Galen Dalrymple #fundie patheos.com

Americans see rational, scientific reasons for everything. Sadly, this extends into our spiritual lives as well. When I first got here and started to learn about the culture, I was somewhat shocked to find so much talk about witchcraft, spells and curses, demons and spiritual warfare. My American-educated mind immediately thought, “What kind of Christians are these who believe in such things?” But, as time passed, I began to see that they take Ephesians 6:12 deadly serious: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

As I began to think more deeply about this, I confess that what we explain away in America as some physical, mental, chemical or other failure may in fact be the result of spiritual warfare indirectly or directly. For example, we think of certain birth defects as being the result of genetic mutations or failures. But the deeper question may be: what causes the genetic malfunction? Is it truly random, or is it an unseen spiritual warfare played out at an atomic level in the body? And what of the “unexplained” incidents of birth defects – what is the cause of those? Are they just due simply to the fall? Why should a particular gene sequence go haywire and others not?

As a result, I have been forced to ask myself who is deluded and who is seeing things clearly? Is it possible that we have failed in America to believe enough in unseen powers that struggle against our souls and have adopted a secularized, scientific and sanitized faith when it comes to spiritual warfare? After all, Jesus clearly believed in demons and they certainly believed in him! Jesus was no fool. If anyone has insight into the spiritual realities, it was He. While I think a balanced approach and view is called for in this matter, perhaps it is much to our detriment as Americans that we have made mincemeat of the concept of spiritual warfare and its effect on the events of our daily lives.

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Confused?

So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!

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