Among the many things that grieve me about the effects of postmodernism upon the contemporary Church is the apparent disregard for certain 
prominent New Testament subjects. For instance, spiritual gifts (specifically, the “sign gifts” like tongues, miracles, and prophecy), the Last Days (prophetic timetables, the anti-christ, the Great Tribulation, etc.), the Second Coming of Christ, and Hell. Obviously, some of these subjects fit into a specific eschatological framework that doesn’t jive with postmodernistic theology. Nevertheless, they remain parts of Scripture. So even though you may not believe that tongues are for today, that a Great Tribulation is coming, or that Jesus’ return is immanent, you simply cannot avoid those subjects if you’re a Bible student.
Well, the other day, I was reminded about another one of those subjects that has fallen off the radar of many Christians — Satan. Pastors just don’t seem to talk about the devil much any more.
It came about oddly. Last week, late one night, my daughter Alayna woke me and Lisa up and said she was scared. For the record, Alayna is 21. “Scared?” I scoffed. “Scared of what?” Apparently, she had just seen the new indie film Paranormal Activity and she was very, very, disturbed. The movie is getting great reviews. And, apparently, it IS very scary. So Alayna slept in our bed that night. Yeah, she got her share of ribbing from her friends about the incident. But now, almost a week after seeing the movie, she is till sleeping with the lights on.
Anyway, the whole event led to a discussion the next day at breakfast about demons and the devil. “Is that stuff for real?” Alayna asked. “Do demons still attach themselves to people? Is the devil THAT real?”
In all honesty, it made me check myself. If I had properly trained my daughter in the things of God, would she be asking these questions? Or, by neglecting the subject of Satan, had I somehow contributed to her susceptibility and spiritual unease? And the more I thought about it, the more I realized my guilt is symptomatic of the contemporary church. We’re too busy talking about church, missions, pot lucks, and unconditional love to talk about Satan.
And if the devil IS real, then getting us NOT to talk about him may be the perfect tactic.
Maybe it’s my Charismatic upbringing kicking in. But the Bible talks often about the devil — his works, his strategies, the way to combat him, and ultimately, his demise. So why does the contemporary church ignore the subject?
Praise the Lord for your charismatic upbringing. All we often hear IF we hear about the enemy/Satan/demons is that God is greater and Satan is defeated. Period. Of course He is. However, we're not. Without the Spirit of God operating in His full authority in us, we are not formidable opponents to the devil and his dominions. We rarely pray against his forces since we rarely acknowledge his activities in our lives, his influences in our thinking and consequential actions. The Lord Himself explains him, was forced to endure his wicked tauntings in a diminished human state, definitely overcame him in so many ways, but also demonstrated how to fight and defeat him in the here and now which so many of us disregard, overlook, and for those in the pulpit fail to address and instruct.
Yup, you hit a nerve here, Mike. Christians who don't operate in combat gear toward the enemy when necessary (which is far more often than we think) leave out an essentail part of the walk in this life.
Hmm…good question. I have no clue. But I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that if they talk about the devil and his influence on the world, they would have to acknowledge that their quest for social justice and peace has another element that cannot be fixed until Jesus comes back? Because if you're talking about the type of church that I'm thinking of . . . then it always seems to me as if they think that the government and the church can somehow turn the earth into a lovely world, void of suffering.
I have at least one person close to me who has morphed into a unabashed communist because it fits, in his mind, so well with his social justice mantra that he picked up at his So Cal church. My suggestion may sound ridiculous. I don't know. But there are many things about the postmodern church that disturb me. I have had a hard time understanding where it comes from and how it is that so many seem to think that either the government is the answer or that the problems in society that they most champion, can somehow be solved this side of Christ's return. In many cases, it seems as if simply advocating for the poor has become, "we're going to save the poor." Emphasis on WE.
Maybe to talk about the devil and his tactics and influence, is to acknowledge that the world can't be fixed this side of heaven. Maybe to talk about the devil is to acknowledge there is a spiritual battle that they've been neglecting. I don't know. All I know is, I grow more and more disturbed by what I hear and see from believers in this regard. I fear that someone has pulled the wool over their eyes.
Every other religion seems to speak openly about this subject, yet we American's have stupid shows that glorify the paranormal experience. But is it demonic?, many say there's no such thing or avoid the subject all together. We know that we fight against principalities and evil forces, do I dare say the devil?
Dad, I know that the devil is real and that his evil spirit's can get into anyone and try to control people, but yes maybe I am at fault because to think of a thing like exorcism seemed false to me. Me hardly even thinking about that part of the devil's work is my fault entirely but I do agree that the church lacks extremely on this subject.