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Book
Review: The Handbook for Spiritual Warfare by Dr. Ed Murphy
Book
Reviewed By: Franz Sigel Shroy
It is not my intention to be overly magniloquent
in the writing of this book review however “The Handbook
for Spiritual Warfare” by Dr. Ed Murphy is so absolutely
horrible that it is impossible to some extent not to be!
I was flabbergasted at its inclusion as the main text
for this course. This book is so bad in so many areas that it
is a daunting challenge to organize a logical response, which
is compounded by the fact that this book itself is so
amazingly disorganized. There are hundreds of examples to
choose from so making the best specific choice is difficult,
but this example will suffice. By the time the reader gets to
chapter 46, (page 339) they will find the chapter title “The
Nature of Power Encounters”. I have no recollection of
reading this term at any previous chapter. There is no mention
of “power encounter” on page 339 other than the
chapter title, no mention on page 340, and then finally the
author makes the statement “By now the reader probably
has a general understanding of how I have used the term power
encounter”, on page 341. How is the author expecting the
reader to understand this term? Then on page 341 the term is
discussed but not explained. Finally on page 342 the term is
finally defined under the heading “What is Power
Encounter?” Who organized a book this way? Not a single
other author I have ever read has even come close, not even a
children’s book. This book is bad logically, it is bad
literally, it is bad scholastically, but mostly it is bad
scripturally. The author simply uses words in a manner
contrary to their known meanings to further his personal
agenda. For an example, page 435 shows a chart, yet Dr Murphy
calls this chart a “schema” even though it doesn’t look
like a schema, it has no phraseology of a schema, there are no
logical symbols, no explanations related to the chart, and the
chart itself makes no sense. Forget the fact that NOTHING
contained in the chart appears anywhere in the Bible!
This book is hugely a waste of time in that the
actual content of the entire book could have been condensed
into a book of about 80 pages or so. Simply slapping a front
cover at the beginning of chapter 53 and a back cover at the
end of this chapter would have made a dramatic improvement to
this book as nearly all the rest of this book is a rambling
and incoherent platform for the author to hear himself talk.
Chapter 53 contains the actual content of the book, and there
are a few lines contained within this chapter where it appears
that the author has exhausted himself by creating worthless
lines upon lines of fluff in the previous chapters, and
decided to finally address the topic at hand. Even though the
author has at last provided some content, the chapter is full
of contradictions, misapplications of scripture, and faulty
conclusions. The absolute arrogance of the Dr Ed Murphy almost
leaps off the page and into your face time after time
throughout the book, but nowhere else like it does in chapter
53. By the time the reader reaches chapter 63, it seems that
real time and space has given way to The Twilight Zone, when
the author states – “God’s One Essential
Qualification”, where the author states “God is opposed to
the proud”. After reading chapter after chapter when Dr
Murphy so arrogantly rewrites traditional Church doctrine
based only on his interpretation of his personal experiences,
he then warns about being proud. This must mean everyone else except
Dr Murphy. The twisted and contorted use of vague words used
to obscure the true meanings conveyed by the author finally
disintegrates by this chapter also.
The Handbook of Spiritual Warfare is
“organized” into chapters and subsections that seem to go
on and on forever. There are far too many titles to mention in
this format, but a quick browse of the contents shows a nearly
incoherent attempt at any logical connection from one topic to
the next.
This book also reeks of dishonesty, in each story
presented. The Handbook of Spiritual Warfare is not just
horrible because of the unbelievably poor research done by the
author, or the countless fallacious statements and misleading
content. It is quite simply horrible because it succeeds in
establishing witchcraft practices where the supposed opposite
side has failed. I was instantly reminded of an old Keith
Green tract called “How to witness (For the right
side)”. This book is written with a tone of discovery
and advancement, yet all of the information contained within
has already been “discovered” over and over and this same
wrong information has been presented and contested for many
hundreds, and in some cases thousands of years. Dr. Murphy
attempts to invent new truth by mixing Mohammedanism,
Witchcraft, and Christianity. In this case however, the
unbiblical metaphysical mumbo-jumbo foundation for Dr.
Murphy’s story is internalized in the people he claims are
“demonized” and the obvious radical dualism between good
and evil, and light and darkness. This created religion is
necessary to Dr Murphy because of his predetermined decision
to believe what he believes irregardless of what the Bible has
to say on this topic.
Dr. Murphy is not the only one that imputes
reality into their theology simply by the action of their
will. The entire deliverance movement is a new, made-up
religion and has absolutely NO support in the Bible. Most
false teachers don’t even attempt to disguise this fact, but
Dr. Murphy does a better job than most at disguising (to a
degree) his true meaning to avoid some of the controversy
associated with making anti-scriptural doctrines and
presenting them as truth. This excerpt from demonbuster.com
will explain the position of the deliverance movement quite
well.
“Know
this - EVERYONE has demons, ESPECIALLY CHRISTIANS. There is no
Scripture that says this. It is just a matter of FACT. There
is no Scripture that says you do NOT have demons. Jesus said
the demons are living INSIDE of you, not OUTSIDE, and the
demons call your body their "house". “ (http://www.demonbuster.com)
Dr. Murphy’s version is simply different in that
he states that demons are not “inside” of Christians, they
are “inside” their “lives”. Dr Murphy simply mixed
some Christian concepts with the ever-on-going search for
demons everywhere such as in ancient middle-eastern religions
with a little Mohammedanism thrown in for bad measure. The
evident philosophy portrayed by the writing in this book is
much closer to the polytheistic religions pre-dating
Mohammedanism than it is Christianity. The obvious defective
roots of Dr. Murphy’s arguments are evident throughout this
book, even though this particular mêlée has raged since the
middle of the second century.
It was shocking to say the least after enduring
chapter after chapter of this Christianized occultism, to then
read a warning against Christianized occultism.
Dr. Murphy relentlessly searches to discover
demons around every corner, and will even concoct a few to
quench his thirst to discover any hint of demonic activity. In
Dr. Murphy’s theology, or should I say his mysticism, this
demonically inspired spiritual battle transpires within
people’s “lives”, especially within Christian’s lives,
rather than the accidental contact of geographical based
demons of traditional Middle Eastern religions. This word
playing does not really explain Dr Murphy’s points very
soundly though. The Bible speaks of demons residing “in”
or inhabiting people. These demons were cast “out” of
people, NOT their “lives”. A simple reading of ANY Bible
verse dealing with demonic possession shows a situation where
a demon or demons are actually IN a human being, and NOT in
their “lives”. Dr Murphy conveniently avoids the situation
in Mark 5:13 where demons were sent “out” of a man and
sent “into” pigs which then ran into a lake and drowned.
Mark
5:13
He
gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went
into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed
down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.
These demons did not go into the pig’s
“lives”, but literally “into” the pigs. There are many
references to demons being “inside” of people, not
“inside their lives”, as he would have us believe. Dr.
Murphy attempts to solve the problem of demons living in
heaven by this charade. It doesn’t work.
