Soldier

"True Christianity is stuck with the Devil, like it or not. . . . The decision for or against the Devil is a decision for or against the integrity of Christianity as such. We simply cannot subtract the Devil, along with demons, angels, principalities, powers, and elemental spirits, without doing violence to the shape of the Christian faith, as transmitted by Scripture and tradition, our primary sources".

Carl Braaten

Theologian and Author

In 1996, August we landed in LA for our new, crazy, wild adventure. Immigrating is not a simple task, not if you add coming to a broken community, eagerly awaiting transition to health and wholeness. I am not sure which created the greatest "tumble dryer effect" - the challenge of new culture or the intrigue of a new community.

It was but a few months in, when we were exhausted. For all the obvious reasons of course…new country, new city, new culture, new church. But something else was brewing. The girls were having nightmares, frequently. Meryl was wrestling with nightmares and continuous broken sleep. And me, well, the great man of faith, prophetic pastor and grand African warrior, was as discerning as a rock on the beach - splashed with endless ignorance.

One night Meryl woke me up again, at around 2 o’clock with a deep plea for prayer. The nightmares and sleeplessness were overwhelming her. Of course I did what every good husband would do under the circumstances. I jumped out of bed, deeply irritated and exasperated. I knew that to stay would be to fight, so the next best thing was…you got it, flight!

This time however, it was less the emotional conflict that I avoided, but a transcended collision I walked into. As I started walking down the stairs mumbling to myself, just how insensitive my wife was, I walked into a wall of darkness! The hairs on my neck rose as I knew the person of evil was in my house. Daena used to tell me “Dad, there is a dark form in my room”. In my chaos and busyness I did not register. Now, however I met him.

I would love to tell you that my reaction was like Martin Luther. He is reported to wake up one night, upon seeing the devil at the foot of his bed, he said “Oh it is only you”, and went back to sleep.

Sadly, I closed my eyes as tight as I could and started praying at the top of my voice, too scared to open my eyes lest I see the enemy of my soul. But instinct took over. My friend Leon Van Dael said “If there is a snake under the carpet, you hit every bump” (You can see we come from Africa.) I started hitting bumps.

I pulled out every theology I could think of for the next hour or so. I called out to God (at the top of my voice of course - I knew I could intimidate the enemy with volume, so I was loud !?)

Honestly, I prayed out loud, I rebuked the devil, I resisted the devil, I discerned the devil, I stood against the devil…everything I could think of I did - in every room, until I felt freedom, then I moved on. After I had gone through every room, I went around the outside of the house, and then around the perimeter of the property.

I declared every verse of scripture I could remember related to this assignment I had…the enemy had beached the walls of the city and we had to clear him out!

Now much of this may sound really strange to a western spiritual palate. I understand. We have been guilty as C.S.Lewis so famously wrote: “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail the materialist or a magician with the same delight”

We are a people at war. We have an enemy who wants to "steal, kill and destroy." We are not at peace nor do we seek a policy of appeasement (so powerfully visualized for us in the movie about Churchill and Chamberlain in “Darkest Hour” - one wished for peace through negotiation. The other discerned victory is only possible through defeating a demonized tyrant). There can be no peace but through perpetual and consistent spiritual engagement.

The language of spiritual warfare is cumbersome and uncomfortable. New language may need to be found (I mean we really don’t understand the armor of God do we?). But we are in a cosmic collision.

NT Wright wrote: “One of the key elements of Jesus’ perception of his task was therefore his redefinition of who the enemy was…the pagan hordes surrounding Israel[including Rome] were not the actual foe of the people of YHWH. Standing behind the whole problem of Israel’s exile was the dark power known in some Old Testament traditions as the satan, the accuser. The struggle that was coming to a head, was therefore cosmic.”

It is time to acknowledge our foe and “resist…rebuke…stand firm”. But what does that mean?