and practiceswith regard and influence of createdspiritual beings, be it angels or demons
to the Devil and the demonic in the whole of the Reformation arrd (although people seemto be more inclined to believe in angelsthan
in all the later Protestant churches. One example from the post- demorus),and that the Devil and the demons are mythological ex-
Reformation period may be mentioned, namely the Danish-Nor- pressionsof what is often called "transpersonalevil."
wegian Lutheran Church. Although some modern theologians are aware that in evangelical
24 2t
and Pentecostalcircles there is still a beliefin a personal devil, and
that exorcism is practiced, this is neverthelessnot seen as a serious 3. A Systematic Theological View
subject for most conremporary theological reflection. In the \7est,
the post-Enlightenment rationalist rejection of the biblical worldview
of Spiritual Conflict
with regard to the Devil is still so pervasive that the biblicd and
historical presuppositions of this consultation are in conflict with
Dr'Fliva lfung wrote the major paper on a systematic, theologieal
the mainstream of contemporary Protestant thought.
approach to spiritual conflict. Initially, he pointed out that even
Conclusion where theological texts'have been produced in the non-'Western
world, as in recent years,much of the undedying assumptions and
It should be emphasisedthat the evangelicalchurch will do well in thought patterns in thesehave been conditioned by modernity and
'West.
listening to rhe historical experience of the universal church in its its mechanistic, naturalistic worldview lelnned from the Given
various traditions and learn fiom its mistakesand successes. Onlv as thesefacts, up until the early 1980s, there have been very few books
it evaluateshistory in light of the Scriptures and the experiencesof that wrestled seriously with the personal demonic dimension in the
the worldwide church today will it be able to find the right way world. But the rise of the Pentecostal-charismaticrenewal on the
forward. one hand and the New Age movement on the other, both in the
'West,
together with the increasing growth and strength of non-
'Western
Christianiry have forced the church to wresde much more
, with a badly neglected area.
Worldview Issues
The question of worldview is of crucial importance in dealing with
spiritual conflict. Increasingly,it is,now recognisedthat the natural-
istic and mechanistic worldview of .qoderniry has now collapsed.
But are the teachers and writers on spiritual warfare and related
issuesin danger of slipping back into an animistic worldview or
'What
adopting the worldview of New Age or of post-modernity?
constitutes a proper biblical understanding of demonic powers, the
basicsof which apply acrossspaceand time? The first question that
we must addressis what is normative and what is culturally condi-
tioned.
z6
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I
worldview that has sysrematicallydenied it is that of moderniry in How Satan and His Demons Vl'orh
the'West. Even there, all have nor accepredit. Beneath the suri'ace
level of modern'Wesrern societies,there are still multiple folk reli- Satan and his hosts influence every level of human existence.Here
we will restrict our attention to the most significant for spiritual
conflict.
z8 29
f
too late who the real mastersare. In fact, in mediumistic practices, The thrust of biblical teaching on how the war against Satan and
those involved often have little choice in the marter becausethey his host can be won is seenin Revelation l2:ll, which was written
are eventually "possessed"and co-opted by the spirits to do their in the context of intense persecution and, one may surmise, fero-
bidding. cious Satanic attack. Yet, the writer does not speak anywhere of
techniques that will ensurevictory. Rather, Christians are called to
Non-Christian Religions.It has to be firmly stated that non-Chris-
overcome the powers of darknessby standing on the victorywon by
tian religions do contain some things that are true, right and noble.
"the blopd of the Lamb," through the faithful "word of their testi-
They also contain, however,demonic elemenrs,often linked in dif-
mony''and bylearning no-uto"cling to life evenin the faceofdeath."
ferent ways to occult practices. For example, priests in Buddhist
Thus, the emphasisis on standing on the victory of Christ, faithful
and Hindu temples, and Muslim Sufi leadersare often involved in
witness, willingness to suffer even unto death and diligent trusting
such practices. Similar examplesare found in rhe Bible.
prayer.
Cbristus Victor and the Defeat of Satan
Does Satan Have Dominion Over the'World?
Given the above reality, how doesthe Christian respond to the powers
Another issuethat needssome consensusconcernsSatan'sclaim that
of darkness?The Bible's answer is clear: Christ has decisivelv de-
he has authority over "all the kingdoms of the earth" (Luke 4:5-6).
feated Satan at the Cross; he is the conqueror, Christus Victor.
r, He further claims "their glory and all this authoriry . . .has been
Evangelicaltheology has tended to interprer the Cross through$e given over to me, and l can give it to anyone I please." Does he
penal substitution model, and rightly so. However, this has often indeed have such authority? If he does, how was it given to him?
been done in such a way as to imply that that model exhauststhe
On the first question, it has been argued that Satan is merely lying.
meaning of the Cross. \ilflhile it needs to be emphasisedthat penal
After all, he is "a liar and the father oflies" (John8:44). Moreover, if
substitution is the basic model for understanding the Cross, other
it is true that Satan has authority over the world, surely that contra-
models can supplement its meaning. In particular, in dealing with
dicts the belief in God's sovereignty.overthe world. But in response
demonic powers, the Christus Victor model, which srressesChrist's
to this, rwo things may be said.
victory over sin, Satan and death, needs to be emphasised.Indeed,
the victory of Christ logically flows out of his substitutionary arone- First, Satant claim to have authoriry is reinforced by Jesus'refer-
ment for sinful humanity"on the Cross. Becausethe penalry for sin encesto him as "the ruler of this world" (John 12:31; 14:30; and
hasbeen paid and judgmenr averted, sin, Satanand death no longer 16:11), and by Paul asthe "god of this world" (2 Cor 4:4) and"the
have any hold over redeemedhumanity (Col 2:13-15). Christians ruler of the power of the air" (Eph 2:2).
are, therefore, now in a position to appropriate the authority of
Christ (Luke 9:1; Matt 28:18) and to stand in the victory that we Second, it is clear that the Bible usesthe term worldin at least two
havein him (Eph 6:11,13). ways; first, the world which God created, and second, human soci-
ety in rebellion against God. It would appear that in the references
TheWar Continues until Christ Returns above made by Jesusand Paul, world or a.geis used in the second
sense.In that sense,Satan is indeed "the ruler of this world". Satan
God,in hissovereignry
hasnoryercompletely
destroyed
Satanand may be exaggerating his powers in making the claim that he has
his host. They remain extremely dangerousand potent. The Chris- authori{y over "all the kingdoms of the earth" becauseGod remains
tian is called to be always on the lookout. Paul reminds us that the sovereignover his creation. But nevertheless,it appearsthat he does
war is still on (Eph 6:10- 18), and we havedefensiveaswell asofFen- rule over a limited sphere,that of the world of humankind in rebel-
sive roles to play.
Jo
F
lion againstGod, with its pride and arrogance,disordered priorities The issuesat hand are two-fold. First, we need -or. careful study
and false values, disobedient human hearts and evil s66i6-political "
of Scripture, which will allow us to transcend the biasesof our own
structures. limited worldviews. That will give us a clearer understanding of
If this is the case, then how was Saran given that authority? The what the Bible teachesabout the powers of darkness. Second, we
answer is that we, as humans, through our fall gave Satan that au- need to draw together the vast experiencesof Christians through-
thoriry over our lives and our communities. Thii would sound ter- out historv and from different cultures. and carefullv analysethese
ribly glib, except for the fact that Paul reminds us that ir was be- in light of what Scripture teaches.Much of what tt"r U.." writteh
cause"sin came into the world through one man, and death came in recent years on spiritual warfare has an anecdotal character. It
through sin, and so death spread to all, becauseall have sinned", constitutes a vast body of empirical data that is potentially helpful,
and that "just as one man's trespassled to condemnation for all" and therefore should not be jettisoned by those who have difficul-
(Rom 5:12, 18; cp also Rom l:21-32). Further, it was this that has ties with some of thesewritings. How th6y are to be interpreted is
led to our enslavemenrto sin (Rom 7:7-25).It must be admitted the important point. Careful aitention to these two fundamental
that nowhere does the Bible explicitly teach that it was our sin that issuescan only help to advance the gospel against the kingdom of
gaveSatan authority over us and the utorld. But Christian theology darkness.
has always linked the ryranny of sin, death and Satan over human
life together. Thus, it would appear correct ro conclude rhat itris
indeed human sin that gave Satan authoriry over us.
tf,.r
This would also tie in with what was said earlier about th. dorr.
Penalsubstitution is the basicmodel for the aronement. But, it must
be complemented by rhe Christus Victor model. The latter flows
from the former. Penal substitution frees us from sin and its con-
demnation. Once that has been dealt with, we are freed from bond-
I age to sin, death and Satan and can now share in Christt victorv
I
i through his death over all three. Thus the logic flows as follows: it
il was our sin that gave the Devil authoriry over our lives in the first
place; but once Christ ha3dealt with that, we can have vicrory over
Satan!
I
4. Spiritud Conflict iloday: 2. Indigenous church movements emphasisgthe power of
the Holy Spirit and Pentecostal-charismaticpractices.
CaseHistories It seemsthat when Christians read the Bible for them-
selvesand practisewhat they read, Pentecostaltraits are
manifested.
India
An Indiancasehistorywaspresented
by the Reverend
V. Ezekiah
Francis. He shared the following rwo experiencesof spirirual con-
Eastfuia flict.
i'
Thrnil Nada
The mdnent I said this, she broke down and said thar the severiry
of her headacheincreased.I then inquired about her past. Shehailed
from a Hindu background. Her parenrs were idol worshippers and
34
35
shetoo had participated in all religious functions. Shecarried'Kavadi' hold him, even with ropes.'We brought him to the church to seeif
(a decorated stand with an idol) on her shoulders. The headaches we could get help. There was no one in the church to pray for the
startedthen. man.'We took courageto do so.'Werebuked the evil spirit and told
him to be quiet, and then ordered the people to untie his ropes.
It was clear that the spirit behind that idol was rormenting her. I
They told us the man could escape.'Weassuredthem he would not.
took authoriry in the name of Jesus,commanded the Devil to re- 'We
then ordered the demoniac to walk into the church.
leaseits hold and go out of that lady. \Tithin minutes, she started
vomiting. That was the end of the headaches. \7e sharedthe gospel with those who brought the man. AII of them
were non-Christian neighbours who had come to assisthis wife in
Ethiopia bringing him to the church.'We preachedthe victorious Christ, not
The ReverendAmsalu ThdesseGeleta, a pasror from the Ethiopian only over the evil spirit, but also over the sins of the people.
