Archive for October, 2009
Posted by owner on
October 27, 2009
Christmas Book Offer
Do Christmas shopping early.
List booklover family, friends.
Order each a set of three
Invisible War Novels
Cheaper than Amazon.com
Each 3-book set comes …
Autographed by author!
Christmas wrapped!
Name tag attached!
For each set, send $30,
Your mailing address.
Names of recipients.
How books autographed.
The books are
Earthbound
The Day of the Others
The Blind Prophet
Mail check and information to:
Dr. Larry Richards
PO Box 98263
Raleigh, NC 27624-8263
Posted by owner on
October 27, 2009
Ever have a chat with a Wiccan? Or ask questions of a person who recommends getting your own personal “spirit guide?” I was thinking about what I’d like to ask last night when I should have been sleeping.
In demondope I’ve tended to draw contrasts between neopagan and Christian belief systems, and to compare what Scripture reveals about the Spirit World with what neopagans assume. That’s certainly a valid approach, and it fits with the mission of the Center for the Study of Biblical Demonology. But it probably wouldn’t make for a very productive discussion with a practitioner of any of the occult religions.
That’s when it struck me. In any conversation with a neopagan what we should chat about isn’t religion, but relationship.
The central issue in Christianity is one’s personal relationship with Jesus Christ. What answers would I get if I raised relationship questions with our Wiccan or with the possessor of a Spirit Guide? As neopaganism is hardly a monolithic faith, different individuals would probably give different answers. But those answers should be revealing. So, here are some of the questions I’d like to ask.
1. What is your [god/goddess/contact/ spirit guide] like? How long have you had a relationship with him/her/it? What makes you believe that he/she/it has these qualities?
2. What’s important to your [god/goddess/ contact/ spirit guide]? How does he/she/it show these things are important to him/her/it?
3, How would you describe your relationship with your [god,/goddess/ contact/ spirit guide]?
4. .What motivates you to maintain or deepen this relationship? What motivates your [god/ goddess/ contact/ spirit guide] to maintain the relationship?
5. How much influence does your [god/goddess/contact/spirit guide] have on your daily life? How does he/she /it exercise this influence>
6. Would you describe your [god/goddess/contact/spirit guide] as a moral being? Does he/she/it have expressed moral standards? How does your relationship with he/she/it affect your moral choices?
7. What is the greatest benefit you have gained from your relationship with he/she/it?
As I said, I suspect I’d get different answers—in fact, quite a range of different answers!–from different neopagans.. But I know how I’d answer the questions as a Christian with a personal relationship with Jesus, and I suspect most Christians would answer pretty much the same way.
Next time you’re with a friend who follows a neopagan path, it might be interesting to ask the relationship questions. It certainly should be revealing. Maybe even revealing to your friend.
Posted by owner on
October 27, 2009
Each Gospel contains at least one comment made by Jesus concerning demons. In this series we look at these comments to see what we can discover.
Jesus on “strong man:
Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. But some of them said, “By Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.” Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.
Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebub. Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.
“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils (Luke 11:14-23; cf Matthew 12:22-32)
Observations
1. As we saw in our series on Jesus vs Demons, demons can be the cause of a physical disability, and driving out the demon can effect a cure. This does not imply that all illness or disabilities are due to demonization.
2. While the onlookers recognized the demonic origin of this individual’s disability they did not conclude that God was the source of Jesus’ power over demons. His enemies argued that Jesus was empowered by Satan, the ruler of demons. Others, asking for a “sign from heaven (ie., from God)” wanted more evidence.
Given the context, which is late in a public ministry during which Jesus has been known for healings and other miracles, neither of these reaction is warranted. Much earlier a member of the Sanhedrin, the supreme religious court of the Jews, had admitted to Christ, “we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no man can do the works you do except God be with him” (John 3). The accusation was dishonest, and the request for an additional sign from God hypocritical.
3. In Jesus’ response he depicts Satan as a being who rules a kingdom. In the first century kings were absolute monarchs, standing at the top of a hierarchy. Jesus’ illustration indicates that the spirit kingdom of Satan is organized rigidly. It allows for no independent action by individuals or groups within it. Only by presenting a united front can Satan’s kingdom hope to “stand.’ All must fall in line with Satan’s intents and purposes.
4. It follows that Satan’s purposes were being fulfilled in the activity of the demon who caused the man’s inability to speak. And that Jesus’ healing of the individual was a blow to whatever purpose of Satan the demon was seeking to accomplish.
