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For the NES game, see Spiritual Warfare

There are various opinions and definitions for Spiritual Warfare, however it can be summed up in the following quote:

"Some speak of [Spiritual Warfare as being] the struggle between good and evil. The Nintendo Entertainment System (often abbreviated as NES or simply Nintendo) is an 8-bit Video game console that was released by For the religious concept see Spiritual warfare Spiritual Warfare is an unlicensed game for the Nintendo Entertainment System, developed Others talk of the battle between right and wrong, or between light and darkness. Still others refer to the conflict between the positive forces which seek to preserve life and order in the universe and the negative forces which tend to disturb and even destroy life and order. From a biblical perspective, however, this dualism is revealed to be an on-going conflict waged on two fronts: God and His angelic kingdom confront Satan and his demonic kingdom, while the children of God contend with the children of Satan. "[1]

The writings of the Bible evoke images of conflict and spiritual struggle in the life of the Christian. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth One of the evocative images that is associated with Spiritual Warfare is found in the New Testament in the Epistle to the Ephesians. Described by William Barclay as the "Queen of the Epistles" the Epistle to the Ephesians is one of the books of the Bible in the New This letter is traditionally ascribed to the authorship of the apostle Paul. Paul the apostle (שאול התרסי Šaʾul HaTarsi, meaning " Saul of Tarsus " Σαούλ Saul and Σαῦλος Saulos and In that letter, Paul gives instruction to his readers on the spiritual life in the context of conflict. He illustrates his points by apparently alluding to the armour and weapons of a Roman centurion, though it is notable that Paul's phraseology imitates Isaiah 59:17. Centurion redirects here This article is about the Roman soldier The various pieces of armour are likened by way of analogy to the shield of faith, sword of the spirit, helmet of salvation and so forth.

Contents

Classic Demonology

The Christian Church in all of its major traditions - Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Ancient Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, and Protestant - has confessed on the basis of biblical revelation the reality (or ontological existence) of a fallen angel known as the Devil and Satan. The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world Oriental Orthodoxy is the communion of Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three Ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the Anglicanism is a tradition of Christian faith Churches in this tradition either have historical connections to the Church of England or have similar beliefs Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. In Philosophy, ontology (from the Greek, genitive: of being (part The Devil is the Satan, ( Standard Hebrew Satan'el, English accuser) is a term that originates from the Abrahamic faiths, being traditionally This affirmation is reinforced in the writings of the Church Fathers, in the councils and creeds of the early church, and in the later confessional documents of the Christian denominations. The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, or Fathers of the Church are the early and influential theologians and writers in the Christian Church A creed is a statement of Belief — usually Religious belief — or Faith often recited as part of a religious service A confessional is a small enclosed booth used for the Sacrament of Penance, often called Confession, or Reconciliation List of Christian denominations (or Denominations self-identified as Christian) ordered by historical and doctrinal relationships

The classic position of the Christian Church is that Satan and other fallen beings now known as demons, are spiritual entities that exist and sometimes manifest their presence in the world. These entities have as their primary focus the spiritual deception of humanity. Their primary mission is to thwart God's purposes on earth, specifically to prevent non-believers from placing faith in Christ and to prevent Christians from being effective disciples of Jesus. Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) Satan is referred to as "the father of lies" (John 8:44) and as "the accuser of our brothers" (Revelation 12:10).

Demonic references

Biblical passages that highlight the demonic are principally found in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, and the Acts of the Apostles. The Gospel of Matthew (Gk Κατά Ματθαίον Ευαγγέλιον is one of the four Canonical gospels in the New Testament and is a Synoptic gospel Content Authorship The gospel itself is anonymous but as early as Papias in the early 2nd century a text was attributed to Mark, a cousin The Gospel of Luke (Gk Κατά Λουκάν Ευαγγέλιον) is a synoptic Gospel, and is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels of the The Acts of the Apostles is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. Paul's epistles focus on the victory of Christ over principalities and powers. The Book of Revelation portrays the casting down of Satan and his being bound forever due to the triumph of Christ in the resurrection. The Book of Revelation, also called Revelation to John, Apocalypse of John ( pronounced, from the Ἀποκάλυψις Ἰωάννου Other passages concerning demons and angels are scattered throughout both the Old and New Testament. Outside of the biblical canon, demonology is found in the pseudepigraphal writings, such as the First Book of Enoch, and in the post-New Testament writings of the early fathers such as The Didache, The Shepherd of Hermas, Ignatius's epistle to the Ephesians, and Origen's Contra Celsum. A Biblical canon or canon of scripture is a list or Set of Biblical books considered to be authoritative as Scripture by a particular religious Pseudepigrapha (from Ancient Greek ψευδής The Book of Enoch is any of several works that attribute themselves to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah and son of Jared ( The Didache ( Koine Greek:, Didachē, meaning "Teaching" ˈdɪdəkiː in English ðiðaˈxi in Modern Greek) is the common name of a brief The Shepherd of Hermas (sometimes just called The Shepherd) is a Christian work of the second century considered a valuable book by many Christians Saint Ignatius of Antioch (also known as Theophorus) (ca 35-110 was the third Bishop and Patriarch of Antioch and possibly a student of the Apostle John Origen ( Greek: Ōrigénēs, or Origen Adamantius, ca 185–ca Contra Celsus, or (in correct classical Latin Contra Celsum, is the title of a major work by the Church Father Origen of Alexandria, refuting the anti-Christian