EvangelicalChurch Mekane Yesus(EECMY), prepared a casestudy Then we told the evil spirit to reveal himself,,who he was and why
on exorcism in the Ethiopian conrext. he had possessedthe man. The spirit claimed that it was the spirit of
i) He noted that the daily experienceof Christians in Ethiopia is that the serpent(hafuraJawe), and dache(literally "beneath" in the Oromo
Christ is stronger than Satan. Most prayer meerings, and also indi- language).The spirits said that they had attacked him becausehe
vidual prayers, include rebuking of evil spirits. Prayers are offered had disturbed them while they had a coffee ceremony in the middle
for protection and songsof worship and thanksgiving are sung be- of the day. In addition, the spirits said the person had no cover or
' protection and was.vulnerableto their attack. Afterwards, he sinned
causeGod has overcome the power of darkness.
continuously doing all the spirits urged him to do. Their aim was to
Causes of Possession kill him as an offering.
Personal involvement in the occuh, eg, Qalicha or so-called zar Those who had brought the person were curiously observing what
worship, is one of the major causesof possession.Often, the we did.'W'e were all praying and praising God. The absenceof any
mediumistic powers of Qalichasand traditional cults can be traced devices,except the use of the name o'fJesus,made a special impact
'!7e
back over some generationsin one family. Most possessed people on the spectators. rebuked the spirits one by one until the last
who come to the church for help have been involved in occult ritu- spirit left, affirming that it was leaving.
als.The reasonis ofteifavow that the possessed has taken to achieve The person siayed reclined for about five minutes. Then he stood
some advantageor help in a critical situation. Such a vow may in- up wondering how he had come there. He realised he was in the
volve a sacrifice to the spirits or the dedication of some pieces of church. He went home carrying the rope with which he was tied
property, eg, rings, pots and sticks. when he came. He came tied and went home free. The event was
one of practical evangelisationfor the others present.
Naqamte
36
r
I
1 . Non-Christian religions and worldviews are currently Eventually, there resulted an African re-evangelisationof \Testern
bombarding the churches and Christians with the non- Christianity asAfrican intellectuals critiqued \flestern Christianity.
Christian gospel. These are invading our homes and This critique carne from a rational African cultural perspectiye,re-
private lives through society and culture, especially sulting in a rationalAfrican-culture Christianity- once againleav-
through the media presentations that surround us. ing out the spirit realm.
2 . Political religion and political culture, notably as seen Today, howeve! the supernatural perspectivehas experiencedresur>
in Islam in Nigeria, is a great threat to the church. gence.One result is the accrNationofAfrican leadersasbeingwitches
becausetheir children died off. Thus, while we may say Africa is
3. The traditional African worldview is permeated with 'modernised' 'Christianised',
or the real worldview has been largely
the realiry of the spirit realm and spiritual phenomena. unchanged. Even though hybrid institutions that borrow from both
The Bible portrays a similar emphasison spiritual phe- the'West and Africa have replaced traditional social and religious
nomena. But, in the church in Nigeria there is a theol- institutions, the conceptsof the traditional institutions still live on
ogy that blocks the church in Afric-afrom seeingwhat is in the worldview of the people.
in African Thadition Religions (ATRS), and what is in
Scripture. The younger generationin particular hasrecoveredthe spiritual (both
in the church and traditional settings), but has rejected the rational
How are we to addressAfrican Christianity? Some say we neqd.lq;, approach of the older generation of Christians. \7hen youth come
tenseAfrican cultural studies, and some sayall we need is the H:ble. to Christ, they bring into the church traditional meanings. Thus,
Tirraki proposed that we need both so that the biblical *orftrri.- 'blood
terms such as the of Christ' are not viewed rationally, but in
can addressthe African worldview. terms of ffaditional religious (magical) perspectives.They apply this
The foundational religious beliefs in AIRs include beliefs in imper- worldview to all that they seein the church.
sonalmystical powers,spirit beings,many deities/godsin a hierarchy The older churches (those over 100 years old) are generally not ex-
and in the SupremeBeing.Thesebeliefshavecorresponding religious periencing thesespiritual phenomenh,,though the younger churches
pracdces,including establishinglinks with spiritual powers,meansof are. Among them, though, such phenomena are re-interpreted in
exercisingspiritual control (eg,incantations, symbols,magic, charms, light of uaditiond magical thinking and moving in multiple spiri-
amulets, fetishesor jujun witchcraft, sorcery and divination), names tual directions (eg, a prosperity approach to the gospel parallel to
relating to spiritual powers, rituals that will restore spiritual powers acquiring power in traditional religion). In Nigeria, for example,
and meansofspiritual and mystical communication (usually through New Age religions have flourished by converting the younger gen-
specialistssuch as diviners, mediums and sorcerers). eration. They have done so by playing on the African concept of the
Vhat is the significance of the traditional African worldview? The spiritual phenomena.
gospelconfronted Africans at the level of religious beliefs. But Afri-
canshave more religious practicesthan beliefs,so missionariesin'
W'esternEurope
troduced new religious practicesand social institutions that host Ole Skerbak Madsen is a pastor in the Lutheran Church in Den-
both religious beliefs and practices.Additionally, the colonial lead- mark that comprises about 90o/oof the population. He works pri-
ers confronted the Africans at these levels and displaced the tradi- marily Among "New Age" spiritual seekers.In 1995, he started a
tions. As a result, some Africans broke away to form independent work called "In the Mastert Light." At the consultation, he shared
churches that emphasised the A-frican worldview rather than the the background and the methods of this ministry.
'Western
one.
38
Spiritual ConflictAmong European New Agers within us the spirit of disciples. It is this dynamic love-faith relation
between the Master and the disciples that will be'the authentic an-
The most important spiritual conflict with NewAge has to do with
swer to the quest of the modern spiritual seekers.
teachingsthat contradict the saving truths of Godt self-revelationin
JesusChrist the Son and the Holy Spirit - in creation, in the his- Another factor that attracts seekersis the charismatic dimension of
tory of salvation and in the Bible. Some of the religiouspracticesare the disciples as the body of Christ. The gifts of the Spirit are the
also dubious from a Christian point of view. \7hat are the sources authendc:,meansof inspiration and healing. Charismatic fellowships
of channelled messages? -What are the energiesor entities behind
and chuiches rnay becornenew spiritual centresbecauseof the pres-
the symbols of tarot and astrology?In my practice asa pastor, I have ence of the Master and btiiause the power of the Holy Spirit which
met severalpeople who mentally and spiritually were deeply hurt helps the seekerto taste the true new age- that is the kingdom of
through such practices and left in confusion becauseof the New God.
Age doctrines. Some had to be helped through inner healing or
deliverance,many through an act of confirmation and renewedcom- In tbe Master's Lrght
mitment to their baptismal covenant (most people in Denmark are
In the summer of l994,Jesus told me to start some spiritual meet-
baptised as infants in the Lutheran Church). In short, they had to
ings in the New Age milieu under the title " In the Master'sLight)'
receiveJesusin their hearts and turn to God as revealed in Jesus
The servicesstarted in May 1995.ln them, we recognisethe quest
Christ.
, I ," of New Agers and sharemany of their values,such as their reaction
As Christians, we are often involved in a spiritual conflichWith to materialism and self-interest.\7e respecttheir genuine que$ for
modern seekersand New Age. The conflict is no doubt a fact, but' spiritual values in a materialistic age, but we are very specific in
the fear of demons and the fear of being demonised through con- expressingthat among all the spiritual mastersin the seekers'sphere,
tact with the new spiritualiry and the milieu of seekersis perhaps Jesusis our onfirMaster.\7e try to meet the longing to learn spiri-
the greatestdanger for us. One of the strategiesof the Enemy is to tual valueswith teachings inspired by the Holy Spirit.
blind our spiritual and mental faculties from recognising the dedi- 'We
expect the Holy Spirit to inspit'e preaching and to give proph-
cation to the quest for meaning, wholeness and fulfilment in our
ecy and revelation.'When Jesusspoke to me on In theMaster'sLight,
fellow human beings.'Wemust not be so preoccupiedwith our re-
he promised a prophetic messagefor each meeting. W'e call these
sentmentagainstmany.of their wrong or strangepracticesand their "inspirations" or "the direct communication of the Mas-
messages
falsedoctrines that we f6rget they are sincereseekers,loved by God
ter." \7e try to meet the longing for wholenessand healing by invit-
and potential disciplesofJesusand worshippersof the true God -
ing those present for the healing of their heart. \7e avoid adversarial
if they meet the love of God in JesusChrist and in the power of the
arguments in speaking with those present, but rather try to share
Holy Spirit. They need to meet JesusChristfrst through love and 'We
experiences. witness that the testimony of a disciple ofJesus is a
care that will help them interpret their experiencesin a different
seedof truth. In order to plant such seedsof truth, we first have to
way.
listen to the other people, their experiences,beliefs,valuesand needs.
'\7'e
In the spiritual conflict in the milieu of seekers,our main strategyis try to use the seekers'language and forms to expressour own
not to discussright doctrines, opposing all that we conceiveof as spiritualiry and walk with the Master.
dangerous,falseor even demonic. This would only estrangeus from \Wehaqt learned not to pressseekersinto conformitywith ourselves.
those to whom we would like to present the gospel and leave them -Ve do not start by correctingtheir opinions, but we invite them to
stuck in their criticism of the church. Our strategyis a positive one:
meet the Master and to taste the goodnessand loving kindness of
we have to be among the seekersas disciplesof our Master and have
40
F
our Lord and Saviout JesusChrist. rVhen they begin reorienting she was invoking the spiritual entities to be incorporated in her.
their lives around their experienceofJesus,we acceprthem asfeliow Stopping at that place, they began to pray quietly, forbidding the
disciples. The more they focus on rhe Master, the more we trusr demons, as they understood them to be, to enter her body. After a
them to correct what is not in accordancewith the Master's teach- while the woman, whose eyeshad been closed, stopped swirling,
ings and the presenceof the Holy Spirit in their lives. opened her eyesand said, "\fhatt going on here?I am invoking the
entities and they dont come?"The young people answered,"Good
Today, we have In the Master'sLight in eight placesin Denmark. In evening, Wb are here, and we are forbidding them to come to you,
1999,we prayed with more than 1,500 seekersfor the healing of in the name ofJesus."Shg,protested,"But I'm invoking them in the
their heart in their relation to God, to their own inner being and to name of lesus, too." Thus, they began to share their faith, telling
'We
the surrounding world. have had retreats and workshops and her about Jesus,the Son of the Almighry God, who was not just any
'We
have been present at New Age exhibitions. have also beenin- Jesus,butJesus, Lord of the [Jniverse,whq came in flesh and blood.
vited to share our faith in New Age magazines,radio programmes They told her about Godt great love. This tncounter led the woman
and societies. Many New Agers now come regularly for worship to kneel down in the sand and open her heart to receive the Lord
and pastoral care. Jesus.This new convert revealedthat she was a Mother of Saints, a
priestessin Umbanda, one of the Brazilian religions, and she asked,
Btazil "Please,come to my terreiro(spiritist temple) to tell my people about
'prayer this wonderful Jesus."
