I notice that ___some___ Charismatics seem to think that any kind of problem has a spirit or demon behind it, and to hear them talk, the solution to problems is to cast out or rebuke a demon named after the problem.
There are certain occasions in the Gospel where Jesus cast a demon out of someone. In one case, a child who had a spirit cast out of him was deaf and dumb due to the influence of the demon. In another case, a woman who was bent over had a 'spirit of infirmity.' But reading the Gospels, there does not seem to be evidence that every ailment is caused by a demon. And in the vast majority of cases, sin is treated as a human problem and not blamed on the devil, or treated as if a human sinned because a devil moved him around like a puppet and he bore no responsibility. The Bible does speak of the Devil or Satan _tempting_.
And we also see in the gospels that demons would speak through individuals and Jesus would cast a demon out of that person. One man Jesus cast demons out of was able to break chains. I don't see any cases of someone approaching Jesus or the apostles saying they had a problem with drinking or fornication, and Jesus or the apostles casting demons out of them. (I'm not saying that couldn't happen. But it sure does seem absent from scripture.)
Matthew 4 lists casting out unclean spirits as a separate category from curing various other ailments. Ergo, the idea that all ailments are caused by demons stands on shaky ground Biblically.
In the 1980's some books were written that promoted the idea that a key to revival was to rebuke territorial spirits over an area. There were even people going up in airplanes over certain areas to rebuke the spirits in the heavenlies. Then in some churches, whoever was 'praying' spent more time rebuking demons than talking to God. I was overseas in the 1990s and some churches had gone down this route and they were calling what they were doing 'spiritual warfare prayer'.... prayer when they were talking to demons.
One of the issues is whether a demon or principality actually exists for every problem you can think of. It's like if there is fornication in a city and they rebuke a 'spirit of fornication'-- how do we know that there is such a thing? What if there is a spirit that handles fornication and gambling temptations for about six months, and then he does murder and theft for the next six months?
I don't have a problem if people are getting information __from the Spirit__ for their diagnoses, if the Spirit is actually leading them to rebuke the spirits. But I suspect a lot of this is learned behavior, from hearing others name spirits after problems and cast them out. There was even a book 'Strongman: What's His Name and What's His Game' which told the name of spirits and symptoms by which to diagnose it. I didn't read the whole thing, so I don't know if the author claimed a revelatory source. It had Jack Chick drawing style cartoons of the spirits.
I believe in spiritual gifts and in casting out demons, but it sure does seem like a lot of Charismatic preachers come from preachers repeating what other preachers say, traced back to some preacher who was a bit loose with scripture. I was raised Pentecostal, and it seems like the majority view in Pentecostal denominations is that Christians can't be 'demon-possessed' so this idea of sin, sickness, or problem being a demon or caused by a specific demon that needs to be cast out isn't very prevalent because it doesn't fit well with most Pentecostals beliefs about Christians being demon possessed.
Reasons to be careful about blaming problems on demons.
1. If one accuses those with problems, history of sin, sin in the family history, sickness, of having a 'spirit' and they are wrong, they could be slandering a brother or sister in Christ.
2. If one falsely diagnoses a young believer of having a spirit, that can really mess with that person's head and understanding of theology.
3. If one is wrong about this, one can make others (rightly) think one is a Charismaniac and pay that individual little attention, dismissing said individual as kook.
Of course, plenty of people grew up watching Scooby Doo and don't believe in the supernatural and think the real thing is kooky anyway.
I think those who are inclined to rebuke or cast out demons should only do so if the demon obviously manifests (talking through the individual for example) or if they perceive the presence of a spirit
Other related issues-- some who say 'spirit' don't always mean a sentient demonic entity. Does scripture __always__ use spirit to refer to a sentient entity? Does 'spirit of slumber' mean that? I suspect some preachers say 'spirit' meaning a spiritual condition, but certain members of the audience think it is a demon.
Also, 'Demonize' may be a bit closer to the Greek than 'demon possessed.' The ending in Greek from which we get '-ize' does not mean 'possess' in terms of ownership. But the KJV used 'possessed of an unclean spirit' and there are people who have reacted to that 'possession' type terminology by creating another category 'demon oppressed.' I think these categories were just based on the turn of phrase in the KJV, not something specific from the Greek New Testament.
