Satanism

A writer asks if acknowledging satan is the same as making satan one's god, thereby giving evil the right to torment that person.

Good Shepherd Institute believes acknowledging satan is both a necessary part of resisting evil and a necessary part of following God. Jesus recognized and resisted satan in the wilderness. Scripture warns Christians to watch out for satan and resist him. Jesus told satan to "get behind" him during an encounter with Simon Peter. Many Biblical references encourage the acknowledgement of satan's reality.

Worshiping satan is another, completely different matter. Worshiping satan includes activities such as praying to satan for favors or guidance, trusting satan to control one's life, following spiritual directives to do evil, renouncing and resisting Jesus Christ as an enemy of satan, sacrificing to satan, opening one's mind and heart to satanic communications, and dabbling in occultic activities as prelude
and part of seeking spiritual truth independent of God.

Worshiping satan - and/or any of its representative evil spirits - constitutes a grave sin and confronts the participant with serious danger. In this freewill choice, "ground" is given to evil, a form of spiritual permission for that evil to torment its host. Only through sincere repentance, the public renouncing of satan, the public acceptance and confession of Jesus Christ as Lord, and petition to God for mercy can remove thesse grounds. Directly confronting evil spirits in forms of spiritual warfare may be essential in completing one's escape from the deadly fruits of satan worship.

Spiritual Warfare

A student from Washington state writes to ask the definition of "spiritual warfare." Good Shepherd Institute understands spiritual warfare to be the on-going conflict between good and evil, personified in the work of God's Holy Spirit and angels against satan and his evil spirits (fallen angels) in this world, in concert with the free will choices of humans. Human resistance to evil and cooperation with God's righteous will meets challenge and resistance from animate powers of darkness, who actively oppose the furtherance of God's sovereignty in this world. That resistance constitutes a warfare which mainifest in human experience within mental, physical, emotional and spiritual dimensions of everyday life. Most dramatically, it manifest in direct confrontation between representatives of God, through Jesus Christ, and satanic spirits which torment their victims. This confrontation often results in the phenomenas of exorcism, the cleansing of cursed places and objects, the inner healing of wounds to the spirit, the healing and cleansing of generational family trees, and other acts of freeing persons oppressed by evil. Key weapons of spiritual warfare include godly love, faith in Jesus Christ's presence and sovereign power, discernment of evil, and scripture.

Good Shepherd Institute

Good Shepherd Institute

As a minister with over twenty years experience in exorcism, I regularly deal with persons with Hollywood conceptions of the act of casting out demons. Thus, my interest in public perception of films like "Emily Rose."

Truth is, most exorcisms are rather gentle and quiet, up to a certain point. When the tormenting spirit realizes it has been discovered and frantically tries to hide or bluff its way into staying, then things get a little noisy. But the atmosphere of a typical exorcism is loving, not bombastic and confrontational.
The moment comes when the enemy is engaged and the fog of war lends an unpredictability to what follows. But the heads spinning 360 degrees, the vomiting, the levitating...all mostly the stuff of Hollywood, with occasional exceptions. Love in Christ remains the primary weapon of warfare, not creeds, processes, formulas, rituals, etc.

Exorcism is basically relational, an encounter between two animate, non-corporeal beings : Jesus and the evil spirit. Jesus alone delivers. The deliverance minister only assists Him in His work. When Christ's love flows thru the minister - or ministerial team - it presents an antidote to the hatred of satan and its hosts. Without that love, no proficiency in scripture or procedure will set a tormented person free. Thus, it is not what we "do" as much as what we "are" in the presence of evil. When we "have this mind among ourselves which is ours in Christ Jesus" (Phil 2), then the stage is set for
deliverance.

- Brian Connor, Director, Good Shepherd Institute