Dr Neuza Itioka, a female teacher and warrior" in n'r#ilr.
sharedseveralstories of spiritual conflict in Brazil. This is but afe of The young people; excitedabout what was happening, prayed, fasted
them. and then went to preach to those people who had gathered together
to invoke African gods that had been mixed with Catholic saints
Iemanja Follouers
and o.ther spiritist practices.There were, as could be expected,
It was December 31, NewYear's Eve. For many Brazilians,this is strugglesand reactions,but that terreirowastransformed into a Bap-
the night for bringing in the New Year. But it is also a night in tist congregation. The gospel was @werful for the transformation
which Iemanja, the spirit of the waters, brought over from Africa, is and conversion of an Umbanda priestbssand the result of this ffans-
Ir\ invoked. A group ofyoung people from an evangelical church de- formation was that all of thesepeople were brought to JesusChrist.
cided to go to the beach for evangelism.They filled up a bus and
went down the mountain to the sea.On this date, between 1 and North Ambrica
1.5 million people go down to the beachto honour Iemanja, offer- Dr Charles Kraft has extensiveexperiencein dealing with evil spir-
ing perfume, champagne,jewellery, flowers and food to rhe spirit of its, what he calls "rats." He sharedthe following about his own min-
the waters in exchangefor benefits in the areasof health, love and istry.
material prosperiry.
Jesusspent a good bit of his time and energyhealing and castingout
The young people had prayed, prepared themselvesand even fasted, demons.Most of us find, however,that our recordfor healing is not
in order to be ready to face the difficult casesof evangelism rhar as good asJesus'and that simply commanding demons out, as the
might arise. \(/hen they arrived at the beach, they parked the bus GospelsshowJesusdoing, is often not sufiicient to freepeople.There
near the statue of lemanja, which was already duly ornamented for are, therefore, a variety of srylesextant among those of us who are
her celebration. active in healing and deliveranceministries. My own focus tends to
Nearby, they saw a woman swirling in the sand. They understood be on inner-healing basedministries, which focus almost exclusively
on dealing with emotional and/or spiritual "garbage" or, after deal-
ing with the garbage,go on to tackle any demonic "rats" that might
5. Spiritual Conflict and
be attached to the garbage. Folk Religions
I look for demons (and usually find them) if the amount of garbage
'We
the person has been carrying seemsto indicate their presence.
haveobservedthat the strength ofdemons is calibratedto the amount Suffering, misfortune and evil are part of all human life. How these
and kind of garbagein the client's life. Thus, if we do not wanr ro are understood and explained varies, however, as do the methods
have to fight with the demons, we find that the best thing to do is to used to alleviate the problems. The major world religions have ad-
useinner-healing techniques to deal with the garbage.\(/e can then dressedthe matter in philosophical arguments, but for most people
free the person from the demons later. \[ith this approach, we al- in the world these explanations fail to addressthe practical aspects
most never have any violence, vomiting or orher disagreeablehap- of daily life. For these questiops, answers are sought in the non-
penings. empirical realm of folk religion. In his paper Dr David G. Burnett
argued that it is often the issuesraised by folk religion that may be
By garbage, I mean such things as generadonal or contemporary most relevantin spiritual conflict.
dedications; curses,vows or pacts made with enemy spirits or gods;
dedications to spirits or gods by personsin authority over rhe clienr Folk Religion
or by the client himselfi self-cursing; wallowing in negative'enlo-,
tions such asanger, unforgiveness,hatred, shameor the like; fuVing The late nineteenth century saw the categorisation of religious tra-
death wishesor inviting spirits of death in via abortion, suicide at- ditions by rVesterh scholarsinto Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and
tempts and so on; and inviting in spirits of homosexualiry and the so on. These religions of major civilisations were therefore consid-
like. ered "wodd religions." However, such categoriescreate gaps, and
into these gaps were gathered heaps of intransigent phenomena.
\7e, who usemy approach, assumethat there may be a double cause The category "traditional religion" tends to be the catch phrase for
underlying the person's problems: a human one (garbage) and a all other religious expressionsfromv;hatever part of the world they
spirit one (demons). \We find that if there are demons, we can as- may originate.
sume there is a human cause (the garbage).If there is human gar-
bage, though, there arernot necessarilydemons, especiallyif the One may distinguish betweenthree permeablebands: "philosophi-
amount of garbageis small.'Werecogniserhen, that the demons are cal world religion," "folk religion" and finally "traditional religion."
The latter two bands are distinguished bywhether or not the people
a secondaryproblem, not the primary one. In order for them to be
there, they must have legal rights given them by those who created acknowledge an allegianceto a world religion. The middle band or
"folk religiori' is usually a re-working of long-existing beliefs, but
the garbage.
within the confessionof the major religion.
These differenceshave also been seenas differencesbetween "high"
and "low" religion. High religions may be more philosophical in
their explanation, whilst folk beliefs are based upon the existing
worldview into which the teaching of the world religion is incorpo-
rated. tn folk religion, people look for explanations and answers
different from those offered by the more philosophical religion.
This model has become a popular concept among Christian mis- God but one (8:4). He recognisesthe existenceof other "gods" and
sionariesbecauseit gives a simple way of explaining the differences "lords", but in a qualitatively different way. Are they manifestations
they have observed bet'weenphilosophical and local aspectsof ma- of Satanand his demons in that local society?Can we saythat Satan
jor religioustraditions. It is in the realm of folk belief that much of can contextualise himself in the religious beliefs of the people?
the discussionof spiritual conflict has its context.
Often, when a socieryhasconverted to Christianity, Christian trans-
Causesof Misfortune in Folk Religion lators haye used the name of the High God to translate the wotd
Yahweh in the Scriptures. The lesserdeities are usually ignored, be-
\Vhy do bad things happen? Most societiesperceive two common ing considered as some manifestation of demons. Occasionally a
causesof evil: spiritual beings and people. It is important that these particular deity has been associatedwith Satan.This cosmological
aspectsalways be seen as part of the wider culture and not as di^s- dualism has often causedconsiderabledifficuldes becausethe people
tinct elements.To fail to appreciatethis means a failure to appreci- have previously thought of spiritual beirigs as morally ambivalent
ate the underlying fears and beliefs that are inherent within the so- beings.
ciery as a whole.
Human Beings
Spiritual Beings
A distinction is often made betweenwitchcraft and sorcery.Although
Being,or "High God" who is the
Althougha beliefin a Supreme this distinction is usefirl asa starting point, it is necessaryto recognise
creator,is common to most traditional reliqions,he is usually cdn- that in many sociptiesno such simple separationcan be made.
sidereddistant and unconcerned with hum-anaffairs. It is the fesser
gods and spirits that are bound up with human experience.They Among someAfrican peoples, uitchcrafiis seenasthe causeof most
are neither totally good nor totally evil, and they may range from misfortunes including sickness,accident, crop failures, hunting fail-
powerful spirits, which must be treated with respect, to relatively ures and any generallack of success.The notion of coincidenceor
insignificant spirits of the forest, field or water who may merely probabiliry does not provide a sufficient reason for these types of
causea nuisance.Often, such deities are associatedwith certain geo- failures. There must be an answef,,qt to uthy they happen to this
'obvious'
graphical areasor natural phenomena. individual and, for some, witchcraft is the answer.
Ghosts are a classof spiripal beings that are often believed to cause Most missionarieswho came to sub-SaharanAfrica from Europe in
harm. Theseoften result from a'bad death' including suicide,mur- the nineteenth century were imbued with a critical perspective, es-
'Witchcraft
der, execution or untimely demise. Such deathsmay lead to consid- pecially about witchcraft. was not believed to exisr, so
erable fear, for example, a house may be abandoned lest the ghost Christians were expected to ignore it. \Where Christianity became
return. Many societiesbelieve that ghosts materialise in some form the dominant force in a society, this view was outwardly accepted,
that can be seenby the living. Another common belief is the possi- but often belief in witchcraft was merely driven underground.
bility of a personbecoming possessed by a wandering ghost.A bhut A secondposition that has been adopted by Christian missionaries,
in India maylay hold of any passer-by.It is said to"lay hold of" the mainly from Pentecostalchurches, ii that witchcraft is demonic and
person and the victim has to resort to exorcism for deliverance. the accused needs to be delivered. Today, among the charismatic
An important question that must be consideredis how thesespiri- churches in many areasof the world, witchcraft is dealt with by
tual beings are conceived within Christian theology. Paul addresses vigorods prayer leading to the exorcism of the spirit. \Titchcraft is
this issuein I Corinthians 8 and 10. He affirms that there is no perceived as one of the manifestations of the work of Satan in the
community and combating it is part of the Christiant spiritual war-
+6
-
ill'
l
i'
fare. It is seenas a direct encounter between the power of God and seeksto make the child lessattractive, lessopen ,o .tvy and so di-
the power of evil. Public confession of sin is often required, after vert the evil eye.
which the person is encouraged to receive the cleansing blood of
Another means of protection is the use of charms. These practices
Christ and the enduing power of the Holy Spirit.
are basedupon an inherent beliefand fear of the evil power ofmagic
Sorceryis the second category.It is frequently understood as differ- in its various forms. Frequently, the Bible comes to take the role of
ent from witchcraft in that it is a deliberate, conscious act of an a new po.werful charm for the young convert.'What is required is
individual, or group of individuds, to harm another by non-em- not meibly a responseto one aspect of magic, but a radical change
pirical means. It can expressitself in various forms; including the in worldview that seesIebusChrist as Lord over all - visible and
evil eye,cursesand black magic. The evil eye refersto a belief that a invisible(Col 1:16).
person may have power to harm another merely by looking at her.,
\7here possession
is known wit[in a sociepy,there is usually some
Core ideas of cursesand blessingsappear universal among human indigenous means of exorcismto deal with the affliction. There are
societies.To appreciatethe concept behind theseoral expressions,it often recognisedexorcistswho know appropriate rituals and claim
is necessaryto realise that in the traditional worldview wordp are to be endowed by a more powerful spirit. This form of exorcism
'W'ords,
not merely viewed as vibrations in the air. spoken deliber- may provide some cure, but this may only be temporary.
ately and with intention, take upon themselvesa redity of thbir
An alternative treatment is that the person is initiated into a posses-
own which can bring about the desiresof the speaker.The great$
sion cuh.In possessionclrlts, the individual comes into a working
the personaliry of the speaker,the greaterwill be the effectivenesg'bf
relation with the dfflicting spirit. The individual remains free from
the curse or blessing.Thus, if a god utters a curse, or a devotee
the recurring affliction rolong as he takes part in the periodic cult-
utters one in his name, the effect will be very powerful.
festivals. During these festivals, the person becomes possessedby
Anthropologists have long noted that witchcraft and sorcery often the spirit, which acts out,its particrrlar character.
result from the jealousy one person may have towards another. The
In folk religion, healers,whether Witchdoctors, shamans, exorcists
possibiliry of these spiritual powers generatesintense fears even in
or others, play qsocially positive rolej Missionaries have often con-
the heartsof Christian converts,and raisesthe question of how people
sidered thise healers theil main opponents and in some casesthey
achieveprotection from thesesourcesof evil.
have been. But, sometimes they hivi also been the first to recognise
Protection from Evil the power of God. Christian leadershave often taken the place and
role of these healersand exorcists.