The classic response of the Church in its various traditions has been to positively confess and proclaim the supremacy and victory of Christ in his resurrection from the dead over all things including the Devil, demons or fallen angels. In the early church the rite of exorcism took various forms including prayer, laying on of hands, fasting and sprinkling holy water. Church Fathers such as Justin Martyr and Tertullian attest to the importance of invoking the name of Christ against a demon. Saint Justin Martyr (also Justin the Martyr, Justin of Caesarea, Justin the Philosopher, Latin Iustinus Martyr or Flavius Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, Anglicised as Tertullian, (ca

Other early rites involved demon-repelling prior to a candidate undergoing baptism. The candidate would participate in various rituals intended to cleanse demonic influences (Clementine Recognitions). During the rite of baptism the candidate would publicly renounce Satan, while the water was consecrated. The sign of the cross developed as a demon-repelling device.

In the Roman Catholic tradition the rite of exorcism was placed under strict guidelines by Pope Paul V in the Roman Ritual (12, 13). The Roman Ritual ( Latin: Rituale Romanum) is one of the official ritual works of the Roman Catholic rite Further definition came in the early Twentieth century from Pope Pius XI.

Reformation and Post-Reformation

The practice of exorcism was also known among the first generation of teachers and pastors in the Lutheran Reformation. Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the sixteenth-century German reformer Martin Luther The Protestant Reformation was a reform movement in Europe that began in 1517 though its roots lie further back in time Johannes Bugenhagen Pomeranus was the pastor of the Wittenberg town church and officiated at Martin Luther's wedding. Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a Town in Germany in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, on the Elbe Martin Luther (November 10 1483 February 18 1546 was a German Monk, theologian, university professor Father of Protestantism, and church reformer In a letter addressed to Luther and Melanchthon dated November 1530, Pomeranus recounted his experience of dealing with a young girl who showed signs of demon possession. Philipp Melanchthon (born Philipp Schwartzerd) ( February 16, 1497 &ndash April 19, 1560) was a German professor and theologian Pomeranus' method involved counseling the girl concerning her previous baptismal vows, he invoked the name of Christ and prayed with her. (Letter reproduced in Montgomery, Principalities and Powers).

The Anglican-Puritan writer William Gurnall wrote a lengthy three-volume work The Christian in Complete Armour that was published between 1662 and 1665. Anglicanism is a tradition of Christian faith Churches in this tradition either have historical connections to the Church of England or have similar beliefs A Puritan of 16th and 17th century England was an associate of any number of religious groups advocating for more "purity" of Worship and Doctrine, In this work Gurnall stressed the place of reading Scripture, prayer and the name of Christ.

Contemporary Roman Catholic

In modern times the views of individual Roman Catholics have tended to divide into traditional and "new-shape Catholic" understandings of the subject. An example of the new-shape perspective, which offers a theologically liberal and unsupernatural view of the demonic is found in the work of the Dominican scholar Richard Woods' The Devil.

The traditional outlook is represented by Father Gabriele Amorth who has written two instructive books on his personal experiences as an exorcist for the Vatican: An Exorcist Tells His Story, and An Exorcist: More Stories. Fr Gabriele Amorth (born May 1, 1925) is an Italian Roman Catholic Priest and the senior Exorcist of the Diocese Francis MacNutt, who was a priest within the Roman Catholic Charismatic movement, has also addressed the problem of the demonic in his writings about healing. The term charismatic movement describes the adoption from the early twentieth century onwards of certain beliefs typical of those held by Pentecostal Christians — specifically

Protestant Evangelicals

In the American revival tradition among evangelicals, prominent preachers such as D. L. Moody, Billy Sunday, R. Evangelicalism is a theological movement tradition and system of beliefs most closely associated with Protestant Christianity, which identifies with the Gospel Early life Dwight Moody was born in Northfield Massachusetts to a large family William Ashley "Billy" Sunday ( November 19 1862 – November 6 1935) was an American athlete and religious A. Torrey and Billy Graham have all affirmed their belief in the existence of the demonic and had occasions to recount some of their own spiritual warfare encounters. William Franklin Graham Jr KBE (born November 7 1918 better known as Billy Graham, is an evangelist and an Evangelical Christian In the nineteenth century, one of the major evangelical authorities on demon possession was the missionary to China, John Livingston Nevius.