“By
the way, you DO NOT have to go through Deliverance to get to
Heaven. But why would you want to keep all your problems
(demons) if there was a way to get rid of them? Deliverance IS
that way.” (demonbuster.com)
So, here if a Christian goes to heaven but they
have demons inhabiting them, the demons will have skirted the
entire law, they would have rebelled against God, and they
would have been sentenced to eternity in a lake of fire being
tormented. Well, demonbuster.com is just fine with this. Dr.
Murphy attempts to avoid this problematic area by claiming
that demons do not “possess” a person, but that they have
invaded their lives. The Bible however tells us to live
“holy lives”. Just how would we live holy lives if it were
possible to have your life infiltrated by demons? The ONLY
possible way around this dilemma is to rewrite the meaning of
“in”. The word “in” means “within the confines of,
or “within the area covered by”.
Dr Murphy fluctuates between this meaning when it works
for his argument, but then totally abandons this meaning if it
conflicts with his intended meaning. I was reminded of
President Bill Clinton wriggling through an argument of “it
depends what the word “then” means”.
The language is plainly clear when Jesus describes the
demonic inhabitation of a person.
Luke
11:24-26 24 “When an evil spirit comes out
of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does
not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I
left.’ 25When it arrives, it finds the house
swept clean and put in order. 26Then it goes and
takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go
in and live there. And the final condition of that man is
worse than the first.”
There is no confusion in this explanation that
the demons inhabit a person, and not their “lives”. The
argument of the definition of the word “possession” is
irrelevant here as the concept being discussed is
“inhabitation”. The explanation presented by Dr Murphy
over and over in this book is necessary to support Dr
Murphy’s assertion that demons can inhabit a Christian’s
life. They cannot. Considering the care and infinitely
detailed restrictions placed on the construction of the
temple, especially the Holy of Holies, it is not just absurd
for Dr Murphy to suggest that Jesus would be willing to be
roommates with demons; it is insulting to the mind. When I
reached the one quarter point of the book, I really did think
that Dr Ed Murphy truly believed that Christians could not be
possessed (in the sense of taking control of a believer from
the inside) and that he believed that Christians could only be
“demonized” (in the sense that some form of harassment
could be directed towards Christians by demons, from the
outside). I believed this less and less by the time I reached
the half way mark. It became clear soon after that, and
throughout the rest of the book, that Dr Murphy didn’t
actually believe what he was writing in this book, and in fact
used a great amount of effort to purposely mask his true
meanings and to actually deceive the reader. Example –
Page
434 “If the believer repents and turns against the
demons, many, perhaps all, will be expelled.
(James 4:7-8). If not, they will remain there, often in
hiding, for years. They will slowly begin to affect sensitive
areas of the believer’s life, penetrating deeper and deeper
into the very center of the believer’s personality without
their presence ever being suspected.”
The word “expelled” means “To force or
drive out”, “eject forcefully”. “To discharge from the
body or some receptacle”. This is clearly NOT what Dr Ed
Murphy is trying to obscure through his word trickery. A
person’s life is truly not just theirs as everyone’s life
is intertwined with the lives of others. A person’s life is
made up of a person’s relationships, their activities, their
possessions, and their actions. You simply can’t “expel”
or “eject” something from an action, or from a
relationship in the common use of the word “expel”. This betrays Dr Murphy’s true belief and understanding of
the ability a demon has to inhabit a person’s body, and not
just a person’s life. This fact is further proven by Dr
Murphy’s assertion that a demon can penetrate a person’s
“personality”, which is CLEARLY inside, or “within the
confines of” a person, and NOT their “life”.
By the way, the verses used in this argument are
completely misapplied as the Bible says to resist the devil
and he will flee from you, not to resist demons and they will
come out of you! These verses are speaking of resistance to
the devil, and have absolutely NOTHING to do with casting
demons out of a Christian!
James
4:7-8 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil,
and he will flee from you. 8Come near to God and he
will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and
purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9Grieve, mourn and wail.
Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10Humble
yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
Dr Murphy speaks incessantly of “sexual
demons” throughout this book. How many different types of
demons are there? What types of demons are there? We simply
don’t know. We are not told in the Bible. This apparently
doesn’t dissuade Dr Murphy. He simply takes the words of
those he claims are demons and mixes them with teachings from
Gnostic gospels and comes up with an entire hierarchy of
demons which has absolutely nothing to do with either
Christianity OR the Bible. Where is the Biblical support for
these different types of demons? It is completely missing!
I would treat this book and Dr Murphy’s words
differently, if I thought this was a case of honest mistakes.
It is not however. Each case presented, is presented falsely
in two parts. The story always begins with a pleasant but
false portrayal and then transforms into an outrageous story.
Each story is retold including all the facts ONLY the
second time around. This and other manipulative and wasteful
practices make this book amazingly long without any purpose.
Perhaps handbooks are meant to be long, but this one is just
plain painful. There are also false premises presented in each
chapter that deals with the subject of demons, in that there
is no search to discover any underlying causes for unusual
behavior. Dr. Murphy ALWAYS assumes there is some kind of
demonic activity and then barges ahead without considering any
other possibilities. There is no consideration to screen out
an organic disorder, inappropriate psychological manipulation
or any other possibility OTHER than demons. Example –
page 493, “During one of the morning sessions, commotion
broke out towards the back. A young woman suddenly jumped up,
yelling and shaking her fist at me. I could not understand
what she was saying, but I knew she was demonized”.
This is reckless, this is foolish, and this is
dangerous. Dr. Murphy also bases his theology on words spoken
by those he claims are demonized. What this means is that Dr
Murphy bases his theology on the actual words of demons IF
those he speaks with are truly inhabited by demons, or on the
words of those with severe psychological problems by those not
inhabited by demons. NEITHER of these two groups should be
considered to be valid, dependable, or scriptural sources of
spiritual truth under any conditions. Satan is known as
the father of lies, and demons are under his control, making
them liars as well. So
why would an “expert”, especially one who has taken on the
task of writing a “handbook” on the subject of Spiritual
Warfare, listen to those that he knows are lying? Further, why
would this expert include those words in the handbook designed
to teach others about spiritual warfare? The answer is simple.
Dr Murphy has an agenda that demons are everywhere, and that
many of the daily problems that people have, especially
Christians, are caused by demons. The urgency of Dr Murphy’s
agenda has clouded his judgment, and unfortunately the Bible
has taken a secondary place in the theology of Dr Murphy.
Because of this, I view the work of Dr Murphy as
dangerous, and damaging to Christianity as a whole. I believe
the research (if you want to call it that) is faulty, biased,
and unscriptural. In many places it is not just unscriptural
(not found in the scriptures), but anti-scriptural
(contradicted by clear statements in the Bible) as well.
While it is true that demons have succeeded in
establishing occult practices such as witchcraft in some
areas. Where these demons have failed in their task, writers
like Dr. Murphy have succeeded in establishing witchcraft by
tricking Christians into using these same occult practices,
such as Christianized witchcraft in an attempt to fight
against these demons.
