What Does The Phrase "Spiritual Warfare" Conjure Up?

What does the phrase Spiritual Warfare conjure up?

That was the question I posed around the Thanksgiving table.  A question like that has a way of instantly changing the trajectory of a conversation.

David and I have been exchanging emails about spiritual warfare and what that means.

The Bible clearly teaches the reality of spirit beings.  Satan and his minions are real, folks.

How do I know?

One, the Bible says so.  Two, I have encountered at least one demon possessed woman myself.  Three, my brother had a power encounter with a woman filled with at least one demon.  She levitated in his presence (in his office at the church).  Four, I grew up on the mission field in the West Indies where demon activity is more common.  The missionary families from Haiti had particularly hair raising, eye witness accounts.

What form does spiritual warfare take?  Is it all about demons, voices, shamans, witch doctors and floating people?  Or, does it take a This Present Darkness form?  Or, does it take a Screwtape Letters form?  Or, is a way to describe our struggle with our own sin nature?

I will share my thoughts with you in my next post.  But first, I want to hear from my Christian readers.  What form has spiritual warfare taken in your life experience?

If you are skeptical about the reality of spiritual warfare, I would like to hear that too.

Comments

[David Wayne]

Way to give us a cliffhanger here Jeff!

I'm not skeptical about the reality of spiritual warfare, I am a bit skeptical about the methods that many use to wage spiritual warfare though.

A quick anecdote from David Powlison. He mentions a missionary friend on the African continent who experienced the things you are talking about on a regular basis. Initially the man engaged the demonic on the level of power encounter. Later though he came to realize that in almost every case where there was a demonic manifestation there was also some deep seated sin pattern - adultery, lying, stealing, etc.. He found that taking the slow go, discipling oriented approach worked much better, had long lasting results, and produced far more thorough change than the power encounter approach.

[dopderbeck]

Jeff and I had a little conversation about this by email, prompted by a "mini-crisis" of my own. A missionary friend came to visit this week, with vivid tales somewhat along the lines Jeff describes. This makes me really uncomfortable, for a bunch of reasons. But it is indeed something we all need to come to terms with, as reality isn't divided into neat "spiritual" and "material" parts, as scripture and the experience of the Church through history make clear.

Here are some of the problems I have with spiritual warfare talk:
I wonder how often things are chalked up to demonic activity that really have primarily social, cultural, and psychological roots
Spiritual warfare talk often seems to slip into an un-Christian dualism, in which there is a cosmic battle of "good vs. evil" in which evil has some chance of winning
People seem to use stories of spiritual warfare as a trump card against intellectual challenges to their views about various things -- indeed, as an anti-intellectual shield. It's very hard to talk about, say, whether a particular view of common grace, culture, science, politics, eschatology, etc. is correct when someone who takes an "extreme" view of these things can say: "but you just don't understand the battle we're in. Why, just the other day I met someone who was demon-possessed....."
Spiritual warfare proponents often take a black-and-white view of culture in which there essentially is no common grace -- nothing at all to see as good in music, film, literature, etc. Everything is either expressly "Christian" or "demonic." You get the sense that you have to live a monastic life to avoid becoming oppressed or possessed.

These are just a few of the hang-ups I have. I have some reading and study to do about this, but so far I found one article that was really helpful to me, entilted "Spiritual Warfare and Worldviews" by Paul Hiebert, a prof at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. I think Hiebert very helpfully observes that our understanding of spiritual warfare must come through the lense Christ's victory on the cross. Because of the cross, Satan has already lost; the outcome is not in any doubt; and visible demonic activity is but one part, though a real part, of what is happening in this brief period before the Kingdom of God comes in full.

[Paul]

It hadn't for a second occurred to me that you would actually believe in demonic possession. That gives me something else to think about.

[Carl Holmes]

I have to agree almost completely with david on this one. Definitely there is spirits out there...and I definitely have come across a Hindu with a real bad attitude that ended up being posessed while I was in India.