During the late twentieth century, evangelical writers such as Mark Bubeck and Merrill Unger presented their theological and pastoral response to demonic phenomena. The problem of demon possession and spiritual warfare became the subject of a Christian Medical Association symposium that was held in 1975. This symposium brought together a range of evangelical scholars in biblical studies, theology, psychology, anthropology, and missiology (see Montgomery, Demon Possession).

One of the very significant German writers is the Lutheran Kurt Koch whose work has influenced much of both evangelical and charismatic thought in the late twentieth century. The impact of his ideas has been recently examined by the folklore specialist Bill Ellis.

Interest in spiritual warfare increased markedly after the release of the film The Exorcist in 1973. The Exorcist is a 1973 American Horror film, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty, Year 1973 ( MCMLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the 1973 Gregorian calendar.

Pentecostal and charismatic perspectives

Spiritual warfare has become a prominent feature in some pentecostal and charismatic churches. Pentecostalism is a renewalist religious movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on the direct personal experience of God through the Baptism The term charismatic movement describes the adoption from the early twentieth century onwards of certain beliefs typical of those held by Pentecostal Christians — specifically The concept is well embedded in Pentecostal history, particularly through Jessie Penn-Lewis's book War on the Saints arising from the Welsh Revival in the early twentieth century. Jessie Penn-Lewis (1861-1927 was an English evangelical speaker and author of a number of Christian evangelical works However, Jessie Penn-Lewis preaches a very different kind of spiritual warfare to that preached by the third-wave Charismatic movement of today - notably C. Peter Wagner and Cindi Jacobs. Charles Peter Wagner (1930- is a former professor of Church Growth at Fuller Theological Seminary School of World Mission Other Pentecostal and charismatic pastors include Don Basham and Derek Prince, who have emphasized claiming the power of the blood of Christ. Don Wilson Basham (1926-1989 was a popular Bible teacher and author Peter Derek Vaughan Prince (1915-2003 was an internationally recognised Bible teacher whose daily Radio programme Derek Prince Legacy Radio (hosted by

The concept of spiritual warfare has been applied by Pentecostals to the Christian's spiritual growth in holiness or what is technically called sanctification. A preacher may discern that parishioners are experiencing obstacles in their faith, prayer life and general spiritual well-being. That process of discernment may yield an awareness of spiritual oppression caused by a combination of personal sin and demonic influence. The obstacles are then removed through prayer, delivering a parishioner from demonic possession, and breaking down false beliefs about God. Dr. Ed Murphy is the author of a modern 600-page tome on the subject from the point of view of deliverance ministry entitled The Handbook of Spiritual Warfare.

Pentecostals and charismatics have also applied the concept in the task of evangelism and worldwide missions. Evangelism is the Christian practice of proselytisation. The intention of most evangelism is to effect Eternal salvation to those who do not follow the See also Evangelism, Christianization A Christian mission has been widely defined since the Lausanne Congress of 1974 as that which Former missionaries such as Charles Kraft and C. Peter Wagner have emphasized the problem of demonology on the world mission fields and the need to drive demons out. Rev Dr Charles H Kraft (b 1932 in Connecticut) is an anthropologist and linguist whose work since the early 1980s has focused on inner healing and spiritual warfare Charles Peter Wagner (1930- is a former professor of Church Growth at Fuller Theological Seminary School of World Mission

A popular fictional portrayal of spiritual warfare is found in the novels by Frank E. Peretti, This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness, and Darrin J Mason, Ominous. Frank E Peretti (born January 13, 1951) is a best-selling contemporary Christian fiction Novelist with more than twelve million copies This Present Darkness is a Christian novel by Frank E Peretti. Piercing the Darkness, which was published in 1988, is a sequel to Frank E

Controversy and Assessments

From inside the evangelical tradition a number of concerns have been raised about the current emphasis on spiritual warfare. Robert Guelich of Fuller Theological Seminary has questioned the extent to which spiritual warfare has shifted from its basic moorings as a metaphor for the Christian life. Fuller Theological Seminary, located in Pasadena California, is the largest multi-denominational seminary in the world He is disturbed to find spiritual warfare metamorphosing into "spiritual combat" techniques where Christians seek power over demons. Guelich argues that Paul's writings in the Epistle to the Ephesians is focused on proclaiming the peace of God and nowhere specifies any techniques for battling demons. He also finds that the novels of Frank Peretti are seriously at odds with both the gospel narratives on demons and Pauline teaching.