Ephesians
6:10-18 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty
power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your
stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not
against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against
the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore
put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil
comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you
have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt
of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of
righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the
readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to
all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can
extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the
helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the
word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all
kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and
always keep on praying for all the saints.
We are told here to put on the “full armor”,
and to “stand your ground”, and to put on the “belt of
truth”, and the “breastplate of righteousness”. We are
also told to have our “feet fitted with the readiness that
comes from the gospel of peace”, and to use the “shield of
faith”, so that we can “extinguish all the flaming arrows
of the evil one”, and to put on the “helmet of
salvation” and to use the “sword of the Spirit”, which
is the “word of God”. We are also told to “pray in the
Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and
requests”, to “be alert and always keep on praying for all
the saints”. We are NOT told to use witchcraft against
witchcraft. These are truly the words of battle, or
Spiritual Warfare, but these are not magic words, or
incantations, or any special techniques learned by any
supposed “experts” on spiritual warfare. When witchcraft
calls for magic words, Dr. Murphy requires magic words (“rhema”)
to fight against them. When witchcraft calls for magic
rituals, Dr. Murphy requires magic rituals (exorcism ritual)
to fight against them. Jesus simply demanded that the demons
leave. The disciples also demanded that the demons leave the
bodies of those afflicted, except those cases which require
prayer to be successful. The cases of demon possession in the
Bible were dealt with immediately. Dr Murphy sometimes
requires months of rituals to remove the demons. In the Bible,
all of the demons were cast out at once, while Dr Murphy can
only seem to get rid of one or two at a time over several
months. In the Bible those suffering with demonic affliction
were notorious for their condition but those treated by Dr
Murphy sometimes don’t even know they have a demon problem
until Dr Murphy enlightens them about their condition.
Considering that EVERY case of demonic activity discussed by
Dr Murphy contradicts the accounts in the Bible, one would
wonder why Dr Murphy even bothers to claim any association
with the Bible at all. The
Bible does not forbid black witchcraft but allow
“Christianized” or “white” witchcraft, it simply
forbids ALL witchcraft. By deceiving Christians into the
misguided activity of fighting spells and rituals with spells
and rituals, Dr. Murphy succeeds in tricking Christians to
ignore the Bible and to unwittingly do evil.
We are warned not to eat meat sacrificed to idols in
the temple of the idol so that we don’t participate with
demons. It doesn’t say to grind up the mean and make
hamburgers. We are to have nothing to do with it. In the same
manner, we should not be fooled into debating with demons,
when we know they lie. Even the term “exorcism” was
borrowed from occult beliefs. The term “exorcism”
means to “bind with an oath”, “to conjure”, or
“the casting out of demons by means of magical formulas and
ceremonies”. Jesus simply demanded that the demons come
“out” of those afflicted because He had authority. The
encounters Jesus had with those afflicted with demons took
mere moments. The ones described by Dr. Murphy (and other
demon “experts”) take hours, sometimes days, and in a few
cases even longer. Matthew 12:27 says “And if I drive out
demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out?”
Casting out demons does not prove that the person is a
Christian, but this seems to be the argument presented in this
book, that those casting out demons are somehow
super-Christians. The
Pharisees, of whom Jesus called “vipers” could cast out
demons, but they used magical incantations and religious
rituals to do so. Jesus clearly contrasted the work He did by
showing that He cast out demons with the power of God, but the
Pharisees did it using false religious ceremonies and
formulas. Dr. Murphy asks us to do nothing short of this but
in this case these religious ceremonies and magic formulas are
Christianized. In the early days of the Church, others tried
using Christianized witchcraft to drive demons out of others
as well. Acts 19:13 tells us “Some Jews who went around
driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord
Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say,
“In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to
come out.” This incident showed that the demons did not
recognize those trying to use Christianized magic and in fact
they gave the man attempting to “exorcize” them such a
beating that he ran from the house “naked and bleeding”.
The mere fact that it looks like someone is casting out a
demon does not make that person “right” and as previously
stated, it doesn’t even make that person a “Christian”. At no time are we, as Christians called to use the
techniques, the practices, the spells, the rituals, or the
magic of the other side. We abide in Christ and the power of
Christ battles for us. We are not to take our eyes off of God.
Most of the incidents used as demonstrations in the book
Spiritual Warfare are distractions from the truth of the
Bible.
1
Corinthians 10:18-31 Consider the people of
Israel : Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in
the altar? Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol
is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the
sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I
do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot
drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you
cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of
demons. Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we
stronger than he? “Everything is permissible”—but not
everything is beneficial. “Everything is
permissible”—but not everything is constructive. Nobody
should seek his own good, but the good of others. Eat anything
sold in the meat market without raising questions of
conscience, for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything
in it.” If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you
want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising
questions of conscience. But if anyone says to you, “This
has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for
the sake of the man who told you and for conscience’
sake—the other man’s conscience, I mean, not yours. For
why should my freedom be judged by another’s conscience? If
I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced
because of something I thank God for? So whether you eat or
drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
The stage is set for deception from the beginning
pages. The presentation of the base story is fraudulent in
that the description of Dr. Murphy’s daughter describes an
innocent young teen with fluffy and emotional descriptions but
quickly turns into a story of how evil demons attacked this
same girl. This time through, the actual facts are described,
and the true sense of what supposedly happened is explained.
This first false presentation and the following corrections in
the second portrayal, betrays the blatant way this writer
likes to present a biased picture for the purpose of
manipulating his audience. In fact, any sound theological
basis for this book is so lacking that I think the actor Eddie
Murphy would have done a better job in presenting the facts,
as facts, instead of building a house of false proclamations
just to support the false assumptions stated later in the
book. The only support the false conclusions listed later in
the book rely on, are, of course, the false proclamations
presented earlier in the book.
The inclusion of this type of circular reasoning does
not warrant the title “handbook”, which implies a status
of expertise this book in no way fulfills. The various
conflicting statements contained in the book, about the book,
betray the frayed logic and complete lack of understanding the
author has regarding the position this book has in the field
of spiritual warfare. For example, the first paragraph of the
preface to the revised edition, states, “since its
appearance in 1992, the book still stands as the only
beginning definitive study on this complex and all-inclusive
area of human reality”, but then goes on to say in the
last paragraph of this same page, “to revise The Handbook
further is not only unnecessary, but also impractical, since
it would expand the length of the book, making necessary a
second volume”. The preface states, “I write this
preface after finishing the book. I am comfortable with most
of what I have written, yet uncomfortable with some of what I
have written. I only wish time had permitted a rewrite of some
of the exegetical section with more input from biblical
scholars, but deadlines made this impossible”. Still the
preface to the revised edition tells us, “The other major
change in this revision of The Handbook is the inclusion of
the new closing chapter , “Dangers and Pitfalls of Spiritual
Warfare”. I mention these contradictions because there
is not a first “major change” listed in this narrative,
and the self-admitted shortcoming of the author in writing
this book was not addressed, while other materials were
included in the book rather than correcting the first
shortcomings. The vague statement included in the book, “By
its very nature, this is a controversial book”, does
nothing to dispel my apprehension regarding the content of
this book, as every effort should have been made to
scripturally support each claim made. I do not truly
understand if this statement was included in the book as a
disclaimer as an attempt to explain why the scriptural basis
is so weak, or as an appetizer for those scanning the preface
for titillating controversial topics, or just as a general
statement regarding spiritual warfare as a biblical topic.