Often, people feel the need to draw upon additional non-empirical
sourcesfor help, so they turn to diaination. The methods used are Current Issues
many,but most involve somesort of ritual or spirit possession. Geil
First, forces of evil and misfortune are an integral part of folk tradi-
erally missionaries have dismisseddivination asevil, but have failed
tion, and the people need to seeChristianity asnot merely a sadsfy-
to addressthe question of its replacement. Christians have, there-
ing theology, but the power of God to deal with the issuesthey face
fore, often been left with secularisedmethods of healing, education
in their world. Teachingon spiritual conflict must be part of a holis-
and agriculture. However, various methods of divination and fore-
tic approach to mission and theolory. There is a need for an ap-
telling the future continue in all societies!
proachthat relatesthe social,economic and personal,and not merely
Various means are used to protect vulnerable members of the com- seesthe demonic as the sole causeof evil.
munity. Children may, for example, be protected by some ruse that
48
\
To those who minister to the demonised, Mrs Jacobsstressesreli- act expressedin the idea of abiding in JesusChrist. Our abiding is
ance on Jesus.She personally advocated the following as essentials to be continuous rather than periodic; and our worship is to like-
in preparation for dealing in this ministry: wise be an abiding one, permeating the whole of our lives.
l. Completely acceptJesus'leadership in every areaof our 2 Timothy 3:1-5 indicatesfour types of lovers:loversof self, lovers
life. of money,lovers of pleasureand loversof God. MrsThomas noted
2 . Be willing for a total dealing of the Cross daily in our that lovers of spiritual warfare also face the danger of losing trackof
life. pursuing loving God and.being holy. Today, many evangelicalstend
to be motivated by the results in terms of numbers, rather than holy
3 . Be willing to lay down our own lives and the lives of lives before God - worship is the missing jewel in modern
our loved ones (Matt 10:37-38). evangelicalism.
'\fhat
4. Learn to hear the Lord speak to us in our spirit (John is worship? It defies adequate definition. \Torship is all that
16:12-14). we are, responding to all that God is. It is learning to be still - not
focusedin aclivity and motion. \7e do not worship God so that our
5 . Learn how to bring our mind captive to Christt lead-
requestswill be granted, but for who the Lord is and who we were
ing(2 Cor 10:3-5;Rom l2:2).
made to be.'Worship is not only individual - it is corporate.
6 . Memorise key scriptures and understand them (2 Tim .l The nature of worship is seen through the many examples in the
3:16;2Tim 2:15). t
Bible. Mrs Thonias focused on the passageofJesus and the Samari-
-|
Be subject to God's delegatedauthoriry. tan woman asan example of teaching about worship (John 4). Jesus
indicates that God wants a special type of worship: it must be in
8 . Never underestimateSatant power (1 Peter 5:8).
spirit and in truth, a challengein our post-modern culture (which
deniesabsolutetruth). In his teaching,Christ changedworship. Now,
Worship and Prayer
placeand locality mean nothing.To porship God in spirit meansto
Juliet Thomas presented an Indian perspecive on rhe realities of worship with the spiritual whole of onet being and personality,trust-
worship and prayer as key components in spiritual conflict. She ing the Lord in all areasof life.'Worshiping in truth means that we
noted that in the processof sanctification, we face three enemies, worship with our minds; we approach God in the true way through
not iust one: the world, the flesh and the Devil. \7e are not to be Jesus,as expressedin the \ford. Symbols of place and time are no
I;I
conformed to the ways of the world, we are to crucify the flesh and longer needed; we are to do away with them as a necessityfor wor-
we must resist the Devil. The whole conflict we are facing is a con- ship.
flict between two kingdoms, and Christians have been transferred
Further, Jesusteachesthat God is seekingtrue worshipers.The Holy
from one kingdom (of darkness) to another (the kingdom of the
Spirit has been sent by Christ to indwell and empower us to be true
Son God loves).
worshipers.Romans 12:1 commands us to offer our bodiesasliving
W'orship is critical to us becauseour lives take place in the world - sacrifices,indicating that worship is costly.Our bodies need to be
'Worship
which lowers our spiritual energy. brings us back to per- pure before God, including what we do with our hands, eyes and
spective through having spent rime in his presence- which re- moutbs. Romans l2:2 commands us to be transformed by the re-
storesin a way nothing elsecan.\Torship is not somethingjusr seen newing of our minds; the mind is where the battle is today. In
in certain times (whether morning or evening), but a conrinuous Philippians, Paul tells us how to worship with our minds: by keep-
r'
ii ing our minds focusedon Christ (Phil 2) and centring our minds
on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable (4:8). 7. The fssueof Territorial Spirits
Corporate prayeris alsoimportant. 2 ChroniclesT:14 explainswhy
our countries are in such desperatetrouble - the church is not
One of the major theological and strategic issuesin the evangelical
humbling itself before God and turning from the ways of wicked-
missionary movement worldwide in recent yearsis the discussion of
NCSS.
the role of so.called "terrirorial spirirs" in ipiritual warfare. Dr A.
\7e are in spiritual warfare, but there are many ways to addressthat Scott Moreau and Dr Charles Iftaft dealt with this issuefrom some-
warfare. It need not be violent, it need not be spectaculaqbut it what different perspectives.The following section is primarily based
should be based on God's leading and the ways the Spirit enables on their papers.
us.
Background
Sometimes God wants to keep us unhealed so that we lean on the
Lord, as seen in Joni Ericson-Tada'slife. Joni has learned to draw Pentecostalsand charismatics have, from the start of their move-
closer to God becauseof her handicap. ments, dealt with demonisationor possession.Theybelieve (together
with many other evangelicaland Catholic Christians) that demons
Sometimes God allows us to die for him, as in the Australian mis- may enter a person and cause great harm that will only go away
sionary and sonswho were burned to death in India. At the funer.eli when the demons are expelled. Demons are seen as independent,
the *ife's first words were "I forgive those who killed my husb4id spiritual entities under the authoriry of Satan,acrive both in tempt-
and sons."That one simple messageof Christt love touched India ing and pushing people to do evil and in exrremecasespossessing
more deeply than any signsand wonders everhave,a truth we should people.Spiritual conflict for thesegroups,then, includesboth deal-
not overlook. ing with temptations and expelling demons. They also regularly
engage in praying for physical healing and in intercessory prayel
The charismatic movement also irtgluded inner healing among the
activities.Then some represenrativesofwhat is often called theThird
'Wave
of spiritual renewal, starting in the 1980s, added cosmic-leuel
spiritual utarfare againstterritorial spirits to the list of forms of spiri-
tual warfare
56
focus on prayrng on-site and do not entail evangelism or mercy Confronters
ministries.
The more aggressiveadvocatespromote direct and public confron-
Spirinal Mapping tation of the identified territorial spirits to weaken their hold on the
location and enable greater evangelisation.In addition to personal
One result of this emphasison territorial spirits is the development
pray€r against such spirits by specially anointed individuals, they
of a strategy for evangelism known as spiritual mapping. George
organisespiritual mapping projects, prayer journeys and somerimes
Otis, who coined the phrase, notes:
local praise marches or raJliesas means of confrontation.
"Spiritual mapping is a means by which we can seewhat is
beneaththe surfaceof the material world; but it is not magic. Moderates
It is subjective in that it is a skill born out of a right relation- The more moderate emphasiseuniry of hcal,leadership,centraliry
ship with God and a love for His world. It is objective in ofprayer and priority of dealing with strongholds within the church
that it can be verified (or discredited) by history sociologi- as preconditions for aggressivepreyer against the strongholds.
cal observationand Godt'Word."
Conseruatiaes
Harold Caballeros concisely summarisesthe underlying thinking:
"Spiritual mapping helps us identify the strong man. In some Though acknowledging that there is scriptural evidence of territo-
rial spirits, the conservetive maintain that we do not see in Scrip-
cases,spiritual mapping will give us a seriesof characteris- ,
ture or church history specific SLS\( encounrers of the rype being
tics that will guide us directly to the territorial prince or
described today. They advocatean approach closer to rhe truth en-
power. In other cases,we will find ourselvesfacing a natural
counter in which the local body of Christ manifests repentance and
person whom Satan is using. In still others, we will find
reconciliation in a way that speaksdestruction to the powers of dark-
ourselvesface-to-facewith a corrupt social structure."
ness.This approach is modelled on Paul's letter to the Ephesians.
W'agner advocateson a city-wide level to "work with intercessors
especiallygifted and called to strategic-levelspiritual warfare, seek- Response:Points of Appreciatirin
ing Godt revelation ofi (a) the redemptive gift($ of the ciry; 6)
Dr Moreau had severalpoints of appreciation for those who advo-
Satant strongholds; (c) te.rritorial spirits assignedto the city; (d)
cate SLS'S?.First, SLS'W and the emphasison territorial spirits take
corporatesin; and (e) God's plan of attack and timing."
Satan and the powers more seriouslythan traditional'Western ap-
Finally,someemphasisea need to discoverthe namesof the territo- proaches. It advocates focus on the power of prayer, rather than
rial spiritsaspart of the spiritual mapping process,whether through merely on planning and straregy.This is a healthy correcive for
historical or religious researchor by revelation through prayen much \Testern management-oriented missiology.
58
ultimate goal is not casting down spirits, but bringing the lost to fallen principalities.'We are not called to wield laser beams
'We
Christ. of biblical authority to destroy heavenly strongholds.
are called to destroy in peoplet lives (Christian and non-
Another helpful feature is recognition of the evil spiritual dimen- 'strongholds
Christian) ... arguments and every proud ob-
sions of a culture. AII cultures have elements that together work as
stacleraised up againstthe knowledge of God' (2Cor I0:4-
domination systemsthat entrap people and keep them blinded to
5)."'
spiritual realities.
As important as informed prayer is, seeking information about the
One of the emphasesof those engagedin this rype of ministry is to
spirit realrn as a means of overcoming the evil powers or gaining
discern areasin which the church needsto repent. Often, this comes
special knowledge does not appear to be portrayed as necessary(or
together with the call for a public gathering to expresscorporate
even significant) in Scripture. Indeed, the majoriry of the warnings
repentance.Certainly, this is a positive action which unleashesthe
against the occult in the Bible fbcus on urtwarranted explorations
power of God to work powerfully in a location or people.
into the spiritual realms for knowledge or power.