To answer the question about how Spiritual Warfare takes on form is interesting. But the answer Jeff is D. All the Above.

We know that we fight a Devil who seeks to destroy at all costs, and he will manifest to some in one way, and to others in another. If a person here in America were to consistently levitate and do paranormal things we would lock them up and do a news special on them...not exactly the noteriety that Satan would want. But in India, it is a regular event. It happens so much it is ingrained in their cultural fiber.

Here is the test: "People conceived and brought into life by God don't make a practice of sin. How could they? God's seed is deep within them, making them who they are. It's not in the nature of the God-begotten to practice and parade sin. Here's how you tell the difference between God's children and the Devil's children: The one who won't practice righteous ways isn't from God, nor is the one who won't love brother or sister. A simple test. (I John 3:9-10 Msg)

You truly have to look at the fruits to determine the problem. We all fight with sin, even as spirit filled Christians. We are not "demon posessed" like a non believer, but we can still be tormented and confused by them.

[Susannah]

I believe in spiritual warfare. However, I believe the "truth encounter" is more effective than a "power encounter." A la Neil Anderson.

http://www.ficm.org/newsite/index.php?command=freeforall

I don't see a demon under every rock. Most of my problems originate with my lack of "sanctification." But when certain patterns emerge over time (I'm sorry, but headache or nausea or sleepless nights *every single Sunday*?) or when I'm faced with a glaringly obvious, somewhat ineptly executed temptation, or when there is a palpable sense of oppression and opposition bearing down, I really start to wonder who's trying to mess with my head. KWIM?

[Nick]

I think I agree with all of David's bullet points above. Although I tend to agree intellectually with Mrdawntreader's position on the reality of fallen angels, I'm usually skeptical about particular stories. I've spent some time in Haiti, east Africa, the middle east, and other locations that are common settings for demon-possession stories. I've never seen or felt anything inexplicable. OTOH, I have seen what I interpret as untreated mental illness, and I wonder how much one's preconceptions (both my own and those who expect to see evidence of demons) color how we view events.

[dopderbeck]

Having mentioned some reservations I have about the loose use of the terms "spiritual warfare," let me mention one thing I regularly experience that I think is a type of spiritual warfare. I often find that when I'm trying to concentrate in prayer I have to fend off profane thoughts. By "profane thoughts" I mean curse words or obscene images that would twist the meaning of what I'm trying to pray about. I've often found that this happens at the conclusion of a particularly "good" time of prayer -- a time when I've been able to set aside space to focus on my family's and neighbors needs, on areas where I feel I need God's direction or healing, and on thanksgiving, and where I've begun to feel refreshed. It also often happens when I'm trying to pray in church before taking communion. It's as though these profane thoughts are slipped in to erase the positive prayer time.

Now, I'm not schizophrenic or anything like that, and I don't experience such thoughts or images constantly -- ordinarily no more or less, I'm sure, than any other guy. I believe these thoughts or images that happen during prayer are particular forms of attack. Maybe they also have psychological roots, because I'm indeed the kind of person who tends to think "I wonder how long that will last" whenever something good happens. But I don't think the psychological and spiritual are exclusive. Perhaps the evil one exploits that sort of weakness.

Generally what I have to do when this happens is pray out loud and with more concentration and intentionality, identifying what is happening and specifically naming Jesus as Lord over even this. I can't say this makes the problem instantly disappear but it usually helps me fight through it. None of this is particularly dramatic, but it helps me to name this as a particular kind of attack to which I'm subject, and to address it directly.

[Anne]

With Christ saying there are spiritual powers against us, I believe it. What I don't believe is that I can always tell when that's happening. We're fallen ourselves. We don't need any help to have evil thoughts cross our minds. And most of the people I've heard talk about demon possession etc. ... I didn't see any reason to pick "demon possession" over "bad day" or "fallen nature" etc.

Now that I've struck all my skeptical notes, I'll admit that I know someone that I very much wonder whether they were possessed. I'm not aware of any way I can discern that for sure.