So what about the Christian who seems to be demonised?

When it comes to the creation v evolution debate, I remember someone once giving some helpful advice. They suggested it was always worth double checking two things, first that we have read the Biblical data correctly and secondly that we have read the empirical data correctly. We should do so humbly, recognizing our own fallibility.

Well, first of all, I would always encourage you to recheck Scripture.  Keep meditating on it. Keep double checking the expositions you hear, including from me. Remember that anyone seeking to teach on this subject is fallible. Remember that we are dealing with a second or third order issue in terms of theological triage.

This advice is good when it comes to the question of demons too.  What do we do with those situations that don’t fit our theology?  In this case, it means what do we do with apparent cases of Christians being demonised? What do we do with examples of apparent generational curses? What do we do when there seem to be demons in a particular place?

Now, I am reasonably confident in the theological interpretation that I’ve given on this subject. So, the second thing we do is we look at the empirical data, or what is happening again.

In other words, in the case of a Christian seemingly being demonised and where we remain convinced that this is Biblically not possible, we need then to check what has actually happened.

There are two possibilities here. The first is that they are not demonised, they are not possessed. Now, this leaves the question about exactly what is happening. I think it is perfectly legitimate to say that there are lots of things we still do not know both about how this world in its fallen state functions and the tactics, including proxy methods, of the enemy.  However, we can still see that evil is at work.

Secondly it is possible that they are demonised.  We must then sadly conclude that they are not and never were a Christian. This may be very difficult for us when we see someone we have known, perhaps too greatly respected for many years and we see that they are not showing evidence that they are the Lord’s.  I think crucial here is how they respond to prayer, whether there is an openness to help.

Now, the good news here is that the Gospel is the answer that we need in all situations.