Certainly though, any author daring enough to present an
authoritative Christian book on spiritual warfare, especially
in the naming of this book “The Handbook” should have done
the honest and detailed work to support the claims presented
in the book to eliminate controversy not to merely ad to the
already existing controversy. This field, “spiritual
warfare”, has life and death consequences, and as such, this
book should have received the highest degree of scrutiny, the
utmost amount of labor, and an uncompromising level of
integrity. I feel that this was not the case, and in many
parts of this book the topics were dealt with in a careless
and cavalier manner. Simply stating an opinion in the first
paragraph or two, and then basing the rest of the chapter on
that statement or statements, does not create a feeling of
integrity or earnestness. In fact, it has quite the opposite
effect. IF the statements at the beginning of each chapter
were actually supportable with contextual scriptures, this
would have been the order of the day. It was not. This leaves
the reader wondering why this was not done. The only
conclusion I could come up with is that there either were no
grounds for scriptural support, or that the support was so
weak that no honest effect would have been gained by their
inclusion. In fact, many times the presentation is so
dishonest that while reading several of the chapters, I got
the same feeling as being schlepped by a used car salesman.
I do refrain from calling this entire writing an
outright fraud however, because there are several elements of
the book that are doctrinally correct and truly based on
scripture, but unfortunately, the un-Biblical sections and the
simply made-up sections HEAVILY outweigh the correct ones. The
false elements of this book make it extremely dangerous to
immature Christians as they are still developing their own
theology and some of the many false assumptions and teachings
may find their way into their belief system. This disparity
between the true and the false make this writing completely
useless as a study tool as the content is terribly polluted
with false teachings, useless analogies, and faulty reasoning.
This author apparently has absolutely no problem
just making up stuff. Acts 16-19 tell a story of a demonically
possessed young woman.
Acts
16:16
Once
when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a
slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future.
She earned a great deal of money for her owners by
fortune-telling. 17This
girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men
are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way
to be saved.” 18She kept this up for many days.
Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said
to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to
come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her. 19When
the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of
making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged
them into the marketplace to face the authorities
We are only told that
this young woman was a young woman, that she was a slave, that
she attempted to predict the future, and that she earned a lot
of money for her owners. Then we are told that a demon was
cast from her. That’s it. But the author writes additional
information about this young woman on pages 324, 325, 326,
327, and 328. Somehow the author is able to explain to us that
she was “a little girl”, that she was “pitiful”, that
she had “frenzied cries”, and that she was a
“ventriloquist”. He goes on to explain that she was
possessed by the “famous Apollo python spirit”, even
though we have been instructed by the previous 43 chapter that
demonic possession is impossible that that she must have been
“demonized”. We are also told that she was “widely
advertised”, that she went into a “semi-trance”, that at
times “her utterances were unintelligible”, that “she
gave a personal word to each inquirer”, and that “she was
not gifted at contacting the spirits of the departed as did
others”. The information included in the Handbook of
Spiritual Warfare so far exceeds the information given to us
in the scriptures that it rivals the absurdity of the Prayer
of Jabez phenomenon. The entire industry that exists in pop
Christianity in the form of books, videos, calendars,
workshops, journals, posters, bookmarks, workbooks, Bible
studies, websites, home groups, and other products and
activities surrounding the “Prayer of Jabez” is based on a
couple of phrases of only seventeen words in the Bible.
The use of language contained within this book,
is extremely vague and non-explicit, and in fact creates a
hidden harbor in which the author hides during the sticky
parts of his writings. The explanation that Christians can be
“demonized” but not “demonically possessed” falls
apart when the author tries to create geography out of social
and time structures. The author even contradicts himself
numerous times such as the previous statement. This is evident
when he writes about the “places” demons have control in a
believer’s life. If you can think of a vague or confusing
figure of speech, this writer has surely seized upon it, and
used it to confuse some simple concept to bolster his weak
arguments.
The presentation of
“Carolyn’s story” is just one of these incidents.
Carolyn, a “sweet”, “responsive”, adorable, and
“obedient”, “Christian” fourteen year old daughter of
a minister is having a problem. Carolyn’s friend, a boy,
gave her some occult material including a pentagram which she
wore around her neck. She participated in transcendental
meditation. She sometimes screamed, became rebellious, had
haughty eyes and could not pray. The presentation of the
character of Carolyn included the positive things about her,
but the problem included the negative things about her. I’m
reminded of the saying, “to the fool, all things come
quickly”. When a problem became evident, there was
absolutely no attempt to find the source of the problem, it
was instantly assumed that she was possessed or as the author
would explain it “demonized”. The first step would have
been logically to determine what the problem was. It is
possible that this fourteen year old teenager was acting like
a fourteen year old teenager and her actions displeased her
parents. This young girl is right at the point in her life
where she is gradually separating from her parents and
standing on her own. This transition is usually not flawless
and many errors occur while attempting to find appropriate
methods of demonstrating autonomy. This concept was not
explored at all by Dr Murphy. It MUST be demons? It is
possible that there was an organic problem that required an
examination by a doctor. This was not done either. It is
possible that there existed some demonic activity. It is also
possible that this was simply the sinful nature of the
teenager that had been repressed by the will of the teenager
during less turbulent times. Now that the onset of strong
hormonal changes and the psychologically negative homeostasis
of becoming a teenager had overcome her ability to repress her
frustration and she communicated her anger in an inappropriate
manner. No! Absolutely not! This MUST be demonic activity.
After all, Dr Murphy is not an “expert” on hormonal
fluctuations; he is an “expert” on demons. Yep, must be a
bad case of demons!
The author’s assertions and explanations of his
qualifications regarding the writing of this book are as
creative as they are false. But to further his argument
regarding his qualifications by invoking an argument of
“experience” is nonsense and contradicts other statements
showing an absolute lack of understanding. If I were the
author of this book, now that I had made such a statement, I
would go on to make my argument based on my own proclamations.
Unlike the author, I am not going to do this and will in fact
actually use statements in the book to make my point. The
author writes, “For many, any theology of demons they
have is built primarily on subjective experience”, to
describe one “side” of this argument, and then writes, “On
the other hand, there are others whose theology of demons is
built on their own limited interpretations of Scripture with
little or no experience in direct, ongoing confrontation with
evil spirits”, to explain the other “side” of this
argument. Then, as if showing us the correct approach to this
issue, he writes, “The Scripture-versus-experience issue
is unfortunate, unbiblical, and illogical. Never in Scripture
are the two held to be mutually exclusive. They are always
seen to be two sides of the same coin.” Where does this
conflict exist? There is no documentation of any conflict.
