demonology QUESTION from lisa homan February 7, 2000 why is there so much emphsis on demons and casting/parying them out of lives, homes,and even relationships?
ANSWER by John-Paul Ignatius, O.L.S.M. on February 12, 2000 Dear Mrs. Homan:
Well, the reason for the emphasis and concern is that the devil is quite active in this day and age.
The Bible tells us to be on guard for the devil's schemes because he will try to trip us up.
With this Bible admonition and the fact that we live in an age where Satan is extremely active, we need to pay attention to this issue.
However, we should not become obsessed with the issue or over curious.
As C.S. Lewis wrote in his The Screwtape Letters:
There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about demons. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. We need to heed that warning.
Also we need to keep things into perspective.
There are three things that interfere with our relationship with God:
The World
The Flesh
The Devil
85% of our problems, at least, come from the flesh. It comes from ourselves and our own tendency to sin.
10% comes from the world that is fallen and from natural phenomena.
Only 5% comes from the directly from the devil.
We need to be careful about seeing a devil around every corner.
I know people who want to perform an exorcism because one has a common cold. That is ridiculous. Common Colds are common colds and are part of the natural order of a fallen world.
Others want to say, the devil made me do it or the devil tricked me. Most of our problems come from good old fashion pride, ego, and other personal sins that would trip us up even if Satan and his demons were imprisoned and incapable of tempting us.
But then there is that 5% in which we may receive direct attacks from Satan. We must be on guard, not fearful or fanatic about it, but on guard.
Understanding something about Satan's schemes helps us to defend ourselves, but it also helps us to discern that oftentimes the problem is a fallen world, not the devil specifically, or most often, the problem is ourselves and our own sinfulness.
All things must be kept in perspective and balance.
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