The Bible teaches that there are demons. We see Jesus, the apostles, and others casting them out.

Do you believe demons exist? Do you believe the operate today as they did in the Bible?

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2000

Answers

Yes

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2000

To Danny and all,

Do you believe that there are Christians today that can cast out demons?

(Btw, here is a lot of witchcraft in the country I am in, and a lot of demonic activity.)

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2000

If Christ Holy Spirit lives inside of us, and Christ is greater than Sata then we are more powerful than Satan. The scriptures plainly teach about demon and demon oppression and possesion. Jesus even said some only come out through prayer and fasting. To me it stands to reason that Jesus has given us the authority to drive them out. Does Mark 16:17 "and they will cast out demons" only apply to the apostles... in my opinion no. It is applicable for us today. At the risk of being attacked by 'satan' on this board. I have experienced demonic powers at work. No I was NOT possessed. I have seen the results of real possession. We in the churches can bury our heads in the sand (as with the gifts) but it is real and we cannot ignore it.

-- Anonymous, August 20, 2000

AKelley,

Just wondering whom you are calling "satan" with the following words: "At the risk of being attacked by 'satan' on this board."

-- Anonymous, August 20, 2000

To answer the original question(s), yes and yes.

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2000

The Bible gives no indication that demons ceased operation in the first century. In fact, their continued presence is logically necessary because Satan cannot be everywhere at once (he is not God). I grew up as a missionary kid in Rhodesia and served as a missionary in Zimbabwe (same country after independence). During my 18 years there I saw examples of people who were demon possessed. My wife and I personally experienced demonic attack. The weapons of our warfare are divinely powerful. Satan cannot stand up to the power of Jesus, but part of our ministry has to be taking back enemy held territory through prayer, through the preaching of the gospel, and occasionally through deliverance ministry.

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2000

Of course they are. And satan is not bound, so this can't be the 1000 year reign of Christ (the millennium) in which satan will be bound.

And D. Lee ~ if the shoe fits, someone should definitely claim it.

Respectfully,

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2000

Connie,

Concerning the email I sent you today...you said here: "And D. Lee ~ if the shoe fits, someone should definitely claim it."

If I misunderstood, and you are not saying someone here in the forum fits the shoe and that they should claim it(in regards to my question to AKelly) what are you saying?

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2000

D. Lee,

I re-post from above:

It is applicable for us today. At the risk of being attacked by 'satan' on this board. I have experienced demonic powers at work. No I was NOT possessed. I have seen the results of real possession. We in the churches can bury our heads in the sand (as with the gifts) but it is real and we cannot ignore it.

-- AKelley (wwjdkelley@hotmail.com), August 20, 2000.

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AKelley, Just wondering whom you are calling "satan" with the following words: "At the risk of being attacked by 'satan' on this board."

-- D. Lee Muse (dleemuse@yahoo.com), August 20, 2000.

-- Anonymous, August 22, 2000

And this:

And D. Lee ~ if the shoe fits, someone should definitely claim it.

Respectfully,

-- Connie (hive@gte.net), August 21, 2000.

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Connie, Concerning the email I sent you today...you said here: "And D. Lee ~ if the shoe fits, someone should definitely claim it."

If I misunderstood, and you are not saying someone here in the forum fits the shoe and that they should claim it(in regards to my question to AKelly) what are you saying?

-- D. Lee Muse (dleemuse@yahoo.com), August 21, 2000.

-- Anonymous, August 22, 2000

D. Lee,

I said that because no one had answered your original question, and it had absolutely nothing to do with the e-mail you sent me. All I said, because you were challenging AKelley, was that if the shoe fits, someone should claim it.

Is it O.K. for you to challenge, but I can't interject? It seems you want to argue (I won't say 'fight').

In Danny's case, he continually tries to provoke me, and sometimes he succeeds. God must be weeping. We should not be arguing. Don't you understand that this challenging, provoking method will simply polarize us even more? ~ that we will never have a meeting of minds with this kind of dissension? 'Come, let us reason together'.

I will say this, with no veiled reference: what goes on in a few places here glorifies satan more that it glorifies God.

May God have mercy on us.

-- Anonymous, August 22, 2000

J. Paul Pennington,

Your post got lost in the flurry, I fear.