This is a basic “straw man fallacy” where the writer
creates a problem just so he can solve it. But does he? By
creating a problem, and by showing how bad the two extreme
sides are, he is portraying that he is using the middle ground
to make HIS point. This idea is expanded in the discussion of
World View by showing that western culture has excluded the
middle argument between religion and science. So, now that the
author has established himself as a balanced expert in this
field, by not taking either of the bad extremes, experience
only, and study only: AND, he has expanded his argument of
superiority by showing us he is also an expert in this field
because he is not taking either of the other bad extremes,
religion only, or science only, he is definitely the man for
the job. Really?
The discussion of the necklace Carolyn wore betrays the truth,
“In the past I had noticed she had a small object hanging
on a chain around her neck, but hadn’t thought anything of
it. As I was praying with her, trying to resist the Devil on
her behalf, my attention was drawn to that object. It looked
like a Star of David. Where did you get that star, I asked.
She told me the name of the boy who had given it to her. I
knew him. He was a professing Christian but definitely not a
committed believer. What is it supposed to symbolize? I
inquired. I don’t know what it symbolizes, she replied.
It’s just a kind of good-luck charm. It’s found on
the dust covers of some musical albums. All the kids wear
them. The star turned out to be a pentagram, a symbol of the
occult world. At that time I was almost totally ignorant of
occultism, its symbols and practices. Yet somehow I knew that
thing was an evil symbol. Its presence on her body served as
an amulet, drawing evil spirits to her life.”
So, our expert, a trained minister, started out
not knowing what a Star of David is, or a pentagram? I
personally find this completely impossible to believe. Perhaps
he has never heard of Satanism, or the Pentagon, (the center
of the United State’s military leadership)? Perhaps he has
never heard of Israel ? Perhaps he has never heard of Judaism?
This must then mean that our expert has never heard of Wicca
or witchcraft, or any other topic related to the occult. But
now he is going to lead us, simply because he has taken the
“middle” way between bad extremes? This is a terrible situation when a person so completely
lacking in understanding decides to become an expert on the
very things which he has ignored during his entire education,
and in fact, lifetime. To use faulty examination methods to
support his new education, and to even make declarations to
the world as to why things are the way they are, is simply
insulting to the mind. The author’s statement , “A
knowledge of God divorced from the experience of God led to
the Crusades, the Inquisition, and other chapters in the
colonization of the heathen world by organized Christianity
too shameful for words. ”The Crusades, and the
Inquisition were caused by mixing Pagan beliefs with
Christianity. This resulted in Catholicism.
The writer of this book does exactly the same thing
in writing this book! Nearly every point in this book
is written from the perspective of Christianized witchcraft!
The author of this book says in chapter three
that “Satan’s main strategy of temptation is
deception”. Yet the very approach taken by this
author is also deception. Satan’s followers use magic
words called spells and incantations to accomplish their evil
work. Dr. Murphy and many in the “word – faith”
movement, attempt to accomplish a similar work by using “Rhema”,
or “Christian” magic words to defeat the magic words of
the enemy. This opposite application of the same principles is
nothing more than a Christian “spell” or
“incantation”, followed by the magic words, “in the
name of Jesus”. DOING
the will of God, FOLLOWING the teachings of Jesus, and using
“in the name of Jesus” really makes sense to me. It is
consistent, and it is scriptural. CONTRADICTING the
scriptures, and DOING the will of the practitioner, and using
the words “in the name of Jesus” is nothing more than a
contrived, artificial, and false type of Christianized
Witchcraft.
I recently watched a rather disgusting incident
of a similar nature, while watching Paula White, a
female televangelist, on television. She had just completed a
rather hysterical fit where she was “touched by the Spirit
of God”, which was quite obviously very well rehearsed. She
would hunch her back over and throw her arms downward, and
then bend her knees and throw her arms upward while making
some false point. I thought for sure that she would fall off
her amazingly high stiletto heels several times. She
duplicated this action several times while repeating the same
sentence until the audience finally responded in a manner she
approved of. She then began explaining her lesson regarding
the “word” of the lion. Apparently, Paula White has not
watched many nature shows or she wouldn’t have concocted
such an obvious farce. It was her contention that lions eat
rabbits. Apparently lions don’t hunt in groups, and they
don’t use speed, or camouflage, and they don’t hide in the
tall grass in ambush for the rabbits. She apparently doesn’t
know that the female lions are responsible for most of the
hunting done by the pride. “The female lion captures most of the mid-sized prey
(wildebeest, zebra, etc.) but the male typically catch the
really big prey (buffalo & giraffe).” http://www.cbs.umn.edu/lionresearch/faq.html
She claimed that when a big ol’ lion wants to
eat a rabbit, he simply puts forth his “word”, or his
“rhema” and this word confounds and terrifies the rabbit
so that the lion can walk over to it and eat it. Even though
this presentation was full-on idiocy at its fullest degree,
hundreds of people started clapping and waving their hands in
the air due to the “truth” of her statements. Male lions
keep other males away, and they mate. That’s it. Yet, even
though many in the audience probably knew these truths, they
were simply overcome with immature spiritual emotionalism, and
they rose to their feet waving their arms in the air without
taking even a second or two to consider the validity of the
comments just made.
I do not believe that either Dr Murphy or those
believing this nonsense are stupid; in fact I recently joined
the International High IQ Society and have seen an amazing
amount of just plain stupid arguments presented on the message
boards there by people that have proven high IQ’s. Just
because a person has an IQ of 150 doesn’t make them right
when it comes to spiritual issues, it just means that they
have an IQ of 150. The Holy Spirit illuminates the scriptures
to those that seek the face of God. But there is a
requirement. To discover truth you must look with an honest
and open mind and heart. I have seen it all too often. If you
believe there is no God, you will read the Bible looking for
errors. If you believe God has a certain personality, you will
look for passages to support your ideas. This has simply
happened to Dr Murphy as well. One needs to read the Bible to
determine what it says regarding an issue, not decide what you
believe about an issue and then look for verses to support
your beliefs. ESPECIALLY NOT to take verses in the Bible that
are easily understood and to twist them to mean what you have
already decided that you believe! Shame!
Spiritual maturity requires thoughtful, scriptural,
spiritual consistency over a period of time.
It is not found in the charismatic words of a public
speaker, or in some unknown magic words, or in spectacular
demonstrations of demonic mastery.
Chapter five is absolutely bizarre and complete absurdity
takes over. For some, the first four chapters of fiction may
have been a strong enough argument to accomplish the
“suspension of disbelief”, but I guess I’m a hard sell.
I found the discussion between the author and the demon named
“Fear” so absurd and so insultingly stupid that I had to
read it in sections, with breaks in between to read several
passages in the Bible, as a mental break from the idiocy.
The following is a list of the “names of demons”
from demonbusters.com,which also list “Fear” as the
name of a demon.