This raises a question. There are many reports of healings performed by psychics or spiritists. This is especially common in the third world, where many seek out witchdoctors or sorcerers for healing. A book I’m currently reading by Koch, which I’ll review soon on demondope, documents a variety of such incidents. The question is, what purpose might Satan have in performing healings? Isn’t relieving humans of pain and suffering out of character for demons? We can answer that question best by considering Satan’s “interests and purposes.” While benefiting any individual is far from Satan’s intent, and it might seem that healing is a benefit, the fact is that occult healings provide access to humans for demons. As Koch points out, there’s a price to pay for any healing performed by occult means.
While God transforms evil to accomplish his good purposes, Satan and his demons transform apparent good to accomplish evil purposes.
5. Jesus characterized the demon causing the man’s muteness as a “strong man” who was guarding “his own” house. Many have used this analogy to generate a title for Satan, “Strong Man.” In this passage, however, the strong man is a demon who has such a grip on an individual that the man can be called the demon’s “own house.” The only hope for truly being freed is if someone stronger attacks and expels the “strong man.”
This reminds us that dealing with demonization is a power issue. No matter how powerful a demon may be, Jesus is far more powerful. He and he alone is able to expel demons, and we cast out demons in his authority, relying on his power.
6. Jesus cast out the demon by “the finger of God.” The OT frequently uses the image of a hand or arm as a symbol of power. Jesus’ power is so great that just a finger is needed to deal with demons, however strong they may be.
Conclusions
In this incident Jesus revealed several important facts. First, Satan rules over a kingdom, and maintains control over the demons who are his subjects. The demons are committed to carrying out Satan’s purposes. We can’t imagine that there are “good” demons and “bad” demons who sometimes find themselves in conflict. All spirit beings in Satan’s kingdom are essentially evil, hostile to human beings, and committed to achieving Satan’s purposes.
The view of modern neopagans, that the majority of spirit beings in the unseen world are beneficial and benevolent, has no basis in Scripture. And any “good” such spirits may perform are self-serving [actually, Satan-serving] and intended, in Jesus’ words, to “take possession” of the person “helped.”:
The incident and Jesus’ remarks also make it clear that no matter how strong demons may be, Jesus has more than enough power to overcome them. We are to respect the power of evil. But we are not to have such a fear of evil spirits that we fail to stand against them.
Posted by owner on
October 27, 2009
An old and dear friend recently sent me this book review he’ll be posting on Amazon. I share it to bless you.
The Blind Prophet (original)
I am writing this book review of The Blind Prophet (Zaki) at the suggestion of the author of the book whose writings have had an immense impact on my life since the 1970s.
Allow me to introduce myself. I am a 76 year-old retired family doctor who graduated at U. of British Columbia in 1961.
My parents, born in villages in south mainland China, were the first generation emigrant to Hong Kong where they brought up a family of five. My father had some high school education in a Christian school. My mother, being a female, had only some primary school education. She followed faithfully all the traditions of ancestral and Buddhist idol worship with which she was brought up during her life in her village.
Belief in spirit possessions, idol worship, fortune telling and reincarnation, were all part of our culture. When I was in Grade 5, one day my younger brother, little sister and I, consumed with childhood curiosity, urged our home maker to demonstrate “spirit possession”. She called down a fairy to possess the teenage maid of our neighbor. We asked the fairy when the Second World War was to end. She replied that such things were secrets of the Heavens of which she was not permitted to disclose. My younger brother said, “It is fake”. That offended the fairy who immediately departed and the teen age girl woke up not knowing what had happened.
Fear of the dark was common in children. I was so until I was baptized at the age of 15. As a child, helping mother perform the traditional Buddhist and ancestral worship at home was fun. The scrumptious meal offered to Buddha and our ancestors became the supper the children had been waiting for all day long.
Our father was not religious but sent all of us to a Baptist school. Because I went to a Baptist school, I came to the conclusion that Buddha worship was only a superstition but enjoyed the fun part of it — the toys and good food, the festival celebrations and the trip to the Buddhist temple. Little did I know that when I became older, I would be writing a review for Dr. Richards’ anti-occult novel written to counter the rise of occultism and spiritual decline of an unbelievable magnitude in an “enlightened” North America. This spiritual change has developed within the span of my adult life.
No doubt you have read the excellent reviews of The Blind Prophet by the experts. I will only focus on one issue which I can personally identify with — “The need for empathy of those, like the three generations of Rachels, who are silent devotees to their own disabled and suffering loved ones like the Blind Prophet, Zaki.”
Zaki, the 10 year old Jewish boy, was blinded by the sword of an invading Babylonian soldier. He was kept alive by the three generations of Rachels, the mother, her daughter and her granddaughter. My mother was blinded by acute glaucoma after the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong when proper medical care was unavailable. I was in Grade 4 when it occurred. Since then, I became one of her care giver from time to time until she died at the age of 92 in Vancouver, B.C. Zaki was in total withdrawal and profound depression after losing his sight. So was my mother. When Zaki encountered an angel, the Interpreter, his life gradually was transformed and he became a spokesman in his village for God. My mother’s life was gradually transformed after some friends brought her to Church after the II World War. She encountered Christ Jesus. Because of her spiritual experience, some of her children, including myself, also encountered Christ Jesus. We have kept our faith till this day.
