Demon Possession or Demonization - LPNI

Demon possession or demonization is mentioned frequently in the New Testament.  Modern medicine understands sickness as physical or mental or both. Spiritual phenomena are given a psychological diagnosis.  Alternative medicine is now challenging the failure to identify and treat mysterious disorders.

To put ‘spiritual’ into mental health doesn’t work.  The ancient understanding of sickness and health classified personal symptoms by their effect on the whole person. Spiritual factors and remedies were included in the treatment, but the ancients had a limited understanding of physical causation.  Today’s animists and some Pentecostals rely exclusively on spiritual diagnosis and treatment.

A better approach is an integrated treatment of the physical, psychological or spiritual causes of the sickness and the effect of each on the whole person.  I have been involved in four cases of.   

                                                                                                                  

spiritual deliverance: a boy with a haunted bedroom, suffering nightmares; a pastor addicted to pornography; a woman who was a victim of ritual sexual abuse as a child; and a woman involved with witchcraft.  

Many follow a subjective spirituality. They look for higher levels of mindfulness in religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism, or empowerment through witchcraft.  There is a fascination with the occult.  People often confuse the psychological with the spiritual and see demonic attack as a form of mental illness.   At the same time, there are those in the church who are embarrassed about speaking of the devil and demons, and find it a challenge to deal with spiritual things spiritually.   In 1 John 3:8, the apostle spells out that the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy (undo/loose) the works of the devil.   The Gospels include a number of accounts of Jesus ‘casting out’ evil or unclean spirits by an authoritative command.  

St Matthew records: When evening came, many who were demonised were brought to  

[Jesus], and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick (8:16). Other examples are:  Matthew 8:16 and 8:32; 10:1; 15:22; 17:15;  Mark 1:22; 3:11, 14,15; 4:35; 5:8, 7:29 and 9:25, 29; Luke 8:28; 13:12. Verses such as these show how Jesus used his authority to release people from demonic power.  He also authorized the apostles and other disciples to release people from demonic powers (Matthew 10:1;  Luke 10:19).  After Jesus’ ascension the Apostles continued this ministry (Acts 5:16, 8:4-8; 19:11-20). Prayer and fasting were part of this ministry.

My message to Christian nurses today who may face situations of spiritual oppression is to encourage them to remember that the Spirit of Christ is with us and in us, as St John wrote in his first letter:  Every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus^* does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist that, as you heard, is to come, but in fact is already in the world. 4You belong to God, children, and you have conquered them, for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world (4:4),  and to pray for themselves and for any patient who may be spiritually oppressed, and rely on the guidance direction and protection of God’s word (1 John 2:14 and Ephesians 6:17).  

Rev Dr John Kleinig, BA (Hons), MPhil (Cantab), PhD, DD

Adelaide, South Australia