Prejudice,
Bitterness, Emulations, Deaf and Dumb, Anger, Evil Heart of
Unbelief, Hatred, Murder, Resentment, Temper, Violence,
Retaliation, Unforgiveness, Rebellion, Anti Submissiveness,
Disobedience, Self-Will, Stubbornness, Strife, Argument,
Bickering, Contention, Fighting, Quarreling, Control,
Dominance, Possessiveness, Witchcraft, Retaliation, Cruelty,
Destruction, Hatred, Hurt, Sadism, Spite, Accusation,
Criticism, Faultfinding, Judging, Rejection, Fear of
Rejection, Self-Rejection, Insecurity, Inadequacy, Ineptness,
Inferiority, Loneliness, Self-Pity, Shyness, Timidity,
Jealousy, Distrust, Envy, Selfishness, Suspicion, Withdrawal,
Daydreaming, Fantasy, Pouting, Pretension, Unreality, Drugs,
Indifference, Passivity, Sleepiness, Stoicism, Funk (Fear),
Lethargy, Listlessness, Depression (Python), Death, Defeatism,
Dejection, Despair, Despondency, Discouragement, Hopelessness,
Insomnia, Morbidity, Suicide, Heaviness, Burden, Disgust,
Gloom, Worry, Anxiety, Apprehension, Nervousness, Excitement,
Headache, Insomnia, Nervous Habits, Restlessness, Roving,
Tension, Sensitiveness, Fear of Disapproval, Fear of Man,
Self-Awareness, Persecution, Fear of Reproof, Fear of
Judgment, Fear of Condemnation, Fear of Accusation,
Sensitiveness, Unfairness, Mental Illness, Hallucinations,
Insanity, Madness, Mania, Paranoia, Retardation,
Schizophrenia, Hearing Voices, Senility, Spirit of Satan,
Confrontation, Distrust, Envy, Fears, Jealousy, Persecution,
Suspicion, Confusion, Forgetfulness Doubt, Skepticism,
Unbelief, Indecision, Compromise, Confusion, Forgetfulness,
Indifference, Procrastination, Self-Deception, Pride,
Self-Seduction, Self-Delusion, Mind Binding, Confusion, Fear
of Failure, Fear of Man, Occult Spirits, Spiritism, Spirits,
Mind Idolatry, Ego, Intellectualism, Pride, Rationalization,
Fears (All Kinds), Hysteria, Phobias (All Kinds), Fear of
Authority, Deceit, Lying, Mockery, Arrogance, Beelzebub,
Haughtiness, Importance, Self-Righteousness, Vanity,
Affectation (Pretending), Playacting, Pretension,
Sophistication, Theatrics, Covetousness, Discontent, Greed,
Kleptomania, Material Lust, Stealing, Perfection, Anger,
Criticism, Nightmares, Frustration, Intolerance, Irritability,
Pride, Vanity, Competition, Argument, Driving, Fear of Demons,
Mockery, Impatience, Agitation, Criticism, Frustration,
Intolerance, Resentment, False Burden, False Compassion, False
Responsibility, Grief, Cruel, Crying, Heartache, Sorrow of
Heart, Fatigue, Laziness, Shaman, Tiredness, Weariness, Witch
Doctor, Infirmity, Death, Sting of Death, Inheritance, Curse
Inheritance, Emotional Inheritance, Mental Inheritance,
Physical Inheritance, Hyper Activity, Driving, Pressure,
Restlessness, Backbiting, Blasphemy, Criticism, Mockery,
Restlessness, Cursing, Backbiting, Belittling, Blasphemy,
Course Jesting, Criticism, Gossip, Mockery, Railing, Addictive
and Compulsive Behavior,
and C Alcohol, A and C Caffeine, A and C Drugs, A and C
Gluttony, A and C Medications, A and C Nicotine, A and C
Sugar, A and C Eating, Frustration, Idleness, Nervousness,
Resentment, Self-Pity, Self-Reward, Self-Accusation,
Self-Condemnation, Self-Hatred, Guilt, Condemnation,
Embarrassment, Shame, Unworthiness, Sexual Impurity, Adultery,
Incubus, Succubus, Bestiality, Exposure, Fantasy Lust,
Fornication, Frigidity, Harlotry, Homosexuality, Incest,
Lesbianism, Lust, Masturbation, Rape, Sodomy, False Religions
and Cults, Bahaism, Buddhism, Catholicism, Christian Science,
Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jehovah’s Witness, Latihan,
Mormonism, Rosicurcianism, Shintoism, Subud, Taoism,
Theosophy, Unity, Urantia, Occult, Astrology, Automatic
Handwriting, Card Reading, Charms, Conjuration, Dungeons and
Dragons, ESP, Fetishes, Fortune Telling, Handwriting Analysis,
Horoscope, Hypnotism, Incantation, Levitation, Magic (Black,
White, Yellow, Gray), New Age, Ouija Board, Palmistry,
Pendulum, Tarot Cards, Water Witching, Witchcraft, Religious
Doctrinal Error, Doctrinal Obsession, Fear of God, Fear of
Hell, Fear of Lost Salvation, Formalism, Legalism,
Religiosity, Ritualism, Seduction, Spiritism, Necromancy, Séance,
Spirit Guide, Vagabond, Lodges, Societies, Social Agencies
Using the Bible and God as a Basis but Omitting the Blood
Atonement of Jesus Christ, Hexebus (A Cloning Demon),
Leviathan, Umbrella Commission, Counsel on Foreign Relations,
Buildergurgers, Rockerfellers, Rothchilds Group, Masons, the
Skull and Bones, and the Trilateral Commission (The New World
Order).
“The following is our
SECOND BASIC DEMON LIST we cast out of EVERYONE we take
through DELIVERANCE. We believe in leaving no stone (demon)
unturned.”
Abortion,
Abuse Accuser of the Brethren, Acne, ADHD (Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder), ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder),
Affliction, Ahab, Aids, Anxiety, Arthritis, Asmodeus (Ruler of
Lust), Asthma (Meriham), Alzheimer’s Disease, Blackout,
Blackwell, Blood Pressure (High/Low), Broken Spirit,
Bronchitis, Cancer, Catatonic Stupor, Cigarettes, Ciliary
Blepharitis, Ciliary Spasm, Claustrophobia, Cocaine, Cripple,
Crying, Dejavu, Depression, Desperation, Devouring, Difficult
Breathing, Distraction, Divination, Divorce, Drunk at Church,
Electromagnetic Waves, Envy, Evil Eye, Father of Lies, Fear of
Satan, Freemasonry, Frequencies (Very Low/High), Frequencies
(Extremely Low/High), Grieving, Headache, Hernia, Hyperactive
Disorder, In Hair, Insanity, Insecurity , Insanity,
Insecurity, Jezebel, Jesus Only, Kundalini (Serpent Power),
Awakening (At base of spine), Liar, Lust, Lying, Marijuana,
Meibominitis (Oil Glands), Mind Control, Mind Occult, Mind
Set, Music (Classical, Country, Heavy Metal, Jazz, Rap, Rock
and Roll, Wrong Christian, Blues, All Other), New Age,
Nightmares, Nose Bleed, Obesity, Osmodeus (Prince of
Destruction), Osteoarthritis, Pain, Panic Disorder, Pathway,
Personality Undevelopment, Perversion, Pino (Blood Pressure),
Pneumonia, Presbyopia (Farsighted), Pretense Fantasy, Puno
(Blood Pressure), Queen of Heaven, Respiratory Infections,
Rheumatoid Arthritis, Ritalin, Rottenness of Bones, Sacrifice
of Darkness, Scars, Schizophrenia, Seduction by the Occult,
Self Indulgence, Shiv-Deity of Destruction, Sinusitis, Skin
Walking, Smoking, Social Phobia, Sprite, Sting of Death,
Terminus, The Way, Thief, Torment, Trance, Triand (Blood
Pressure), Tuberculosis, Uncleanness, Underdeveloped
Personality (demons that keep us as children), Weeping,
Whoredom, Vampirism.