I hope through reading the Blind Prophet, some readers will see the need for empathy of those who are silent devotees to their own disabled and suffering loved ones. They too have grief unspoken and emotional turmoil that goes one and on. It is often unrecognized by their friends; and worse, by us who are providers of health care.
Thank you for reading my review of a FIVE STAR novel.
Ken Lam, MD
Posted by owner on
October 19, 2009
Each Gospel contains at least one comment made by Jesus concerning demons. In this series we look at these comments to see what we can discover.
Jesus shares his authority
“He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness” (Mathew 10:1).
“Calling the twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits.” (Mark 6:7))
“When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” *Luke 9:1).
Observations
1. All three synoptic [chronologically organized] Gospels report that at a point in his ministry Jesus “called the Twelve” together and “gave them authority over evil spirits.” Jesus had demonstrated that he himself has such authority. Now we see that he also can delegate that authority to his followers
2. At this point the authority to drive out evil spirits was limited to the Twelve. It might be argued that authority over evil spirits [demons] was limited to the original apostles But later Jesus gave similar authority to 72 “others” (Luke 10:1), and Acts portrays Philip exercising similar authority in Samaria (Acts 8:7).
3. Two of the Gospels also include authority “to heal every [kind of?] disease and sickness” or “cure diseases.” It is perhaps suggestive that the Gospels also relate various diseases and sicknesses to demon possession. In all such cases the exorcism of the demon lead to physical healing as well. Even so, we should not limit the authority Christ gave the disciples and others of his followers to physical ills caused by demons. Christ himself healed many of illnesses where Scripture provides no link to demonic activity.
4. All three passages describe this ability to drive out demons as “authority.” Only Luke adds “power” to “authority.” This helps us see an important point. “Power” is different in nature from “authority.” The Greek word translated “authority” while at times translated “power” in our English versions does not point directly to God’s intrinsic strength or might. Instead the root meaning of “authority” is “freedom of action.”
Because Jesus has “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:27), Jesus has ultimate freedom of action. Nothing in heaven or on earth is capable of limiting what Jesus is free to do. When this freedom of action is exercised by one who is omnipotent, the result is ultimate and absolute freedom to act in any situation..
5. While Jesus’ authority is complete, what he gave to his followers was a limited authority. Jesus followers were granted authority “over evil spirits.” This grant is further limited by the phrase “to drive them out.” No follower of Jesus has freedom to control other actions of evil spirits, or to manipulate them to carry out his or her wishes.
6. Those who practice exorcism today rely on this grant of limited authority by Jesus. Most believe that this authority is not restricted to ‘professional ministers” but is granted to any believer in Jesus; that is, that the relationship of the believer with Jesus through faith in him includes the “freedom of action” to drive out evil spirits” [demons.].
For a thorough development of this position, see Charles Kraft’s book, “I Give You Authority.”
.
Posted by owner on
October 19, 2009
News of thr spread of neopagan and occult beliefs
NJ.COM Runs Article on Vampire Subculture
According to the article posted on October 15 there’s a New Jersey vampire subculture that “thrives on blood rituals, fangs.” The article follows Ra Libasti, a 27-year-old “real vampire” who takes part in blood rituals in a group of about fifty called the “court of Lazarus.” Members acknowledge the craving for blood is a “morbid impulse,” the argue that their practices ”mirror centuries of religion traditions.” While movies like “Twilight”and TV shows like “True Blood” have spawned vampire role players, the New Jersey group views itself as real vampires, and believe that drinking blood from consenting donors is a real need. The group members follow a code of ethics called “the Black Veil,” and Ra states that the majority in the community are “intelligent, professional people.”
Figi Methodists Burn Witchcraft Tools
According to an article published in the Figi Times ONLINE, Villagers in Figi chose to end links with magic by burning a magic walking stick, cursed kava b owls, and other artifacts. The burning was preceded by fasting and 24-hour prayer sessions, One member of the prayer team stated that “dark spirits existed in Figi and within people who didn’t even know they had them,”
Community College Course on Witches
Author and self-styled psychic Pauline Bartel is offering a course on Witches, Ghosts and Hauntings at Hudson Valley (NY) Community College,. The course gives an overview of “myths and realities” concerning the supernatural and then explores Pauline’s own experiences with spirits and witches. The course grew out of her own experiences writing a book on witchcraft called Spellcrafters, after a tarot card reading predicted she would write it.
