"As Mark Whitaker’s recent Cosby biography makes clear, the man has his demons. He had affairs while on the road and there have been bumps in his long marriage to his wife, Camille."When I read that article I wondered how literally Mark Whitaker means for us to take the phrase "the man has his demons." It is quite common actually. Australian columnist Tim Boyle writes of tennis player Andy Murray,
'To care for Andy the performer, you have to first look past his manifest demons on the court, his tireless and inexplicable companies."This is, after all, merely a way of talking, is it not? It is symbolic in nature. It refers to strange and inexplicable actions and lifestyles, not actual influence by real, but unseen spirits.
Very few Americans believe in any way that demons and Satan are real. In a 2009 nationwide survey of adults' spiritual beliefs conducted by the Barna Group four out of ten Christians (40%) strongly agreed that Satan "is not a living being but a symbol of evil. An additional two out of ten (19%) said they "agree somewhat with that perspective. Only a minority of Christians believe that Satan is real (26%). And, for that matter, most Christians do not believe that the Holy Spirit is a living force, either.
It appears that we Americans have come a long way from the New Testament view of life. From the perspective of the Gospel writers and the letters of the Apostles demons are everywhere. Before Jesus began his public ministry, after 40 days of fasting, we read of his struggle with the Prince of Darkness himself:
"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. - Matt. 4:1-11 ESVAs his ministry began, Jesus set up his headquarters in Capernaum, a fishing village on the shore of the inland sea of Galilee. As was his custom, he went to the synagogue there on the Sabbath. The people were impressed. He taught them "as one who had authority, and not as the scribes" - Mark 1:22. But one among them was definitely not impressed. As soon as Jesus started teaching he leaped to his feet and began shouting at Jesus,
"What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God." - Mark 1:24 ESVEvidently the members of that synagogue had been putting up with this guy for some time. I'm guessing they didn't know what to do with him or how to shut him up. Mark records, however, that Jesus saw at once that what was happening was more than a man out of control. He addressed the demon within, rather than the man himself.
But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. - Mark 1:25-26 ESVUnclean spirit? What's that? In nearly a hundred times the Bible speaks of unclean things. In particular Moses wrote about (1) certain foods, (2) contact with human or certain animal dead bodies, and (3) various bodily conditions and diseases. The concept pointed to how sin pervades this material world and prevents one from being completely and totally committed to God—the idea included in the command,
"You shall be holy to me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine." - Lev 20:26 ESVJesus' encounter with the man possessed by an unclean spirit and his successful resistance of the devil himself is a stark reminder that there are indeed unseen spiritual forces at work in our midst and often in the dark corners of our hearts. They oppose all that Jesus' teaches and does. And they are hard at work to lead us to adopt their views and ways. We all are therefore strongly advised to be prepared for such encounters, as the Apostle Paul wrote,
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. - Eph 6:12-13 ESV
Excellent article.
ReplyDeleteI believe that, in the past, some people of good intentions attributed illness and mental or emotional conditions to “evil spirits.” This practice resulted in many, perhaps most, people to conclude that evil spirits do not exist. Unfortunately, they do exist.
I also believe that with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, that evil spirits cannot manifest themselves as they did when Jesus walked the Earth. They are to a great degree inhibited from performing their evil intent on humans as they did in the past.
King J. Lester has an interesting take on the actions of evil spirits today. His book, The Mystery of the Spirit Underworld, is an excellent read. I am sure you will enjoy his perspective. You can find in on Amazon as a paperback and Kindle book. You can find it through this link: http://goo.gl/0VRVau