Missions specialists such A. Scott Moreau and Paul Hiebert have detected traces of animist thought encroaching on both evangelical and charismatic discourses about the demonic and spiritual warfare. Paul Gerhardt Hiebert ( 17 July 1892 — 6 September 1987) was a Canadian writer and humorist best known for his book Sarah Animism (from Latin anima ( Soul, Life) commonly refers to a religious belief that Souls or Spirits exist in Animals Hiebert indicates that a dualist cosmology now appears in some spiritual warfare texts and it is based on the Greco-Roman mystery religions and Zoroastrian myths. Dualism denotes a state of two parts The word's origin is the Latin duo, "two". See Cosmology (disambiguation. Religious cosmologies are ways of explaining the history and evolution of the Universe based Mystery Religions, Sacred Mysteries or simply Mysteries, were "religious cults of the Graeco-Roman Zoroastrianism (ˌzɔroʊˈæstriəˌnɪzəm is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings However, Hiebert also chastises other evangelicals who have absorbed the modern secular outlook and have tended to downplay or even ignore the demonic. Hiebert speaks of the flaw of the excluded middle in the thinking of some evangelicals who have a cosmology of God in heaven and humans on earth, but have ignored the "middle" realm of the angelic and demonic.

The excesses of unsubstantiated allegations made in the Satanic Ritual Abuse phenomenon of the 1980s and 1990s has also prompted critical reviews. Satanic ritual abuse ( SRA, sometimes known as ritual abuse, cult related abuse, ritualized abuse, sadistic ritual abuse, ritual Some apologists in the Christian countercult movement have expressed concerns that spiritual warfare techniques seem at times to have been based on spurious stories and anecdotes without careful discernment and reflection. The Christian countercult movement is a collective description for many mostly unrelated ministries and individual Christians who oppose religious groups whose doctrines Some of these general concerns have been expressed by apologists like Elliot Miller (Christian Research Institute), and Bob and Gretchen Passantino in various articles published in the Christian Research Journal. The Christian Research Institute (also popularly known as CRI is an Evangelical Christian Apologetics ministry Others, such as Mike Hertenstein and Jon Trott, have called into question the claims of alleged ex-Satanists like Mike Warnke and Lauren Stratford whose stories have subsequently influenced many popular books about spiritual warfare and the occult. Michael Alfred "Mike" Warnke (born November 19, 1946, in Evansville Indiana) is a Christian evangelist and Comedian Laurel Rose Willson ( August 18 1941 &ndash 8 April 2002) was an American woman born in Washington, whose allegations The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus (clandestine hidden secret referring to "knowledge of the hidden" Bill Ellis's work, Raising the Devil, has detected the presence of folkloric stories about the occult and demons circulating in evangelical and charismatic circles, which later become accepted as unquestioned facts.

In 2000 an international collaborative attempt was made by evangelicals and charismatics in the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization to reach some common agreement about spiritual warfare. The conference gathered in Nairobi, Kenya, and yielded a consultation document as well as many technical papers published as the book Deliver Us from Evil.

Other Viewpoints

Other perspectives that move in a therapeutic line include Christian author William Bandlwin, PhD in his popular book Spirit Releasement Therapy, and healer and author Ken Page uses a similar approach. Ken Page may refer to Ken Page (actor, known for Broadway appearances and voice roles in animated films Ken Page (writer, specializing There is also M. Scott Peck's acceptance of the reality of demons with remedial help framed in a healing psychotherapeutic framework in his book People of the Lie. Morgan Scott Peck ( 22 May 1936 – 25 September 2005) was a US Psychiatrist and best-selling Author.

The Islamic concept of Jihad is also often used to refer to a spiritual struggle against sin. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. Jihad (جهاد ʤɪhæːd an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims.

See also

References

  1. ^ Ed Murphy, The Handbook for Spiritual Warfare, revised ed. A belief held by some Christians (generally within Charismatic and Pentecostal traditions and promoted by Kingdom Now theology, Territorial Spirits are (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1996), page 13.

Bibliography

Assessments

External links

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