There is generally an explicit recognition that this concept or strat- UltimatelS a focus on this straregy as the key to effective
ery is new and pioneering, rather than proven. Advocates seethem- evangelisation demeans the Scriptures: if this strategy is sa signifi-
selves,in some respects,as experimenters who are following Godb cant, then why is it not found in the Bible? Additionally, supporr
leading. for this strategy has tended to come through reading into biblical
i,,l texts the meanings that advocatesof SLS\Wwant. For example, the
Response:Points of Disagreement ' struggle against "rillers" and "authorities" in Paul's statement in
Ephesians6:12 is not an advocacyof warfare directly against terri-
Dr Moreau also pointed out severalareaswhere he disagreeswith
torial spirits. The statement comes in the context of the Christian's
SLSW: First, whatever our conclusion as to whether or not spirits
daily struggle, not the churcht SLS\7 sffaregy.
are assignedterritories is, perhaps the biggest obstacle to SLS'W is
that the fundamental strategy is notfound in the Bible or in church Another possible danger is that wqidetach demons from people,
history at leastnot without someseriousstretchingof the accounts. which de-emphasisesour own participbtion in the rebellion against
God. In concentrating on finding out the various forms of territo-
The emphasis on discerning and naming demons before we can
rial demonic attachmentsand focusing our attention on them, we
have power over them is approaching a form of Christian animism
ignore the fait that all too often the enemy is us. If the enemy is
or Christian magic. The idea of needing the names to have power
both within us, as sin we need to repent of, and outside us, as de-
over spirits is found in magical thinking around the world. The
monic agencies,methodologiesthat ignore the inside are doomed
concept of "discerning' the names and the functions will always be
to failure in the long run. \7e must considerthe possibiliry that the
subjectiveat best.
greater bondage may rest with rhe wickednessof human hearts.
Prayerwas not intended to be a sophisticatedspiritual "weapon," Finally the idea of servingnorice, evicting and binding spirits over
but a means of fellowship, growth and strength. One danger of an territories does not have biblical warrant and carries roo much em-
attitude of "spiritual violence" is that we may become the very thing phasison technique and efFectiveness. How can we servenotice to a
we are fighting against.Tom \W'hite,one of the more cautious advo- spirit over a territory, if the people themselvesconrinue to invite
cates,comments: control by the way they live?
6z
lir
Nevertheless,we seethe impact of evil all around us, in the form of 'We
in the midst of culture and sociery. will just call them the Pow-
violence, poverty, crime, racism, ethnic strife, betrayal and broken- ers. In the following sections,there will be a particular focus on the
ness. works of.Walter Vink, a theologian who looks ar rhesePowersin a
different way - namely as creared,fallen, but redeemable.
It is essentialthat we perceiveevil and spiritual conflict in a broad
way.It hasto do with our common struggleasChristians and touches In addition to a trilogy on the Powers, Mr Vink has published a
every area of our lives - family, relations, neighbours, communi- condensedand popularised version under the title The PoraersThht
ties and work. All of these areasof life are battlegrounds for the Be (199:8);Mr tJTink'saim, particularly in the condensedversion, is
kingdoms in conflict. to help us reformulate ahcient conceprs, such as God and Saran,
'We angelsand demons, principalides and powers, in light of the world
also need to bring dong a balanced view of evil influences: the
today. The refreshing and provocative aspecrof Mr \fink's work is
biblical perspective highlights the interconnectednessof the flesh,
his contextualisationof powers'and prinbipalities in the midst of
the world and the Devil. In this context, we use the term world to
our contemporary social institutions. Mr \Wink is asconcerned with
signify the ungodly aspects"ofculture - va[us5and traditions that
salvation as with justice.
stand contrary to biblical understanding. Satan affempts to exert
influence on the societd and cultural levels. This influence may His point of departure is that everything has both a physical and a
come through direct idolatry and occult practices and beliefs, or it spiritual aspect. Therefore, the Powers are nor simply people and
may come through what Sherwood Lingenfelter calls "prisons of their institutions; they also include the spirituality at the core of
disobedience" that are found in all societies.In a sense,every gr{- those institutions.. If we want to change those systems- social,
ture and syst€mmay be used by the Evil One to hold us in bondage economic, cultural, political - we must addressnot only the outer
by entangling us in a life of conformity to sharedvalues and beliefs form, but the inner spirit aswell. Mr'Sflink claims that every busi-
that are fundamentally contrary to God's purpose and will for hu- ness,corporation, school and bureaucracy is a combination of vis-
manity. ible and invisible, outer and inner, physical and spiritual. However,
this spirituality is not always benigr.u.The sole purpose of the insti-
This link between culture/society and bondageemphasisesthat how
tutions is to serve the general welfarb; when they refuse to do so,
the bondage is experiencedwill vary from culture to culture. The
their spirituality becomesdiseased(demonic).Thqdemons are nor
main bondagemost'Westerners- or should we say"the westernised/
up there, but over here, in the socio-spiritualstrucruresand politi-
globalisedworld" - experienceis still the desirefor affluence. The
cal systems.\7hen thesepowers (which may be personal or imper-
globalisedculture has allowed the "pursuit of the good life" to shape
sonal) net'work around idolatrous values, we ger what Mr \Wink
the perspective,values and psychology so profoundly that Lesslie
calls "the Domination System" whose master is Satan. In this way,
Newbigin may be right in viewing the'Western culture as the most
the Powersare everynn'here around us, and their presenceis inescap-
non-Christian culture ever.
able. Our task is to unmask this idolatry and recall the Powers to
Engaging the Powers their createdpurposesin the world. This, however,requires the min-
istry of the church (Eph 3:10) arid not just individuals. It is, there-
In the conflict betn'een the kingdoms, we are, as Paul says (Eph fore, the task of the church to remind eg, economic corporations
6:10-20), confronted by rulers (archa), authorities (exousiai),cos- that as creatures of God they have, as their divine vocation, the
mic powers(hosmo hratore) andspiritual forcesQtnearnatiha).Among achieve.pr ent of human well-being.
evangelicals,these terms are usually understood to refer to Satanic
forces.Paul'sfocus is here in the day-to-day struggle of the believer So the evil is not intrinsic, but rather the result of idolatry. This in
turn meansthat the task of redemption is not resrricredto changing
64 65
individuals, but also to changing the fallen institutions. Mr'S7ink powerful antidote for domination that the world h", .rr", known. It
takes one more step: the gospel is not the messageabout the sdva- was that antidote that inspired the abolition of slavery;rhe women's
tion of individuals from the world, but news about a world transfig- movement; the non-violence movement; the civil rights movement;
ured, right down to its basic structures. This cosmic salvation will the human rights movemenr; the fall of Nazism, Fascismand Com-
take placewhen God gathersup all things in Christ (Eph 1:10). munism; and the break-up of apartheid.
It is not difficult to question some of Mr \7inkt assumptions and In our fight against the Powers,we shall lift up the biblical focus of
views. How does he understand the Fall?He rnay describe evil with seruanthoodand seruant lead.ersltip(Luke 22:22-27), not just as a
terrible "human" examples, but one wonders whether evil really principle, but becausethe central core of the gospelis the Servant of
stands in contrast and absolute opposition to the living God. the Lord who took upon himself our transgressions.
"Fallennessdoesnot touch our essehce,but it characterises our ex-
The Cross in Spiritual Conflict ix1,
istence." In the sameway, one is left uncertain as to whether, after
the Fall, the human being was totally alienated from God. Tlue, Mr Paul claims that it was not primarily through the resurrection that
\Wink talks clearly about the need for the individual to be changed;
the Powerswere unmasked, but on and through the Cross: "He set
human misery is causedby institutions, but theseinstitudons are this aside, nailing it to the Cross. He disarmed the rulers and au-
maintained by human beings, ie, the institutions are made evil by thorities and make a public example of them, triumphing over them
us. Yet, we lack a more clear understanding and description of the . in it" (Col Z:t4-15).Jesus died L.."tr.. he challengedIh. Powers.
gulf between God and humans causedby disobedienceand sin. :,." But something went wrong for the Powers.Nailing him to the cross
Nevertheless,Mr'\fink's thinking challengesus to bring ,og.,hJ meant the end of their own power. Therefore on the Cross, the
evangelism and social struggle and to include in our evangelistic Powersthemselvesare paradedand made captive.The power of God
task the proclamation to the Powers of the manifold wisdom of is here, hidden under seeming powerlessness(sub contrarie specie).
God. And so, the Cross continues to challenge, becausethe Cross reveals
the delusions and deceptions. It revedlsthat death doesnot have the
Fighting the Powers final word and thar ffurh cannot be killed. It is now possible to
The fight against the Powers has already been under way a long enter any darknessand trust God to wrestle from it resurrecrion.
time by our engagingthem.and diagnosingtheir strategiesand de- So let us continue to lift up the Cross of Christ becausewe know
lusions. that where the Cross is lifted high, the Powersare losing strength.
'We This is meanr in a very literal sense:Proclaim the Cross to the lead-
may disagreeon severalaccountswith Mr\ffink's interpretation
of God's reign - but there is, for us evangelicals,a seriouschallenge ersof this world, shout it our in the midst of our modern consumer
in his attempt to place God's reign in a socio-politicaland cubural temples, walk into the battle zoneswith the Cross of reconciliation,
'lfithout challenge fighting in the name of Christus Victor. In doing so, ler
setting. such daring contextualisations, we run the risk of .We
transforming the gospel into a timeless, placeless,eternal nowhere. us die with Christ. need to understand better what Jesusmeanr
The challenge for us, as we fight the Powers, is to proclaim the by losing one's life: "Those who try to make their life securewill
gospel as a context-specific remedy for the evils of a society and a lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it" (Luke 17:33).
culture dominated by the Powers. The prirnary task of the church, with referenceto the Powers,is ro
The primary weapon against the Powers has always been and will unmask their idolatrous pretensions,ro identify their dehumanising
alwaysremain the liberating messageofJesus.The gospelis the most values, to strip from them the mantle of credibiliry and to ser free
66 67
their victims. This includes the testimony of the crucified Christ. It
doesnot include a commission to createa new society.
9. Spiritud Conflict in Light of
Our offer of praise and worship to the one true God stands central
Psychologyand Medicine
in calling the Powers'bluffbecause in and through that praising of
the one true God, the bluffofall idols is revealed.So, aswe fight the
Powers,we shall ascribe to God glory and strength. A major ipsue in the debate over spiritual conflict is the relatiogr
between the spiritual and the psychological.This becomesespecially
acute when Christians, qn the basis of the Bible or conternporary
experience,claim that the Devil and demons are ontologically real
spiritual beings that may influence people, even possessthem, and
may be resistedor evenexorcisedby the usepf rqerelyspiritual means.