I could find no explanation of which names were
ok to use and which were not. Apparently if a person is
writhing around on the floor and they say that their name is
“Fear”, then it must be true. But this list has several
other “names” listed, so are we to assume that all of
these names are acceptable? These names are not found in the
Bible, and in fact, the meanings of all of these words are
easily understood, most without ANY connection to demons. The
name “Pain” is also on the list. Let’s do an experiment.
Lift the front edge or legs of the chair you’re sitting on
up about an inch. Now put your little finger under the foot
and gently put the chair down on your finger. Now sit down on
the chair. Is that “Pain”, the “demon” that instantly
found a situation that offered it “legal” status to
demonize you? Did your predecessors all practice the
finger-smashing technique and pass this “demon” down to
each generation of your family? Or, did you simply act
foolishly by placing an undue amount of pressure on your
little finger, and your nervous system sent you the message
without any help from any demon. I think that the answer is
quite obvious, but here I am writing this explanation down to
refute the points put forth in the book Spiritual Warfare.
To show how clearly how both Dr. Ed Murphy, and
the authors of Demon Busters have misapplied common language,
and played with the normal means of words to further their
biased conclusions, I have included several incidents using
the word “fear”. Perhaps
the disciples were all demonized in the boat near Gennesaret
when they “cried out in fear”.
Matthew
14:26-27 When the disciples saw him walking on the
lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said,
and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them:
“Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
I noticed that Jesus
didn’t have a conversation with “Fear” even though it
was evident the disciples were in fear. Jesus simply said
“Don’t be afraid”. Why would Jesus say that if
“Fear” were a demon?
Luke
1:12-13 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was
gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be
afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife
Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the
name John.
When Zechariah was “gripped” with fear, why
didn’t the angel recognize the fact that the demon
“Fear” had a hold on Zechariah and do battle with the
demon? Instead the angel also said “Do not be afraid”.
It appears to me that fear must be an emotion and that
it is possible for us to control fear with our will.
Luke
1:50 His mercy extends to those who fear
him, from generation to generation.
If “Fear” is a demon then God would only
extend mercy to those afflicted by “Fear”. Unless of
course, “Fear” is really only fear. Perhaps “Fear” is
a newly created demon as he doesn’t actually show up
anywhere in the entire Bible, but the emotion “fear” shows
up some 255 times. If
“Fear” were a demon, then he would have existed during
Jesus’ life on earth, and he would have been addressed.
Later, as the story continues in Luke 8:25, Jesus asks his
disciples, “where is your faith”. Is “faith” a person
also? NO!
Luke
8:25 “Where is your faith?” he asked his
disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another,
“Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and
they obey him.”
This verse shows that the disciples were in
“fear” AND “amazement”. Does this mean that
“amazement” is really a spiritual entity names
“Amazement”? Perhaps “Fear” and “Amazement”, are
twin demons? Perhaps
they could sneak into the movies using the same ticket?
Absolutely not! In fact, I find it amazingly stupid that I
even have to explain this to another human being!
Dr. Ed Murphy is
treading on dangerous ground in his communications with
supposed demons. IF these demons are not real, and these
situations are created by people with mental or emotional
disorders then Dr. Murphy is both deceived AND deceiving
others. If these demons are real, then Dr. Murphy is allowing
these demons to either partially or completely determine his
theology because he takes them at their word. This is a no win
situation.
Jesus did not have conversations like those
discussed by Dr. Murphy and in each case there was minimum
amount of conversation. In each of these cases shown in the
Bible, the afflicted person was immediately relieved in a
moment. In no case that I am aware of did the afflicted person
need to return for additional encounters with Jesus. The only
case I know of is when the disciples were unable to cast out a
demon and Jesus explained that this kind of demon could only
be driven out by prayer. Nothing in the accounts presented by
Dr. Murphy are similar to those in the Bible. Dr. Murphy’s
accounts are much more similar to Bob Larson, (traveling
exorcist and fraud extraordinaire).
Romans
8:15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you
a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.
And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
Romans 8:15 even
compares the word spirit with the word fear showing CLEARLY
that “fear” is an emotion and not a “demon”! NOWHERE
in the Bible is the word fear used as the name of a demon!
Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, when warned about
things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his
family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of
the righteousness that comes by faith.
Hebrews describes “holy fear”, which shows
clearly that fear is an emotion as there can be NO “holy”
demons! The
author also writes, “As to how Satan himself was
transformed from a good creature into the liar who then became
the murderer of some of the angels and the entire human race,
the Bible is totally silent. Where the Bible is obviously and
consistently silent about such matters we do well also to
remain silent.”(page 32).
Ezekiel 28:13-17 You were in Eden , the garden of
God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and
emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire,
turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were
made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.
You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you.
You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery
stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were
created till wickedness was found in you. Through your
widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you
sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and
I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery
stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and
you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor.
The Bible is NOT silent as to how Satan became evil. There
are numerous verses which give us insight as to how his
occurred. For a typological example, look at Paul’s
affliction, and the use of the word “huperairomai” (hoop-er-ah’-ee-rom-ahee)
or to “be exalted above measure”.
Gene Jackson writes in the
Tennessee District Bulletin, “The old craze of casting demons out
of believers is probably the most dangerous and damnable of
all these doctrinal aberrations. ..."Casting demons out
of believers" does damage that lasts a lifetime. I have
absolutely no patience with those who despise the blood of
Calvary's Lamb and attempt to cast a demon out from under that
precious sacrifice. You can cast all the demons out of sinners
that you can find. (And if you'II move out of your regular
zone of fellowshipping with believers, you can certainly find
a demon-possessed segment of society.) But you are not going
to find a demon in a believing child of God, who is under the
blood of the Cross of Calvary. Not in a million years. Don't
allow such nonsense in your church (June 99).
Matthew
7:15-23 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to
you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious
wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick
grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every
good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A
good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear
good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut
down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will
recognize them. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord,
Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who
does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to
me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your
name, and in your name drive out demons and perform
many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never
knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
The
scriptures clearly tell us that simply casting out demons in
the name of the Lord does not make the practitioner
“Christian”. The various passages in the book Spiritual Warfare, regarding
demons, do not treat the situations the same as the Bible
does, and in most points actually contradict the Bible. I find
it extremely interesting that
Dr. Murphy makes no distinction between demonic possession and
possession by evil spirits. Dr. Murphy spends a great deal of
effort in creating a smokescreen of explaining that the terms
demon possession and demon possessed are poor terms and the
term we should use is really demonization. Great. What did
this accomplish? Again, Dr. Murphy creates a problem, namely
what are the correct terms to use regarding demonic activity.
