Evil Spirits, Demon Posession and other Weird and Creepy Topics that make us Westerners all Uncomfortable and Such

Last night I went to cell group at our pastor's house. After a fantastic dinner of buff and momos he shared with us about recent happenings. It turned into one of the most fascinating conversations of my time in India. I'll do my best to share and reflect and who knows, to maybe challenge you to rethink your own box.

Before I start, let me share a few verses that I hope you will keep in mind.

¹⁶ They made him jealous with their foreign gods
and angered him with their detestable idols.

¹⁷ They sacrificed to demons, which are not God—
gods they had not known,
gods that recently appeared,
gods your fathers did not fear.

¹⁸ You deserted the Rock, who fathered you;
you forgot the God who gave you birth.

--Deuteronomy 32:17

²When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. ³This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. ⁴For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. ⁵Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

⁶When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. ⁷He shouted at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me!" ⁸For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!"

⁹Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?"

"My name is Legion," he replied, "for we are many."

--Mark 5:2-9

⁸Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹"All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."

¹⁰Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'^d]">[d]"

--Matthew 5:8-10

My pastor (let's call him Z for ease), has been in the business of deliverance for many years now. Casting out demons, freeing people from evil spirits, healing unexplained ailments - you name it, he's got a story about it. Now before you roll your eyes and scoff, please hear me out as I try to tell Z's story.

Z is a very Westernized Indian pastor from Garhwal, the Himalayan mountain region north of Mussoorie. He was born into a Hindu family and met Jesus in his teens. The encounter impacted him so greatly that by the age of 15 or so he was already preaching the gospel. He continued to learn, taking classes and studying the Bible. One day God gave him the calling to preach the gospel in Garhwal, to his people. More than ten years ago, he started a new church here and has been discipling and training pastors to preach in the villages.

By chance one day, he was asked to cast out a spirit from a woman down the hill. He was hesitant but, being the only pastor these people could find, he accepted. He had no idea what he was in for. He recalled how powerful the experience was, too powerful for him. He wasn't prepared, and he did not succeed in the effort.

Over the next years he continued to pour over the scriptures, arming himself with God's word. When he was called upon again, with God's power, people were delivered.

Z is a very wise man. He speaks with a clarity and understanding of the God's power that I've heard from few others. He never speaks with simplistic arguments but always with a holistic, multi-faceted view of things. He knows God's word. He practices what he preaches. And he preaches without mincing words. He's been a life-long learner, citing all the books he's read and experiences he's had, and a gifted teacher.

The past couple of weeks, Z has been taking part of what he calls "Deliverance Ministry." Villagers from all over are brought together and several pastors pray and confront and cast out evil spirits and demons. He described remarkable stories from this event.

A spirit in one woman called out that he resided in her nose ring - a precious gift from her husband who passed away. Nothing could draw the spirit from this woman until they took off the nose ring. He described it as a very strange event, the woman writhing and struggling until it was finally taken off.

Other demons claimed to live in stomachs, causing great pain. Others in arms and legs. But by the authority of Jesus, none would remain.

Many came to acknowledge the power of Christ as a result. Many accepted the grace given to them by the One True God.

I hung on to every word, all of this so foreign to me. He asked us why the Church in the West generally doesn't acknowledge the spirit world.

Somewhere along history, we stopped recognizing that there is a greater force at work in this world than can be explained by mere science. In the East, this is a part of everyday life. Gods and goddesses, plants and animals are worshiped. These spirits had the power to bring ruin and disease. The power to destroy people. So they have been feared and appeased for countless centuries.

This power has captured billions of people. I cannot deny the glazed look of hundreds of Sadhus and pilgrims in Rishikesh and Haridwar. Men and women stoic, lifeless. People passing by with fixed eyes, as if in a trance. India is a country filled with people captured by lies.

Z argued that perhaps 80% of the country is possessed. How can this not be true, he said, when so many worship and call upon the millions of gods and goddesses in Hinduism. An interesting point I thought. Why would Satan not accept such an invitation?

That then brought up the question, why the West resists notions like these. But here, men worship not spirits but material possessions. Can an argument made that this relentless pursuit has not captured us?

But could it be that what we call mental disorders like schizophrenia could be the work of something greater? Z described personal instances in which he has seen people freed from demons who exhibited such torment.

Throughout the Bible, there was no doubt that spirits had a power and authority in this world. Countless sick and possessed were brought to Jesus to be healed and delivered. Strange that many of us put that aside. That was then, we may say. But the Word says: "¹For 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." (Ephesians 6:12)

The greatest part of the discussion was when Z began to talk about how we must work out our salvation. When Jesus comes into our hearts we are saved and made new. But this of course does not mean we are immune to trouble, free from sin. We must always be working to grow in the knowledge of him. We must always strive towards justification, to show the work God is ALWAYS doing in us. It is not enough to call Jesus the Lord of our hearts when our mind and our eyes and our tongue and the actions of our hands say otherwise.

God wants ALL of our being. He is a jealous God. El Kanna.

He is the God who saved me, a sinner deserving of death and I rarely find the time to sit in his presence and study his word? He showers blessing upon my life yet I am reckless with my time and money when I could be a blessing to others?

What does it say to others about me, about Christians, if God is not Lord of my everything?

Needless to say it was convicting to hear. It gets way to easy to get caught up with Flickr stats and comments. To glide lazily through the day with work and photoshop and surfing without acknowledging my Creator. To think I've been captured by so many things in this world. That I need deliverance too.