68 69
link to the spiritual realm. In such cases,assuming the presenceof 'W'e
1. need to ask for a history of mental problems.
spiritual causesmay lead ro serious mistakes in helping others. 'We
2. need to check for distressof an emotional or mental
Genesis3 outlines the Fall of the human race and the entrance of nature in the persont life.
sin, death, pain, suffering and illnessinto the world. The fallen world
we live in is subject to natural laws. Psychologyand medicine help 3. \7e need to find out if the person has previously sought
us deal with our problems related ro rhe natural laws. Our minds or psychologicalor psychiatric help or help from traditional
souls contain our decision-making capaciry our desires,our will healers.
and our emotions. This is where psychological processestake place.
4. W'e also need to know if the person is using psychiatric
Medicine helps us with problems related ro the body. The body has medications or ifhe or shehaseverreceivedthem before.
many organs,including the brain, which is the powerhouse of most
5 . \7'e need to seeif they have been'hospi'talisedfor emo-
bodilv
bodilv functions.
functions. The
The brain regulates
resulates certain chemical processes
Drocessesin
tiond or mentd problems in the past.
the body for our survival and susrenance.
If the information given seemsto contain these natural situations
It is very unfortunate that the'Western worldview seemsto split the
listed above,then the person needspsychological or psychiatric care
person into separateparts, such as body and mind or material and
even ifthey have already been through deliveranceor prayer.
immaterial. It appears,from a biblical viewpoint, that body, soul
and spirit are so intertwined that they cannor be separated.This SpecialAttention: Dissociatiue ldentity Disordcr
unity alsomakes it difficult to tell when certain problems arelarfily
psychological, psychiatric, physical or spiritual. This brings us to There is one mental illnessthat is perhaps the most often misunder-
the discussionon correct discernmentand diagnosis. stood as demonisation by those engagedin Christian deliverance.
This illness is called Dissociative Identity Disorder, and was for-
Discernment and Correct Diagnosis merly known asMultiple Personality Disorder. The afflicted person
may hears voices; seepeople and things no one else sees;speak in
One of the fundamentals in dealing with people is that no harm different voices; have memory lapsestoo great to be accounted for
should be done to people in the name of deliveranceor help. If by ordinary forgetfulness; engagein self-destructivebehaviour; and
someoneis having problems with physical manifestations, it could have unexplainable physical symptoms.
be a physical condition thdt needsa physiciant affenrion. Ignoring
this could lead to death or physical impairment for the person seek- Sometimes people with this illness are convinced that they are de-
ing help. Physical manifestations need to befollowed up u.,ith ques- mon-possessed.The voicesthey hear claim to be demons when they
tions concerningthepresenceof a history ofphysical diseasein the per- actudly are not. In North America, this mental illness is generally
son or the family, and also by a aisit to a physician. The nexr area, well understood and has been successfullytreated. In the mgority
which possibly presentsthe hardest challenge, is the manifestation of third world countries, it is largely seen as spirit possessionor
of what could be mental illness or a demonic affliction. The safest ancestral mediumistic activities. Usually in these societies, people
approach is to frst rule out mental illnessor psychologicalproblems with this condition go through traditional healing or Christian ex-
beforeassumingthat it is a spiritual problem. The following should orcism. This actually antagonisesthe created personas and makes
be taken into accounr: them more angry and destructive towards the person who is af-
flicted. The following arehelpful guidelineswhen dealingwith people
who claim to be demonised.
7l
1 . If the person who claims to be demonised is also a vic- out in anger and some in hatred. Some even wanted to die because
tim of childhood trauma, the person may have this dis- they were so wounded by the abuse.
order.
Caution Required
2 . Although theseso-called"createdparts" claim to be sepa-
rate people, they are not foreign beings, but redly parts Given the controversial nature of our particular topic, a few appro-
of the person'smind created unknowingly to deal with priate c,autionsshould be taken. At times, various deliverance ap--
the ffauma. Therefore theseparts need to be embraced proachesgo overboard when diagnosing people with demonic prob-
rather than castout. The person must be encouragedto lems when they actually have emotional and psychological prob-
realisethere is only one real person. lems. Some even go so far as to believe that any emotional problem
'We
invites demonic forces. have heard of demons of anger, lust,
3 . This rype of disorder needs to be treated by specially eating, suicide, depression, anxiety, and so",on.Some of these "de-
trained professionals.tilfhen ministering to a personwith mons" are actually psychological illnesses.Others make it sound as
dissociative disorders, it is best to work together with if it does not take much for demonic forces to invade people'slives.
such a trained professional. It is helpful to realisethat demonic strongholds are often connecred
to covenants and pacts with evil forces rather than fleeting brushes
4 . Occasionally, these created personas do not share the
with evil. The excessiveemphasison demonising seemsto cheapen
same beliefs, behaviours, or perceptions with the main
the vdidiry of the safery*r,at is found in the blood and name of the
person. As a result, usually some type of conflict arises.
LordJesus Christ. It'can also lead to an over-spiritualisation of emo-
If the person is a Christian, it is important to know it
tional and psychiatric problems.
does not mean that he or she is lost, but just very un-
stable. Vhen considering the possibility of demonisation, it is therefore
important to obtain the following information from the persons
Every so often this illnesswill exist together with a spiritual conflict.
seeking help:
In such cases,deliverance is not effective if the existenceof the ill-
nessis ignored. 1. Do they have any involvemeni in the occult or cultic
practices?
CaseStudy: Seminary SIudent
2. Did ahyone in their family line practice occultism or
A seminarystudentbelievedthat he waspossessed
by a legionof cultic arts?
demons that yelled obscenitiesto him daily and told him to get out
of seminary.Sometimes,he heard little boys cryrng and adult voices 3. Have they willingly, under any circumstances,vowed
screaming. He had been through many deliverance sessions.Ac- to follow Satan?
cording to some of his ministers, he had been delivered from the 4. ,Did anyone dedicatethem to Satanor some other god,
spirits of anger,hate, suicideand lust. But, he still heard voices.He spirit or any being when they were children?
would again experience the same problems. After encouragement
from his wife, the man sought therapy from the seminary counsel- These rypes of experiencesindicate that the person may indeed be
ling centre and was referred to a trauma specialist.Here, it was dis- involved in a spiritual conflict, which would need attention imme-
coveredthat the voices belonged to createdparts inside called "alter diately.Ifit becomesobvious that a person is in a spiritual crisis,it
personalities,"not demons.The personalitiescarrieddifferent emo- should be remembered that people need to be empowered to fight
tions that developed becauseof early childhood abuse.Some acted their own battles instead of relying on an outsider to do it for them.
72
L_
Peopleneed to take responsibility for their situations. They should ening or disturbing stimuli as if the trauma is happening all over
renounce whatever pacts or covenants were made. They need to again. In such a case, the person becomes re-trairmatised by the
fully recognisewhat happened, how it happened and repent of it. deliveranceinstead of receiving help.
As believersthey have the authority to remove their loyalry from
This is a typical scenario when dealing with wounded people who
Satanand to trust God.
74
\.
iry but without the power of God this is futile. At other times, the
church ignores the complexiry of human beings, over-spiritualises
10. Contextualisation of
and is, therefore, not producing lasting results.-Wepropose a strong Spiritual Conflict
collaboration between Christian mental hedth workers, pastorsand
evangeliststo help meet the needs of the whole person in a holistic
way. Practically, this collaboration may be done in severaldifferent Dr Marguerite Firaft's paper focused on issuesof contextudisation
ways: Christian mental health workers and church ministers may and spiritual conflict. Shenpted that there are many societiesthat are
hold joint seminars on issuesrelated to spiritual growth and the spirit-power oriented and daily life in many of thesesocietiesinvolves
mental health field. Churches may also engagemental hedth staff finding away to balturcethe powers so as not to disrupt life.
to minister to the wounded people.
The field ofanthropology haspro4ded many,definitions for worldview,
Someof theseideasare alreadybeing put into practice in some coun- 'Worldview,
the central control box of culture. as Dr Iftaft used it,
tries. They need, however, to be spread in those countries that do refersto the basic assumptions,values and allegiancesof a group of
not yet know or practise them. people. In rnany societiesof the world, supernaturalismis the centre
of life and the integrating factor. Hurnans areseenasweak and need-
ing increasedstrength to survive in a world full of spirit activity. In
suchsocieties,spiritual power is viewed asnecessaryforsuccess, wealth,
guidance and meedng d;ily crises,eg, illness, acciden$, barrenness,
drought. In her research,sheheard severalquestionscoming from the
minds and hearts of Christians or potential Christians from other
societies:Does the foreign doctor know how to take careof the spirits
who are making me ill? Howwill I knowwhen to plant my crops if I
do not go to the local diviner? Does tle pastor have enough spiritual
power to deal with mywife's barrenness?How can I survive the curses
of my father when he hearsof my Christian faith? \Where,within the
church, is there power to protect me from witches? In fact, when
discussingChristianiry with a non-believer from another society,the
question raisedis often not, "\7ho is this Jesus?"but "\7hat can Jesus
do?" In reflecting, Dr Kraft consideredthe validiry and significance
of this question.
Human beings seem to know they have limitations and seek help
beyond their own capabilities. Each society has its own way of ob-
taining spiritual power for times and events that are filled with un-
known dangers and for situations that are beyond human control.
In marur societiesof the world, the quest for spiritual power in daily
living i#at the forefront of peoplet minds. Dr Kraft used the term
"spiritual-power oriented" to describesuch societies.
77
In her researchof conceptsof spiritual power in three different soci- cific areaswhere spiritual powers are involved. Those who converr
eties, she found that spiritual power was sought for basic human to Christ must know in practice that the Holy Spirit within em-
needs.Perpetuityneedsincluded ensuring fertiliry for reproduction powers them for living and confronting the spiritual powers that
within the family and also as it relates to the land, crops and live- exist around them. In societieswhere spiritual powers are perceived
stock. Prosperityneedsincluded the dangerous transitions through asa causeof illness, the church needsto have in its structure a means
life (eg, childbinh, poberry marriage, death) as well as building a of dealing with physical illness.
new house,opening a new business,and so forth. Heahh needsdrive
Tlaining and preparation for working in spiritual-power oriented
one to spiritual power depending on the sociery'stheory of sickness '\7hat
societieshas been largely deficient. has been most detrimen-
and accident. Spiritual causesand the need for harmony demand
tal to effective mission work in regardsto spirirual power is the lack
attention to spiritual power. Securityneedsinclude the dangers per-
of a senseof the necessityto learn about where the non-believers are
ceived when venturing into new territory or travelling, naturd di-
in their spiritual journey. Since hehaviour ieflects perceived needs,
sasterssuch as floods and droughts, and the dangersofsorcery and
it is important to investigate the meaning and function in the ob-
witchcraft. Restitution needsdealwith the prescribedways to restore
servanceof pre-Christian ritual. This investigation makes it pos-
order after someone has broken the rules of society.This includes
sible to define the needs felt for spiritual power that must be met
dealing with the ancestorsand with other human relations. Pouer
and dealt with, in the framework of Christianity. It is alwayshelpful
needsfor situations humans cannot control or explain drive one to
for a Christian to be able to look at life through someone elset lens
seekhelp from the spiritual realm also.
in order to better understand their needs and behaviour.