Who brought up the problem? The term demonic possession is
normally used to describe a situation where demons are
“in” the person afflicted. This only becomes important
when the claim is of Christians being “possessed”.
Non-believers ARE possessed by Satan, not to say they are
inhabited by demons though. Believers ARE possessed by God.
Dr. Murphy takes great pains to avoid to actual question,
namely that of LOCATION! While explaining the Greek words for
demon, spirit, evil, etc. he refuses to deal with the words
“in”, “out”, and “cast”. If a demon is harassing a
person from the outside, this is a completely different
situation than a demon inhabiting the victim.
Matthew
9:33 “the demon having been cast out”.
Matthew
11:18 “He hath a demon”.
Matthew
17:18 “and the demon went out of him”.
Mark
7:26 “that the demon he may cast forth out of her
daughter”.
Mark
7:29 “the demon hath gone forth out of thy
daughter”.
Luke
4:35 “Be silenced and come forth out of him”
It is clear that the argument of using the term
demonization is better than demon possessed only when
describing a situation where a demon is harassing someone. It
makes little difference though when a person has a demon
inside of them.
This nonsense, or “the
most dangerous and damnable of all these doctrinal
aberrations”, as
Gene Jackson, goes on and one chapter by chapter until I
reached page 151. The few sentences on the previous page
seemed to be in line with the Bible, and then as I read
through the material on page 151, I thought to myself that I
finally found a page in this really stupid book that actually
makes sense, AND is in line with the Bible. It didn’t last
long. As I got to the bottom of the page, the topic of
“sexual demons” came up again.
I believe it is fair for Christians, left without any
clear evidence in the Bible, to lean towards certain beliefs,
based on their best guess.
But to state in unfaltering certainty that something is
either a fact or that it is doctrine when there is nothing in
the Bible to support that claim is wrong. To make this claim
in the face of scriptures that contradict that claim is false
teaching, plain and simple. What is the biblical support for
sexual demons? Page 151 says, “Bondage to masturbation is
spiritual warfare. The desire may first come from within,
warfare with the lusts of the flesh. It can also come directly
from without, warfare with a sex-crazed world. Finally, it
often comes from above, warfare with sexual demons who tempt
us to unwise or illicit sexual activity (1 Cor 7:5). Let see.
1
Corinthians 7:5 - Do not deprive each other
except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may
devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that
Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
There it is, the support for “sexual demons”. There is no
special designation for sexual demons. There isn’t even a
mention of demons. There is simply a statement advising us to
not give Satan a means to tempt us. It doesn’t say the
sexual Satan, or the sexual messengers of Satan. It just says
Satan.
I was reading the Handbook of Spiritual Warfare, and a Mensa
newsletter on the same day, and I was taken by a new word I
learned from the Mensa newsletter. Iatrogenic, (adj),
“induced in a patient by a physician’s activity, manner,
or therapy. Used especially of an infection or other
complication of treatment.” I was taken by the
similarity of reading the definition of this word, and the
various statements made by Dr Murphy in this book. I truly
believe that a normal Christian, with a solid theology, that
may be having a simple and common problem, could very well end
up in a much worse situation after following the
teachings contained in this book. This would make the
teachings contained in this book, iatrogenic in nature.
IF we accept Dr Murphy’s interpretation of 1 Corinthians
7:5, then we must maintain this interpretation for the entire
passage of 1 Corinthians 7:2-5,
“But
since there is so much immorality, each man should have his
own wife, and each woman her own husband. 3The
husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and
likewise the wife to her husband. 4The wife’s
body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In
the same way, the husband’s body does not belong to him
alone but also to his wife. 5Do
not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a
time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come
together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of
your lack of self-control.”
Verse 2 says that “since there is so much
immorality”, and Dr Murphy says that sexuality immorality
comes from sexual demons. The rest of verse 2 explains that to
prevent sexuality immorality, “each man should have a wife
and each woman should have her own husband”, which would
mean that getting married would provide resistance to sexual
demons, yet Paul told us that it would be better not to be
married. Yet he also told us to resist Satan. This shows us
that the argument used by Dr Murphy is faulty.
Matthew
9:33 says - And when the demon (daimonion
{dahee-mon'-ee-on}) was driven
out (ekballo {ek-bal'-lo}),
the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and
said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”
Matthew
17:18-19 says - Jesus rebuked the demon (daimonion
{dahee-mon'-ee-on}), and it
came (exerchomai {ex-er'-khom-ahee})
out (apo {apo'})
of the boy (autos {ow-tos'}),
and he was healed from that moment. Then the disciples came to
Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it
out?”
Matthew
12:43-45 says - “When an evil ((akathartos
{ak-ath'-ar-tos}) spirit (pneuma
{pnyoo'-mah}) comes (exerchomai
{ex-er'-khom-ahee}) out of (apo
{apo'}) a man (anthropos
{anth'-ro-pos}), it goes through
arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says,
‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it
finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then
it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than
itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition
of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be
with this wicked generation.”
Matthew
4:8-11 says - Again, the devil took him to a very
high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and
their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if
you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him,
“Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord
your God, and serve him only.’” Then the devil left him,
and angels came and attended him.
Matthew 9:33 says
“demon”, and Matthew 17:18 also says “demon”, but
Matthew 12:43 is right between these two verses but Matthew
uses the words “evil spirit” instead. Matthew 4:8 is just
before Matthew 9:33 and uses the word “devil”. Why?
Let’s look at what the authoritative The Handbook of
Spiritual Warfare has to say about this. Page 22 says,
“Furthermore demons, evil spirits, and fallen angels (all
synonymous in this book) seem to fall into at least four
different classifications not three as often affirmed.”
So, the Bible uses different words for these beings, or
un-beings, but Dr. Murphy says they’re all the same. The
classifications mentioned in The Handbook are; Firstly,
those “demon spirits” that carry out Satan’s evil
purposes, can operate on earth, the heavenlies, or inhabit the
bodies of mankind. The second classification are
rebellious “angels” that are bound in the abyss to be
released at a future date. The third classification are
fallen “angels” that are so evil that they are not
permitted to exist on earth or in the heavenlies, and are
bound forever in tartarus, or incorrectly translated as hell.
Finally the fourth classification are “angels” who
are bound within the earth, four of which are mentioned as
being bound at the Euphrates .
DEMONS (Gr. daimonia). Evil spirits (Matt 8:16 ; Luke
10:17 , 20; cf. Matt 17:18 and Mark 9:25 ). The immaterial and
incorporeal nature of both Satan and his demon hosts is
discussed by Paul (Eph 2:2; 6:12 ) and John ( Rev 16:14 ).
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