Canadian Scholar Challenges Neo-pagan Beliefs
Phi9lip G. Davis, in Goddess Unmasked: The Rise of Neopangan Feminist Spirituality, published in 1998, asserts that “the present day ‘goddess’ cults have no detectable linkage with any ancient pagan beliefs, apart from being anti-Christian.” He debunks the notion that modern witchcraft cults are descendants of “the old religion” and claims such ideas are false and manufactured. The book traces many of the beliefs of practitioners of Wicca to surprising origins According to a recent article in “The Spectator” magazine, “Where God the Father is supplemented by God the Mother, it seems the Mother Goddess is rarely far behind. In the larger denominations today, it is not only women in small groups who welcome her. Male theologians with international reputations have spoken up in her cause; including Professor Harvey Cox, the erstwhile secular theologian of Harvard Divinity School.”
Witchapalooza
On October 12th the Sacramento {CA] Press published yet another article on Wicca. This article, one of a series developed by Paul Dale Roberts, provides a brief history and biography of the foundational writings of modern Wicca, which though scarcely 50 years old but has quickly morphed into a culture all its own. In his article, Roberts promises that “since I have been to Witchapalooze” and have met several witches who are willing to be interviewed, readers can “follow my path down the Wicca subculture and learn with me, how the Wicca culture works. See you soon!”
Folk religion rituals in Venezuela
Thousands gathered for a weeklong religious festival in honor of the goddess Maria Lionza, worshipped near the town of Chivacoa. The tradition is hundreds of years old, mixing elements of Santeria, indigenous rituals, and Catholicism. Believers in the goddess appeal for healing and protection from witchcraft. The Catholic church disapproves, but has given up trying to suppress the folk religion.
Ouija board true tales
Ouija boards are big with young teens again. For a number of purportedly true takes about supernatural experiences with ouija boards, go to http://paranormal.about.com/od/ouijaboards/a/tales-ouij-9.HTM?NL=1.
Invite the bishop
Magus Lynius Shadee, the “king of the witches” who stated that he conjured up a demon to prey on parishioners of Cambridge, England’s, largest Catholic church has now announced that he’s invited the local bishop to the opening of his occult center, along with pastors of other area churches. It’s hard to say how skillful he is as a witch, but he’s top notch at garnering publicity.
New Age Deaths in Sedona
Sedona, Arizona is an acknowledged center of New Age occultism. The New York times recently described the town of some 11,500 residents in the starkly beautiful area as a “metaphysical center attracting seekers and followers of an assortment of spiritual pathways,” where “scores of self-proclaimed mystics, healers, channelers of past life experiences (and aliens), sacred touch massage therapists, wind whisperers and vision quest guides offer their services.” But on Thursday the 8th of October two men died in a sweat lodge operated by Angel Valley, a New Age retreat near town, and three others were airlifted to Flagstaff Medical Center in critical condition. All were participants in a week long “spiritual warfare” experience, which for $9,000 “included seminars, a 36 hour fast and solo experiences in the forest.” And, of course, two hours in a sweat lodge packed with some 60 other people. A Mr. Ray, who conducted the ceremony, left the area after refusing to give the police a statement.
Goddess Workshops in Haversham, UK, celebrate women
Let by Vicky Brierly, Priestess of Avalon, a site linked to Arthurian legend and Druid religion, the workshops are intended to “bringing the identity of women as goddesses themselves into public consciousness, on a spiritual level.” The participants entering the “sacred site” removed their shoes and sat in a circle, in the center of which was an altar. The circle was divided into eight segments, each representing a goddess, marked with relevant “tokens and statues” relevant to each goddess. Vicki called out to each goddess, thanking her as participants placed tokens on the relevant segment of the circle. Group members then paired off for tarot readings. The shared insights from the readings, and then fashioned “dough talismans” to hang in their homes as charms. They then threaded rowanberries on red silk for protection against evil spirits. The concluded the ceremony by singing their thanks to each goddess
Readers of the article, printed in the Bracknell Forest Standard, are offered a 10% discount to participate in the next “workshop,” to be held October 31sr from 10 to 4.
Festival Honors Earth-Based Faith
That was the headline in the Savannah (Ga) Ledger-Enquirer the 10th of October when the paper published an extended article on paganism. It seems that ‘modern pagans” want to change the image of paganism as something “evil.” PaganPride.org defines pagan as “honoring, revering or worshipping a deity or deities found in pre-Christian, classical, aboriginal or tribal mythology. According to the article, paganism can include “shamanism, “earth-based spirituality,” or a focus on a feminine god,” and those who practice paganism “typically accept labels like Wicca, witchcraft, druid, neo-pagan, Native American spirituality, or Asatru.“ The sponsors expect some 300 participants to show up for the festival, to be held at Emmet Park on October 17th. The article reports that while it is difficult to estimate the number of pagans in the US, “forms of paganism seem to be moving into the mainstream.”
