What is a paradox of demons? Let me describe want I mean.
Many of you have come to understand that sincere Christian can be attacked by demons, and you have been criticized by other Christians for expressing this belief. I want to explain this matter in a way that will help you. Behind this denial that Christians can be demonized, is something I call the “paradox of demons.”
Why are many Christians hung up on the idea that some followers of Christ might have demons and need an exorcism? I recently came across a book that helps explain this dilemma. The book is entitled “Perplexing Paradoxes.” The author states that a paradox is something which sounds absurd to most people but has a valid argument. The author states, “One is confronted with a paradox when a statement based on valid reasoning, sounds unacceptable.”
The statement that Christians can have demons certainly meets this definition of a paradox. There are valid reasons why many devout Christians believe that those who are saved are sometimes specifically targeted by Satan. But if you voice that opinion in the average evangelical church, you’ll be met with immediate opposition. You will be branded extreme or unbiblical, not because what you believe is absurd. You’ll be opposed because your belief represents a paradox that American Christians have trouble grasping.
The author of the book I just referred to also states that most paradoxes elicit surprise and disbelief. If you’ve ever told your born-again Christian friends that you believe Christians can be demonized, you know what I’m talking about. They may stare at you with perplexity, or even anger.
For those of you who understand deliverance and realize that Christians can be, and often are, tormented by demons, let me break down how to understand this paradox.
- The statement that Christians can have demons isn’t a wild-eyed assumption. It is founded on a clear understanding of Scripture and empirical observation. The reasoning of deliverance ministers is valid, yet it sounds unacceptable to most Christians. That is what creates the paradox — something is verifiable but sounds contradictory to accepted Christian teaching. A paradox.
- The book I just cited also points out that a paradox creates a sense of surprise and disbelief. Anyone who does deliverance knows this observation well. Tell the average American churchgoer that Christians can have demons and they look at you like you’re crazy or a heretic. They are shocked that you would believe such a thing. They don’t understand the paradox of true spiritual warfare.
I just pointed out that a paradox exists when the idea expressed is valid, but the hearer can’t accept it. Consider these examples that validate how someone who is devoted to God can be demonized. The demon possessed man in the synagogue described in Mark chapter 1 was a godly Jew. Those who witnessed his demonic manifestation knew him as man of faith and a devout follower of God. Yet his demons violently reacted in the presence of Christ and spoke through him. The daughter of Abraham in Luke 13 was a devout Jewess but had been possessed by demons for 18 years. The demons physically afflicted her, even though Christ gave her a title of spiritual honor—daughter of Abraham. Both Mark 1 and Luke 13 represent valid premises for believing that those who have faith in God can also have demons. But, as mentioned earlier, drawing these conclusions seems unacceptable in most Christian circles. The contradiction between obvious fact and a contrarian belief is a paradox.
Far too many Christians today are caught in this paradox of demons. They think that by insisting no truly saved person can have a demon they are defending the faith. Instead they are paradoxically consigning victims of the devil to further torment by denying them the help of deliverance. The Bible is full of enigmas which are paradoxes. Remember Second Kings, Chapter two, when the prophet Elijah cursed the children who mocked his bald head? Immediately thereafter two bears came out of the woods and tore 42 of the youngsters into pieces. Talk about a paradox! Don’t dismiss what you don’t understand. Millions of Christians worldwide who do deliverance are setting demonized Christians free in the name of Jesus. Before you condemn them, be careful. Your paradox will find you out.