For many peoples, the world is seen as dynamic with one po*8t
The shortest and most effective bridge for reaching those in spiri-
pitted against another. Often, there is no sharp dividing line be-
tual-power oriented societiesis simply moving their allegiancefrom
tween sacredand secular becausethe material and spiritual are in-
a pagan power source to the true God. This involves little or no
tertwined. Powerencounters,the confrontation betweentwo or more
conversion from spiritual power to secular power. The cultural re-
spiritual powers, are a common occurrence. The spiritual powers
sults of this change of power source are likely to be forms of Chris-
that are involved when there is a power encounter may be personal
tianity that look very similar to their hon-Christian predecessors,
or impersonal,evil or good, within a person (demonisation)or out-
but with God as the power source.Placesof meeting God and the
side the person. For Christ and the church to be relevant to life,
rituals conducted, aswell asthe practitioners, would reflect the pre-
missionariesmust be awarebf the active, existing spiritual powers
vious ways but would also be limited to being appropriateto bibli-
and on what occasionsthey are called on for assistance.
cal Christianity and using only the power of the true God.
God's design has always been to meet people where they are and
The church must develop a reputation of dealing with both the
then gently move them closer.-With most of the world heavily in-
physical and spiritual dimensions of theseproblems, alwaysseeking
volved in spiritual power activities, the initial communication of
a Christian solution. The past has shown us the dangersinvolved in
the gospel must deal with spiritual power. 'Vhen people give alle- "transplanting the church" from one society to another. The theo-
gianceto Christ, spiritual conflicts will ariseover spiritual power for
logical abstractions of the \fest often have very little relevance ro
eachday'sneeds.Since warding off the attack of evil spirits is real in
life as people of other societiesexperienceit. It is far better ro care-
I
the daily livesof thosein spiritual-poweroriented societies,the new
fully define the church and what it means to accepr Christ from a
believer needs to learn to employ the power of God to overcome
scriptural base,and then let believersdevelop and gro* as a church
(not simply placate)thesespirits.The form and corporatepractices
through Godt \Word and Spirit. They will find answers to their
of the church will need to be shapedto meet the needsfelt for spiri-
needs from the Bible, and in this way their spiritual power needs
tual power. Christian theology must give creedal attention to spe-
will be met.
78 79
L
Our calling is to go to Calvary to suffer all the implications of love
11. A'Word ofWarning and and servitude and resistall the schemesthat attemfit to pull us away
Encouragement from following Jesuson his path to Jerusalem. Spiritual victory is
the answer to unselfish and unconditional love for God and his
kingdom. As long aswe are righteous in our motives and desires,as
Ricardo Barbossade Sousa,who contributed a paper to the consul- long aswe stick to the path of discipleship and the Cross, aslong ag
tation from a Brazilian perspective,left us with a serious warning. we are obedient and submissiveto the Lord and the \ford, we will
Drawing on the teaching found in the Book ofJob, he claimed that remain alongside the one who is, and will always be, the winner.
the choice for power is always a diabolic choice. That is why both BecauseSatanknows that the victory is in Christ's incarnation, death
Job and Jesusrefused the ever so common and popular path of du- and resurrection, his strategy is always to deny who Christ is and
alism that has the world divided between two great, equal powers what he has done. Therefore, the criterion to discloseany Satanic
that fight over the control of man and history. Our Lord reigns; that and demonic attack or deceptionis the confessionofJesusChrist as
is the great announcement. Right after being violently afflicted by the incarnate God who has, through his suffering, atoned for the
the catastrophescaused by Satan, Job doesnt say, "The Lord pro- sins of the world and, through his resurrection, conquered death for
vided and Satan took, so now I should go and get back what was ever.
taken from me." On the contrary, his staternent revealsthat, even ,
though Satan is the author of all the disgracesthat came over Joh,. "By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that con-
and his family, he continued putting God at the centre of all that fessesthat JesusChrist has come in flesh is from God, and
happenedby sayrng,"The Lord gave,the Lord hastaken away,blessed every spirit that does not confess Jesusis not from God.
be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21). And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have
'When heard that it is coming; and now it is already in the world"
we embracedualism, spiritual war becomesa fight for power; (l John 4:2-3).
'W'e
a test to prove who is strongest and most powerful. enter the
arena createdby Satan himself and end up fighting with his weap-
ons.'W'e opt for power, for control and fall in the great trap that
Satanpreparesfor us. Jesus,when tempted, never used his power to
prove himself to Satan, or eVbnto the world.
8z 83
any particular view, but to expand evangelicalthinking in an emerg- 2)
ing areathat has controversy.This statement indicates areasof com-
mon agreement,areasof unresolved tensions, warnings and points
to areasneeding further study and exploration. Our intention is to
encouragechurchesof all traditions to use this statementto stimu-
late forthright discussion,seriousreflection and practical ministry
3) The powers and principalities are ontologically real beings' Th:y I
on spiritual conflict to the glory of God.
.*rrtt be reduced to mere social or psychological structures'2 t
Common Ground 4)
TheologicalAffirmations
'We
affirm the biblical witness that humans were created in the im-
ageof God to live in communion with the Lord, in fellowship with differently in various societiesand cultures.
other humans and as stewards of Godt creation. The relation oe- 5)
tween God and humankind was broken through the mysterious
entry of evil into God's creation. Since the Fall, evil has influenced
all aspectsof the created world and human existence. It is God's
plan to redeem and restore Godt fallen creation. God's redemptivd
purpose is being revealed and realised in the history of salvation, 6) Satanand "the rulers, authorities, the powers of this darkworld,
and fully in the gospel of the incarnation, death, resurrection, as- the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" are at work
censionand return of God's son, JesusChrist.'We are called to par- through:3
ticipate in Godk mission of fighting evil and the Evil One in order a) Deceiving and distorting;
to restore what was destroyed as a result of the Fall. \fle live in a
world with tension between the kingdom that has already come in b) Tempting to sin;
Christ and the continuing realities of evil. God's mission will be
c) Afflicting the body, emotions, mind and will;
completed when Christ returns, the kingdom of God comes into
power, and evil is destroyed and eliminated forever. d) Taking control of a person;
rist, inviting them to be delivered e) Disordering of nature;
into the kingdom of God, is the
f) Distorting the roles of social, economic and political
hristians. \fe affirm a holistic un-
strucures;
that finds its source in our rela-
tion with Christ and his call us to becomeintimate with him
to
in the fellowship of believers.The Holy Spirit empowers us for
r Luke22:3;
the interrelated ministries of word 1obl-2; Zech3:1;1 Chron21:1;Matt4:1-ll; Matt 12:23;Luke8:12;
John 12:31; 73:2;| 6:1| ; CoILl 5-22.
il service and action) and sign
2 Mark3n22;7 Eph1:21;3:10;6:10-18.
cor 2:6-8;15:24-26;Col215;
all ofwhich take place in the con-
3 2Cor2:11;l Thess3:5;l Tim 2:14;Rev
12:10;Matt8:16;Matt9:32;Mark5:7-20;
Luke
Markg:17; 8:30;Job Job1:16-19'
15:22-28;
2:7;Matt9:32-33;72:22-23;
84 85
d Scapegoatingas a means of legitimising violence; and unseen. This creation includes humans and spiritual /
t
h) Promoting self-interest,injustice, oppressionand abuse; . beings as moral creatures.
t
b) People were made in the image of God, in which the
1 i) The realmof the occulu
aspectsof the human person are inseparablyconnected.
t 'f. ,
Falsereligions; and Body soul, emotions and mind cannot be separated.
I
k) All forms of opposition to God's work of salvation and the c) God remains sovereignover all creation in history, and noth-
mission of the church. ing happensoutside'God'sultimate control. Thus, the world
cannot be conceivedof asa closeduniversegoverned merely
7) A primary purpose of the life and ministry of Jesuswas ro ex- by naturdistic scientific laws. Neither can it be considereda
pose, confront and defeat Satan and destroy his works.
dualistic systemin which Satan is u,nderstoodto be equal to
a) Christ hasdecisivelydefeatedSatanat rhe Crossand through God.
the resurrection.
| ..
I Ul Jesusconfronted Satan through pnye\ righteousness,obe-
I dience and setting the captivesfree.
86 87
.Working
b) The exerciseof spiritual gifts must be accompanied by the 2) for positive strongholds for God through a "gende inva-
fruit of the spirit. sion" that overcomesevil with good and wins people by love is as
important as breaking down Satanicstrongholds. Thus, we affirm
.) The work of the Spirit and the'Word must be held together.
the importance and primacy of the local church and its life of faith.
Spiritual ConJlict in Practice 3) \forship is spiritual conflict. It is not aggressive,
spectacularspiri-
1) \7e listened ro reporrs on the history of the churcht dealings tual conflict; not a strateg'ynor a means to an end; but involves
with Satan and the demonic and noted: mind, body and spirit responding with all that we are, to all
that God is.
I") There are striking similarities between what happened in
4) Spiritual conflict is risky and often costly.rVhile there are victo-
the history of the ancient church and what is happening in
\ demonic encounters and deliverance today. ries, there is often a backlashfrom theEvil One in various forms
\ of attack such as illness and persecution. Nonetheless, we do
b) Deliverance from Satanic and demonic powers and influ- not shrink from spiritual conflict, since to avoid it is costly to
ence in the ancient church was used as proof of the resur, the kingdom of God.
rection and the truth of the claims of Christ bv the church
fathers. 5) The ministry of spiritual conflict is grounded in the transfor-
mative power of relations,not techniquesor methods.
c) Preparation for baptism included the renunciation of the -
Devil, the demonii and prior religiousallegiancesfrom the' 6) The point of departure for spiritud conflict is our relation with
life of the convert, aswell as repenrance.This pracrice con- Jesusand listening to the Holy Spirit.
tinues in some churches to this day. 'We
/ ) \fle affirm the complexiry of the human person. need to
d) The unwillingness or inabiliry of the contemporary \fest- distinguish the psychological from the spiritual when it comes
ern church to believe in the realiry of the spiritual realm to ministry and counselling. Dqliverance ministries and psy-
and engagein spiritual conflict aroseout of a defective En- chological counsellors often fail to recognise this distinction.
lightenment-influenced worldview, and is nor represenra- Failure to do so can do harm.
tive of the total history*of the church in relation to spiritual 8) Holiness.iscentral to the Christian responseto evil:
conflict nor has it been characteristic of Christianity in the
Two Thirds.World in contemporary history. a) In the exerciseof spiritual authority, those who do not give
adequate attention to character and holiness truncate the
e) Every Christian has accessto the authoriry of Christ and whole biblical picture ofspiritual growth and sanctificadon.
demons recogniseChrist's power when exercisedby Chris-
t tians. b) To practice spiritual conflict without adequateaffention to
personal holiness is to invite disaster.
