Cole has brought up the subject of demons, albeit in a different context.
It's made me think of the way that mainline denominations treat spiritual warfare. Being a Bible-reading Christian, I believe in demons -- and yes, I do mean evil, sentient spirits aligned with Satan. The Bible is quite plain that such creatures exist. Yes, when Jesus cast out some demons, he may actually have just been curing people of diseases who didn't understand the idea of disease. But when Jesus actually speaks to a demon and it answers back (e.g. Mark 5:12, Luke 8:32, Matthew 4:6), I consider that conclusive evidence that there are real demons in the world.
When I've broached the subject at church, few people are receptive. Some consider it superstitious. Others simply prefer not to think about it. The devil's done fine work here, because he's managed to convince many Christians that he and his minions don't exist, making them a hidden and subtle threat. Good job, Satan!
Does anyone know if the UMC has an official position on spiritual warfare?
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
The answer to your question is no specifically as to the Book of Discipline and the precise use of the term "spiritual warfare", which Discipline instead concentrates on evil and sin and overcoming it in more general ways, but yes to your question in more general terms. The Discipline incorporates as doctrine Wesley's doctrinal (standard) sermons and his sermon notes (explanatory notes/commentary on New Testament). In several places, sermon and notes, Wesley references spiritual warfare and/or waging war against the forces of evil or darkness.
Also, any official United Methodist hymnal approved by General Conference is pseudo-doctrinal. "Onward Christian Soldiers" and similar hymns thus represent an official stance of the church with regard to spiritual warfare.
If the term is in the Book of Discipline itself,then I invite another commenter to correct me, but I didn't find it in my own search.
Put in shorter terms, Wesley fervently believed in the casting out of evil spirits or demons as an important spiritual gift granted to some Christians. That indicates Wesley placed high priority on the existence of evil and Satan's demons and the need to overcome same. Although I am a theological progressive in many ways, I hold to more traditional views on miracles, healings, atonement, resurrection, evil and hell. The main difference for me is that I hold to a broader view of Christ's saving grace than do some others.
"Yes, when Jesus cast out some demons, he may actually have just been curing people of diseases who didn't understand the idea of disease"
Why the dichotomy? The people did not understand the disease and Jesus cast out the demons.
Or let's try to see the cause-effect in a different way. The demons were in the people and somehow being demonised they had strange afflictions (notice how people with demons are afflicted in the bible and diseases are also said to be afflictions). While not all ill health is spiritual some may indeed be.
I have yet to see one occasion in the bible where Jesus saw someone sick and just walked on. So perhaps its just possible that removing the demon cured the sickness as well.
Post a Comment