You are SO RIGHT.

But the power that is in us is more powerful than the power in the world. In fact, it's DYNAMITE!

I just order satan out of my house and out of my life in the Name of Jesus.

I imagine in certain situations it takes prayer and fasting, also.

Respectfully,

-- Anonymous, August 22, 2000

Connie,

Quoting you:

"I said that because no one had answered your original question, and it had absolutely nothing to do with the e-mail you sent me. All I said, because you were challenging AKelley, was that if the shoe fits, someone should claim it."

And:

"Is it O.K. for you to challenge, but I can't interject? It seems you want to argue (I won't say 'fight')."

Someone, I can not remember who, said something that struck me in another thread. I do believe they were addressing E. Lee at the time, but am uncertain even on that. Anyway...they said that...instead of accusing someone of something, we should attempt to ask for a clarification first before we jump to conclusions. I agree, and I am attempting to follow through with that advise. So in order to clear up what AKelley meant, I asked a question. You believe it was a challenge. I do not believe to challenge someone on something is wrong.

I did not say I didn't believe you should interject, isn't that what these discussions are about? As a matter of fact, I believe you have posted lately much much more than I have, and I have not once said to you that you should not do so. As to my post to you, I asked you for the same reasons that I asked AKelley...FOR CLAIRIFICATION.

"It seems you want to argue (I won't say 'fight')." This statement you have made is very amusing. If you mean by 'fight" that I enjoy a good debate, or are referring to fighting "The Good Fight", then you are correct when you say it seems that I want to fight.

It is up to you whether or not you feel you can clarify something you say, or whether you take it as a challenge to fight. My intent though was not to fight, but to get clarification first as someone suggested.

-- Anonymous, August 22, 2000

Peace, be still.

O.K., D. Lee, I misunderstood. That is a problem when we can't read faces or infer from inflection; also, when emotions are flaring.

That is one of the problems with arguing from assumptions, and I agree that CLARIFICATIONS should be asked for BEFORE assumptions are made, and I failed in that regard in that instance.

Many times, though, the wrong assumption and emphasis is put on my words, and while formerly I would just have let it go, on this forum I don't, because it usually will come back to bite me.

Whatever became of 'thinking the best of every person?' I am including myself in that criticism, not judging everyone else and leaving myself out. In fact, when I have asked my questions in that regard, most times I am including myself in the criticism, without actually saying so, which makes some think I am just judging them.

In the criticism of Danny on this thread, however, I WAS judging Danny, and said that I expected to be judged in like manner, as God says he will.

I think what amazes me most about the people who 'come after me' are that they think that I am not a believer because I believe differently about baptism than they do. I have found many different authors and references in several different places on CC/Coc sites with which, as they word it, I can agree.

Whatever happened to the saying, 'We are Christians only, but not the only Christians'?

As long as you believe that I am an unbeliever, we will have our differences. I yearn for a 'oneness in Spirit' and an attitude of forbearance.

My intent was not to question your right to comment. I felt you were questioning mine.

-- Anonymous, August 22, 2000

Actually, the following is on the 'How God Works' thread:

In the criticism of Danny on this thread, however, I WAS judging Danny, and said that I expected to be judged in like manner, as God says he will.

-- Anonymous, August 22, 2000

This thread has seriously drifted from the topic line. I've been out of town for a week.

I wanted to point something out.

Some of you on this list, Danny, for example, are die-hard cessationists. Yet some of you who are cessationists, like Danny, still believe that demons operate today.

If demons operate, it stands to reason that demons can be cast out by Christians just as the could in the first century and in the 300's when people like Tertullian were using the fact that Christians could caste out demons that the Romans considered to be gods from the demonized.

Let us consider some scripture:

Mark 9:38-40 38 And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. 39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. 40 For he that is not against us is on our part.

Pay careful attention to the word 'miracle' here. Strong's lists this word as 'dunamis.' this is the same root used in I Corinthians 12 in the list of gifts.

If the casting out of demons is considered a 'miracle' in the Biblical sense, according to Jesus, and demons can still be caste out today, what reason is there to think that God would not do other miracles through believers these days.

Notice that these men that were rebuked for casting out demons probably did nothave hands laid on them by the apostles.

-- Anonymous, August 27, 2000