_
Posted by owner on
October 9, 2009
Do Christmas shopping early.
List booklover family,friends.
Order each a set of three
Invisible War Novels
Cheaper than Amazon.com
Each 3-book set comes …
Autographed by author!
Christmas wrapped!
Name tag attached!
For each set, send $30,
Your mailing address.
Names of recipients.
How books autographed.
The books are
Earthbound
The Day of the Others
The Blind Prophet
Mail check and information to:
Dr. Larry Richards
PO Box 98263
Raleigh, NC 27624-8263
Posted by owner on
October 9, 2009
News Items from the last 1o days that indicate the spread of neopagan religions and occult beliefs in today’s society
Pagan Celebrants Summon “the God and Goddess”
Sunday, September 27th the Columbia. Missouri, Pagan Pride Day activities were launched with a ceremony “summoning the directions, and the god and goddess. The day long celebration was held on a 186-acre sanctuary in Boonville used by Pagans and Wiccans. Funds for the celebration were raised by The Center project, a group formed to raise tolerance for “the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning” community. Participants attended workshops on rituals, chanting techniques, pagan fiction, and paper pentagram making. Author of pagan literature Joyce Higginbotham commented, “The Paganism movement used to be underground, but I think the purpose of that has faded. There are now books abut Paganism in public libraries.”
Georgia Paper Publishes Feature Article on “The Wiccan Way.”
Augusta’s Metro Spirit featured Wicca on September 30th, and in the article promoted the first Pagan Pride Day to be held for the city on October 3rd. It was initiated by Jezibell Zuchowski, a Wiccan high priestess, who moved to August who moved there from New York in 2007. Activities on the local Pagan Pride day will include workshops on Wicca 101, Kitchen Witchery, and Ask the Wizard. The paper reported that there are Pagan Pride Days held in 41 of the 50 states as well as in many cities overseas.
Bush Speech Writer Criticizes Boss
Among the “spurious reasons” mentioned by former George W. Bush speech writer Matt Latimer for failing to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to those Latimer felt were deserving was the supposed reason for bypassing J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books. According to Latimer, Rowling was discussed, but Bush refused to grant her the honor “fearing that it would look like a tacit approval of witchcraft.” Bush isn’t the only one who has expressed reservations about the popular fantasy series. Some U.S. Catholic schools have banned the books, citing the witchcraft theme. And one Georgia parent has asked the court to ban Potter books on the grounds that they promote a religion–Wicca. [The courts refused.] Conservative Christian groups have spoken out against the books, saying that the threat from witchcraft is real and the books promote it.
Satanic Ritual Killings
Andrea Volpe, the leader of the Rock Band “Beasts of Satan” was sentenced to 30 years for killing the group’s singer and a teen-age girl in Satanic ritual murders. One of his companions was given 15 years for the cult killing. It is believed that there are at least 5,000 members of Satanic groups in Italy.
Similar ritual killings have occurred in Thailand, including the killing and mutilation of a 2 year old boy by a man seeking to use occult means to find a hidden treasure, and the killing of a 12-year-old girl by her mother, grandmother and two aunts in a ritual intended to drive away evil spirits.
In Hong Kong a 40-year-old man was charged with killing two girls, 10 and 11, and sexually abusing their bodies in a black magick ritual intended to create ghosts to haunt his estranged wife.
CBS News Features Religion Poll
A CBS news report on October 4th indicates that “the religious landscape in America is changing. For instance, a Buddhist yoga center hosts 30,000 people a year on the site of a closed Catholic seminary. One “searcher” who came there tried Episcopalianism, then Catholacism, finally finding what he was looking for in yoga. Like most others who responded to the poll, he identified himself as “spiritual, but not religious.” While 7 of 10 say they believe in God, half “rarely, if ever” attend religious service. Randall Balmer, professor of religion at Barnard College, describes this composite character as a good Presbyterian, say, “who does tai chi in the park on Sunday Morning, consults the astrological tables in the newspaper and does yoga when he comes home from work, and sees no contradiction between these activities.” Mitch Horowitz, author of a new book on the occult in the U.S., notes that “most people would never use the word [occult], yet occult practices … like meditation, or positing thinking philosophies, or some kinds of mindbody healing, that at one time was very esoteric, has today become very mainstream.”
Psychic Wins Battle
The Arizona Republic reported on Oct 4th that Psychic Paula Parns forced the city council of Gilbert, AZ, to rescind excessive fees the town charged to obtain and license and permit to tell fortunes. Now the three Gilbert businesses that are licensed as fortune tellers –Déjà vu Psychic, Santan Village Psychic, and Parn’s Gilbert Psychic consultant, are required only to pay the towns regular $36 fell plus a $100 license application and a @1,200 annual license fee, saving the businesses some $1,300 a year.