0 The history of evangelismis replete with examplesin which
the responseto the gospel was accompanied by power en- c) The pursuit of holinessappliesnot only to the individual,
counters, but power encounters in and of themselves are but to the family, the local church and the larger commu-
nevera guaranteeof a positive response. .r'riry of faith.
d) \7'hile holiness includes personal piety, it applies to social
8) Church history also points to a link between idolatry and
the demonic. relations as well.
88
9) Engaging the Evil One is nor rhe work for heroic individuals. Warnings
Those engagedin this ministry must seekthe supporr of a group
of intercessors. 1) \7e urge caution and sensitivity in the use of language when it
.S7.hile
comes to spiritual conflict. biblical, the term spiritual
10) Following up on individuals who have experienced freedom warfare is offensive to non-Christians and carries connotations
through spiritual conflict musr be an inseparablepart of the that seem contradictory coming from those who serve a Logd
ministry. The local church must be encouragedto incorporate who died on a cross.Additionally, there is a large range of mean-
peopleinto the Christian community and to disciplethem; not
to arrange for this is sin.
'\7e
11) were saddenedby stories of people, emboldened by self-
assuredcertainty and money who come from outside, over-
whelm local Christians and carry our hit-and-run ministries of 2) \7e call for watchfulnessto avoid any syncretismwith non-Chris-
spiritual conflict that 1) pr.rtr-. superior knowledgeof the lo- tian religious beliefs and practices, such as traditional religions
cal reality; 2) treat local Christians as inferior or unaware, 3) or new religious movements.'We also affirm that new believers
claim credit for things that local Christians have been prayrng are reasonablewhen they expect the gospel ro meer their needs
and working toward for years and 4) leave uneven results and for spiritual power.
sometimes pain, alienation and even persecution of the local
church, while claiming great victory. , 3) \7e call for discernment concerning magical usesof Christian
I terms and caution practirioners to avoid making spiritual con-
12) Spiritual conflict involves more than one enemy; it must en- flict into Christian rnagic.Any suggestionthat a panicular rech-
gagethe flesh, the Devil and the world: nique or method in spiritual-conflict ministry ensuressuccessis
a) \7e view with alarm social evils such as injustice, poverry, a magical, sub-Christian undersrandingof Godt workings.
ethnocentrism, racism, genocide, violence, environmental 'We
4) encourage extreme care and,the discernment of the com-
abuse,wars, aswell asthe violence, pornography and occult muniry to ensure that the exercisi of spiritual authority nor be-
in the media. come spiritual abuse.Any expressionof spiritual power or au-
b) These social evils are"encouragedor supported by human thority must be done in compassionand love.
institutions in which the principalities and powers work 'We
5) cry our for a mande of humiliry and gracefulnesson the
againstGod and God's intention for humankind. part of cross-cultural workers, who having recently discovered
c) The task of the church in combating the principalities and the reality of the spirit realm, go ro orher parrs of the world
powersin the socio-political conrexr is to unmask their idola- where people have known and lived with the local realities of
trous pretensions,to identify their dehumanising valuesand the spirit world and the struggle with the demonic for centu-
actions and to work for the releaseof their victims. This ries.
work involves spiritual, political and socialactions. 6) Becausespiritual conflict is expressedin different ways in dif-
13)'We fail to find biblical warrant for constructing elaboratehier- ferent societies,we strongly caution against taking ideas, meth-
archiesof the spirit world. od$ or strategies developed in one society and using them
uncritically in another.
9o 9r
7) Becausewe must resist the temptation ro adopt the Devilt tac- to be cast out of believers.On the other hand, we also heard the
tics as our own, we warn practitioners to take care that rheir testimony of brothers and sisters from every continent to the
methods in spiritual conflict are basedon the work of Christ on contrary. This raisesthe question of how we are to understand
'We
the cross: the effect of the demonic in the lives of Christians. were
unable to resolve this tension in our consultation, but believe
a) Submitting to God through his substitutionary death on
the followiqg are helpful to note:
the cross,Christ deprived Satan of his claim to power;
'W'e
a) are aware that in many cases,new Christians today have
b) Christt willingness to sacrificehimself, in contrast to fight-
not gone through processesof renunciadon of pre-Chris-
ing back, is a model for spiritual conflict; and
tian allegiances,processesthat have been normative in the
c) \When we separatethe Cross from spiritual conflict, we cre- pre-Enlightenment Church. SomeChristiansmayhave lost
ate a climate of triumphalism. their faith; there are others who cdll themselvesChristians,
but are only Christiansin a nominal sense.Some claim that
8) -Ve call for acdons that ensure that our approachesand expla-
these might be reasonsthat Christians might appear to be
nations of spiritual conflict do not tie new converts to the very
susceptible to the demonic.
fearsfrom which Christ died to free them. Being free in Christ
means being free from fear of the demonic. b) W'e affirm that being in Christ meansthe Christian belongs
'We to Christ and that our nature is transformed. However, just
e) warn against an overernphasison spirits that blame demons .
aswith sin and our need to deal with sin in our body, mind,
for the actions ofpeople. Dehons can only work through people'
emotions and will, we wonder if the demonic, while no
- and people can actively choose to co-operate. Spirits are not
longer able to claim ownership of Christians,may not con-
the only source of resistanceto the gospel.
tinue to afflict them in body, mind, emotions and will un-
10) \7e warn against confusing correlations or coincidence with lessdealt with.
causation in reporting apparent victories as well as the uncriti-
2) \fhile it is possible that Satan manifests himself more strongly
cal use of undocumented accounts to establish the validiw of
in certain placesthan in others, and that sornespirits seemto be
cosmic warfare.
tied to certain locations, we agreedthere seemsto be little bib-
'W'e
11) warn against using esthatology as an excusenot to fight lical warrant for a number of the teachingsand practices associ-
against all forms of evil in the present. ated with some forms of spiritual conflict which focus on terri-
torial spirits.'We experiencedtension over whether there is bib-
Areas of Tension lical warrant fur prayer warfare egainstterritorial spirits asa valid
tool for evangelisation.\7e agreed,however,on the invalidiry of
1) In the early church, demonic encounterswere most often seen
the claim that prayer warfare against territorial spirits is the only
where the church encountered non-Christians. The history of
key to effective evangelisation.
evangelisation frequently links power encounters with the
evangelisationof non-Christian people. The biblical rexr reveals 3) Tension exists concerning the extent to which we can learn and
that while it is possible that a demonic spirit may afflict a be- verify things from the spiritual realm from experiencesnot im-
liever physically,6there is no direct evidence that demons need mediately verifiable from Scripture, in contrast to limiting our
understanding of the spiritual realm from Scripture alone. Some
6 Lli'ke4:38-39;13:10-13;2 Cor 12:7-9.
have maintained that experienceis crucial to understanding
93
spiritual conflict; this is a point to be exploredin ongoing dia- b) Urgent sharing worldwide with deliver"rr". pi"",irioners of
logue. the current state of knowledge of Dissociative Idendty Dis-
order (DID), formerly called Multiple PersonalityDisor-
4) \7e are not agreedas to whether or how the truths about spiri-
der;
tual realities and spiritual conflict methodologies can be veri-
fied empirically. Sorneengagein active experimentation in spiri- c) A diagnostic approach that allows Practitioners to discern
tual'conflict ministry asa meansof developing generalitiescon- the difference between DID personalitiesand spiritual en'
cerning spiritual conflict, while others are not convinced of the tities; and
validity of this way of learning.
2) There is an urgent need to incorporate the study of spiritual 7) There is a need to explore the role in spiritual conflict of the
conflict into theological cdrricula in schools and training cen- practices'ofBaptism, Holy Communion, confessionof sin and
tres around the world. absolution, footwashing and anointing with oil.
3) There is an urgent need to develop criteria and methods that 8) \We would like to see a serious examination of the deception
allow us to evaluate ministry experiencein a verifiable way. and the seductivepower of advertising in terms of its role in
fostering envy, consumerism and false gods.
4) The emerging understandingof the complexity of the human 'W'e
person needs significant exploration and examination. Specifi- praise God, that while we representedvarious theological, cul-
cally, we call for: tural and church traditions and positions on spiritual conflict, we
have been blessedand inspired by learning from each other' This
A sustained dialogue between those engagedin deliverance encour4gesus to believe that it is possibleto develop an under-
")
ministries and those in the medical and psychological pro- standin[ of spiritual conflict and its Practicewithin the Christian
fessions:
7lohn l5:3; 17,t7.
community, so that in time it becomespart of the everyday life of
the church.'Weinvite the church to join us in continued study and
Appendix A: List of Participants
in the incorporation of appropriate ministries of spiritual conflict
'We
into the life of the church. particularly call on the churches in
the \fest to listen more,carefully to the churches in the Two Thirds TokunbohAdeyemo,Kenya(Co-Convener)
Vorld and join them in a serious rediscoveryof the reality of evil. MaryAruwa, Kenya
David Burnett, United I{ingdom
PaulA. Cedar,United States
Robyn Claydon,Australia r
JacsonHomero Eberhardt,Brazil
Tormod Engelsviken,Norway
EzekiahFrancis,India
David Gitari, Kenya
Grace Anzaye,Kenya
DeborahHendrickson,Kenya
Yung Hwa, Malaysia
NeuzaItioka, Brazil '
,
Australia
MargaretJacobs,'Western
Norway (Co-Convener)
Knud Jorgensen,
Ken Kimiywe, Kenya
CharlesKraft, United States
MargueriteKraft, United States
Ole SkjerbakMadsen,Denmark
\WilsonMamboleo,Kenya
97
t"
JerryMungadze,lJnited States
BryantMyers,United States
Appendix B: r$7hatis Lausanne?
BirgerNygaard,Denmark
OlusegunOlanipekun,Kenya "Making Christ known together"
Lausanne belieues,..
. that co-operation and sharing in world evangelisadon
is better than competition;
. that the whole gospel will include demonstration by
deedsas well as proclamation by words;
*
. that biblical theology and mission strategymust be con-
sistent:and
98 99
. that its own neutraliry createsspacefor all evangelicals
to work together regardlessof their church or faith tra-
dition.
Laasanne organizes...
. small international consultations on subjects that are
critical to completing the task of world evangelisation.
These bring together key people in order to achieve an
approachwhich is biblical and strategic.There havebeen
more than 30 of these.
. regional, national and international consultadons and
conferenceswhere a need for these is expressed.There
have been more rhan 50 of these.
. world congresses(1974 and 1989) that bring togerher
current and emerging leaders to consider world
evangelisation.
Lausanneptublishes.. .
. the occasional Lausanne Newsletter with news and
analysesof current issuesarising for those who want to
make Christ known to the world; and
. occasionalpapers and books on subjects important for
world evangelisation.
'l
A "Barnabas Factor"