There are certain occasions in the Gospel where Jesus cast a demon out of someone. In one case, a child who had a spirit cast out of him was deaf and dumb due to the influence of the demon. In another case, a woman who was bent over had a 'spirit of infirmity.' But reading the Gospels, there does not seem to be evidence that every ailment is caused by a demon. And in the vast majority of cases, sin is treated as a human problem and not blamed on the devil, or treated as if a human sinned because a devil moved him around like a puppet and he bore no responsibility. The Bible does speak of the Devil or Satan _tempting_.
And we also see in the gospels that demons would speak through individuals and Jesus would cast a demon out of that person. One man Jesus cast demons out of was able to break chains. I don't see any cases of someone approaching Jesus or the apostles saying they had a problem with drinking or fornication, and Jesus or the apostles casting demons out of them. (I'm not saying that couldn't happen. But it sure does seem absent from scripture.)
Matthew 4 lists casting out unclean spirits as a separate category from curing various other ailments. Ergo, the idea that all ailments are caused by demons stands on shaky ground Biblically.
In the 1980's some books were written that promoted the idea that a key to revival was to rebuke territorial spirits over an area. There were even people going up in airplanes over certain areas to rebuke the spirits in the heavenlies. Then in some churches, whoever was 'praying' spent more time rebuking demons than talking to God. I was overseas in the 1990s and some churches had gone down this route and they were calling what they were doing 'spiritual warfare prayer'.... prayer when they were talking to demons.
One of the issues is whether a demon or principality actually exists for every problem you can think of. It's like if there is fornication in a city and they rebuke a 'spirit of fornication'-- how do we know that there is such a thing? What if there is a spirit that handles fornication and gambling temptations for about six months, and then he does murder and theft for the next six months?
I don't have a problem if people are getting information __from the Spirit__ for their diagnoses, if the Spirit is actually leading them to rebuke the spirits. But I suspect a lot of this is learned behavior, from hearing others name spirits after problems and cast them out. There was even a book 'Strongman: What's His Name and What's His Game' which told the name of spirits and symptoms by which to diagnose it. I didn't read the whole thing, so I don't know if the author claimed a revelatory source. It had Jack Chick drawing style cartoons of the spirits.
I believe in spiritual gifts and in casting out demons, but it sure does seem like a lot of Charismatic preachers come from preachers repeating what other preachers say, traced back to some preacher who was a bit loose with scripture. I was raised Pentecostal, and it seems like the majority view in Pentecostal denominations is that Christians can't be 'demon-possessed' so this idea of sin, sickness, or problem being a demon or caused by a specific demon that needs to be cast out isn't very prevalent because it doesn't fit well with most Pentecostals beliefs about Christians being demon possessed.
Reasons to be careful about blaming problems on demons.
1. If one accuses those with problems, history of sin, sin in the family history, sickness, of having a 'spirit' and they are wrong, they could be slandering a brother or sister in Christ.
2. If one falsely diagnoses a young believer of having a spirit, that can really mess with that person's head and understanding of theology.
3. If one is wrong about this, one can make others (rightly) think one is a Charismaniac and pay that individual little attention, dismissing said individual as kook.
Of course, plenty of people grew up watching Scooby Doo and don't believe in the supernatural and think the real thing is kooky anyway.
I think those who are inclined to rebuke or cast out demons should only do so if the demon obviously manifests (talking through the individual for example) or if they perceive the presence of a spirit
Other related issues-- some who say 'spirit' don't always mean a sentient demonic entity. Does scripture __always__ use spirit to refer to a sentient entity? Does 'spirit of slumber' mean that? I suspect some preachers say 'spirit' meaning a spiritual condition, but certain members of the audience think it is a demon.
Also, 'Demonize' may be a bit closer to the Greek than 'demon possessed.' The ending in Greek from which we get '-ize' does not mean 'possess' in terms of ownership. But the KJV used 'possessed of an unclean spirit' and there are people who have reacted to that 'possession' type terminology by creating another category 'demon oppressed.' I think these categories were just based on the turn of phrase in the KJV, not something specific from the Greek New Testament.