AP Article features Minnesota Pagans
On Oct 3 the Associated Press picked up an article from the Minneapolis Star Tribune headlines “Pagans Gather for a Weekend of Charms, Spells. Events were to include “an opening ritual, a keynote discussion on ‘Pagans in the World,’ a workshop on charms and spells, an ‘Introduction to Slavic Heathenry,’ a discussion of Wiccan ethics, and children’s games and activities.”
August, Georgia, Chronicle publishes “Proud to be Pagan”
An article with this title by Kelly Jasper was published in the October 3rd edition of the paper. Kelly’s wife, Jezebell Anat, a Wiccan high priestess, said “We want to let people know there are pagans out there.”
Psychic Fair Participant Praised
It’s hard to interpret the article about Liane Langford in the October 1st Monterey County [CA] NOW as anything but praise. According an article profiling Langford and reviewing the local Psychic Fair, she’s “been hired for corporate events for big businesses like Macy’s to engineer icebreakers and group activities, and has made a living conducting private readings for searching souls. Her most recent project might be the most intriguing. It’s a one-of-a=kind ‘practical magick” spell candles that defend against everything from computer problems to deadbeat boyfriends.” The article continues, “she started out as a Tarot reader, and hasn’t lost touch with her clairvoyant roots.” The article goes on and on. But I won’t.
Witch King Conjures Demon
The Cambridge News (UK) of October 6th reported the claim of Magus Lynius Shadee, self-styled “King of the Witches” to have conjured up a demon in that city’s Catholic Church. He has instructed the demon to dwell in the church, and warns that the demon could possess parishioners and drive them to suicide. Shadee, in town to look for a site to set up an occult center like the one he has in Normandy, stated that the demon is “an element, a hunter that will attach itself to an individual, then try to take the person, either send them insane and make them depressed, and the worst is to cause them to take their physical life.’ The pastor of another nearby Catholic church believes the occultist is targeting university students. Shadee’s response was to threaten to perform a ritual for his parishioners. Police say that a potential crime could have been committed under the Public Order Act if anyone was in church, witnessed the ritual, and was alarmed or distressed by it.
New South Wales (UK) town Cancels Merlin Statue
It was the wizard’s “pagan links” that did Merlin’s statue in. Plans to erect a 7 foot statue of King Arthur’s sorcerer at a shopping center recently renamed “Merlin’s Walk” have been canceled.
Don’t Forget Samhain
The New Hampshire Seacostonline.com published this reminder submitted by the Reverend Michael J. Engelking, Jr, of the Universal Life Church, Wiccan. [Possibly a graduate of the Witch School, whose current enrollment is 128,000?] In a letter to the online paper published October 9, Engleking provided historical background to the pagan roots of Halloween in Samhain, an end-of-summer festival celebrated by the Celts. The letter ends with an invitation to “all you beautiful pagans of southern New Hampshire looking for a public Samhain circle to attend, I suggest Celebrate Samhain at the Unitarian-Universalist Church, October 24.”
Posted by owner on
October 9, 2009
Studies of events reported in the Gospels
Each of the synoptic Gospels contain certain stories of Jesus “driving out” demons from individuals. Luke also uses a passive construction, “demons came out of” this or that individual. In this series we take a look at specific incidents described in the Gospels.
The Case of the Bound Believer
On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.
Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”
The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” (Luke 10:10-16)
Observations
1. Crippled by a spirit. This is simply additional evidence that demons can influence physical health, even to the extent of crippling a victim. Later Jesus revealed that Satan had kept this woman bound for “eighteen long years.” While this and other stories in the Gospels hardly warrant claiming that all illness is caused by evil spirit, together they certainly seem to support the idea that any illness may have a demonic cause.
2. nexpected Healing. In this case the woman had not expected Jesus to heal her, nor did she ask him for healing. Luke pictures Jesus taking the initiative: he “called her forward” and set her free.
Too many limit Christ by insisting that a person must have faith to be healed. The claim is made that if anyone has enough faith, God will [must?] heal him or her. Then if an attempt at healing fails, the sufferer can be blamed for the failure by claiming he or she lacked the elusive “enough faith.”
It’s true that in some cases faith is associated with Christ’s miracles of healing, particularly that faith that led a person to seek Jesus in the first place. But there’s no evidence that God is bound to heal those with “enough faith.” We can hardly accuse Paul of lack of faith when he sought God three times for healing, yet God chose not to heal him (2 Cor. 12).
What is determinant in healing is not the amount of faith exercised by a sick person but the freedom Christ has to heal or not to heal, and the love-driven wisdom that moves him to heal or to refrain from healing for his own good purposes as well as for our benefit. It is the height of arrogance to assume that God must do this or that if only we have “enough” faith. God is God, and the corollary is, we’re not. Let faith drive us to Jesus. And let faith in his wisdom and love move us to submit to his judgment as to whether to heal us now, or not. Our ultimate healing is assured, for in the resurrection perfection waits to greet and to enfold us. Until then let faith function as is should, as trust in the loving wisdom of God and as willing submission to his will.
3. The woman was crippled by “a spirit.” But later Jesus says that Satan had bound her. Evil spirits act as they are commanded by Satan, looking up the chain of command to their master and mentor. They share his hostility toward God and toward human beings, and delight to cause suffering of every kind.
4. Jesus called the woman a “daughter of Abraham.” The phrase may simply indicate physical descent from Abraham. But in the minds of the Jewish people the claim of relationship with Abraham had powerful spiritual connotations. The rabbis of that time taught that Abraham, by responding to God’s call to leave Ur and travel to an unknown land where he fathered God’s people, had done God such a great favor that the Lord God owed Abraham a great debt. In fact, the merit Abraham had gained by his initial obedience was deemed so great that it covered every one of his physical descendants. Thus a Jew had to do something truly terrible for him to be rejected by God in the world to come. As a physical descendant of Abraham, a Jew not only could count on the merit he earned by obeying God’s law and doing good works; he also could count on the merit earned by Abraham.
Thus we can understand the shock of the Jewish religious leaders when Christ called them “sons of your father, the Devil,” and stated that God could fashion sons of Abraham from the stones under their feet.
Still, in the context of Jewish belief, it is significant that Jesus identifies the woman as a “daughter of Abraham.” He was confirming that the woman who had been bound by Satan was a true believer, one of God’s own.
This is important because today there are sill those who insist that a believer cannot be demonized. Certainly this believer was, and the demon had “bound her” for eighteen long years. I’m sure that today no demon can access the spirit, that central location of our true identity. The Holy Spirit, who enters our life on conversion, settles down there, at the core of who we are. But our bodies, our minds, our attitudes, our beliefs, are still accessible to Satan’s agents.
5. “Woman, you are set free.” This is what Jesus does. He sets people free. This woman who had suffered for so long wasn’t out seeking Jesus’ help. But she found herself in his presence. And Jesus took the initiative to heal her and set her free.
We may not be aware of our own needs, even as the woman apparently was unaware that it was an evil spirit that had bound her. But let’s seek out Jesus’ presence, for his own sake. As we live in his presence, Jesus often takes the initiative in our lives. And when Jesus does, he sets us free. From whatever it is that binds us.
Summary
Don’t make the mistake of pining your hopes of being freed from whatever binds you on the amount of your faith, or of assuming that God must act if only you have “enough” faith. Focus on being in Christ’s presence. Leave it to him to take the initiative, and you may well be freed from burdens you didn’t even know you carried.
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October 2, 2009
Studies of events reported in the Gospels
Each of the synoptic Gospels contain certain stories of Jesus “driving out” demons from individuals. Luke also uses a passive construction, “demons came out of” this or that individual. In this series we take a look at specific incidents described in the Gospels.
The Case of the Uncooperative Demon
“When they came to he other disciples, they saw a large crowd arond them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and rant to great him.
“‘What are you arguing with them about?’ he asked.
“A man in the crowd answered, ‘Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid, but they could not.’
“‘O unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied. ‘How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.’
“So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled as round, foaming at the mouth.
“Jesus asked the boy’s father, ‘How long has he been like this?’
“‘From childhood,’ he answered. ‘It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.’
“‘If you can?’ said Jesus. ‘Everything is possible to him who believes.’
Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.’
“When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit, ‘You deaf and dumb spirit,’ he said, ‘I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.’
The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, ‘He’s dead.’ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
“After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?’
“He replied, ‘This kind can come out only by prayer.’”
Observations
1. This story, quoted here from Mark 9:14-29 (NIV), is told also by Matthew (in chapter 17) and Luke (in chapter 9). Repeated reports of any incident in Jesus’ life generally indicate that the event is an important one.
2. In both Matthew and Luke Jesus expresses dismay over a lack of faith. In this account he challenges the father to put complete trust in him. The father does believe, but his faith in Jesus is mixed with unbelief. While trust in God is essential, God doesn’t require a perfect faith to act on our behalf.
3. The child exhibited a number of symptoms that led the father to diagnose his son as demonized. The deafness and inability to speak were presenting symptoms. The timing of the seizures, when the child was near fire or water where his life could be threatened, were further evidence.
4. “When the demon saw Jesus.” We don’t know just how a demonic presence integrates with the human. But however it is done, a demon can apprently use the senses of the human he infests to gain information, and can even speak using the human’s vocal capacity.
5. In this atypical case the demon did not leave quietly. Mark reports that the spirit shrieked and convulsed the child, leaving him unconscious on the ground. In most other cases reported in the Gospels or in Acts evil spirits left quietly, leaving the demonized person healed and rejoicing. A reluctant but quiet departure is probably the norm in most exorcism, particularly if the demon(s) in commanded not to make a scene.
6. The phrase, “I command you,” is significant. As noted in earlier studies, demons are expelled by a word, that that word is a command. Jesus’ authority was such that a word of command was sufficient to expel the evil spirit.
7. The disciples had failed to cast out the demon, and were confused as to why they had failed. Matthew’s Gospel makes it clear that prior to this incident (Matthew 17), Jesus had previously granted his disciples authority to heal and cast out demons (Matthew 10:1). So, clearly, the disciples had expected to be able to deal with the demon plaguing the child–and had failed. Thus that asked Christ, “Why couldn’t we drive it out.”
8. In the other Gospel’s accounts where Jesus decries a general lack of faith. Many take Jesus to be critical of his disciples lack of faith. But we should consider the possibility that Jesus was decrying the crowds lack of faith, rather than the disciples.
When thinking about “faith” it’s always important to be clear that faith has an objective as well as subjective dimension. Subjectively faith is believing, and we can speak of strong or weak faith. But it’s a mistake to assume that the subjective is in view in most Bible Passages. What makes faith valid or invalid is the object of faith. It is the trustworthiness of whom or what we believe in that is the real issue. We may have a strong faith that a bridge we approach will hold up in a storm. But the strength of our faith has nothing to do with the reality. If the trusses of that bridge are about to fail because of metal fatigue, or if the pillars which anchor it have been undermined by currents, the bridge is unsafe however strong our faith in it might be.
Let’s view Jesus’ comment as one about the object of the crowds’ faith rather than the about the strength or weakness of his disciples’ faith. The father of the boy was bringing his son to Jesus, but when he found only the disciples, he turned to them. Possibly someone in the crowd had urged this course. “Here’s his disciples. They can heal and cast out demons. Turn your son over to them.” The problem is, of course, that Jesus was the objective source of authority over demons, however strong might the conviction of the father or even of the disciples that Jesus’ followers could accomplish the supernatural task. When we look to anyone but Jesus, or rely on anyone but Jesus, our faith is flawed in an essential way. If this is what was happening that day, Jesus’ complaint about that “unbelieving and perverse generation” makes total sense. For when he then says, “Have long shall I stay with you and put up with you” it makes perfect sense. Jesus had been with these people for years, but still they did not recognize him as their only true source of hope.
When a deliverance minister conducts an exorcism, he commands demons in Jesus’ name. The focus is still and always has to be on Jesus’s presence and power, not on the minister.
9. “This kind can come out only by prayer.” When asked by the disciple why they hadn’t been able to cast out the demon, Jesus didn’t cite a lack of faith. That comment comes at the beginning of the story, and not as a response to the disciples’ question, Why? Two things are significant about Christ’s answer.
this kind. We learn from other passages of Scripture that Satan’s kingdom is organized as a hierarchy. Evil spirits have different levels of power. I suspect that most demonization reflects the activity of relatively lower level, or ordinary, demons. But now and then a more powerful, higher order demon is involved. And “this kind,” Jesus seems to suggest, are more difficult to expel.
By prayer. This phrase is puzzling, first because the text shows that Jesus commanded the demon, and this word of command expelled it. Jesus did not pray for God the Father to expel the spirit; he did it in the normal way. So it seems unlikely that Christ was telling his disciples to pray uncooperative demons out. Every demon Christ or, later, the Apostle Paul, confronted, was driven out by a spoken command.
There is however one thing that the Gospels make clear. Jesus himself was always “prayed up.” His relationship with God the Father was vital, the bond between the two was uninterrupted, the Son was always responsive to the Father’s will. When one of Jesus’ modern disciples confronts an uncooperative demon, it’s vital that disciple also be prayed up, that his or her relationship with God be vital, intimate, and ever responsive to the Father’s will. I suspect that the prayer Jesus is thinking of is that most basic prayer; prayer seeking and experiencing intimacy with the God who is the sole source of our authority to deal with evil and the demonic.
Summary
This story, told in three of the four Gospels, reminds us who the object of our faith is. Our faith may waver, but Jesus never. The story of the uncooperative demon also reminds us that demons differ in power and authority. While in exorcism we act with an authority Christ has granted believers to expel demons with a spoken command, our present closeness to or distance from God does have an impact on our effectiveness. The stronger the demon infecting an individual, the closer we need to draw to the Lord