Biblical/Theological Reflection:
The first question we must ask is does the term demon possession capture the NT notion of daimonizomenos? Daimonizomenos is a participle which is used twelve times in the NT. This term has behind it the idea of demon controlling a somewhat passive human (Dickerson, 37). Thus the person with a demon is considered demonized. But, does this demonic control mean that a person is totally controlled or are there degrees of demonic influence? I think the theological distinctions given by Bubeck in The Adversary will help clarify this idea further. Bubeck argues that there are three classifications of demonic influence. First is demonic oppression. Here Satan targets a Christian to oppose, hinder, hurt, or destroy them if possible. This form of demonic attack may be fairly regular and common particularly in those who are involved in advancing the Kingdom of God. Christians throughout history have recorded wrestling in prayer and with the Word against the temptations and attacks of evil forces. The second is demonic obsession. This is defined as a more intense time of demonic attack on a Christian. Often demonic obsession is brought about by an individual giving Satan a foothold in the their life (Ephesians 4: 27) through willful engaging in fleshly sins or the occult. As Obsession increases in severity, the individual may believe they are possessed. The third classification is demon possession. At this stage, the demoniac is under the total control of the demon or demons (Bubeck, 83-89). At this stage, the demons have control.
At this point, it is important to ask who can experience each of these categories of demonic influence. Ephesians 2:1-3 states that those who do not believe in Christ are under the control of Satan. Thus, if demonic forces wanted to work in the lives of unbelievers, they have every right to do as they wish as long as God will allow it. But can Christians be totally possessed? Bubeck, Bufford, and others believe that this stage is reserved only for unbelievers. I tend to agree. Yet, all agree that a Christian may, through willful and persistent sin, allow Satan a foothold in their life. The result will be that some areas of a Christian’s life may be controlled by a demon. The demon does not have ownership, but it (or they) do have control. As Dickerson states, “The term possessed is misleading (for a Christian). ... The real concept is invasion and control to some degree, lesser or greater; but never ownership (Dickerson, 89). Thus a person who is under the control of a demon is demonized, but this term does not necessary mean under the total control of an evil spirit. Unbelievers, those who belong to Satan’s kingdom, can be totally controlled by demons, but Christian can only be influenced and controlled at the point and to the point that they allow Satan a foothold.
It cannot be denied by anyone who takes Scripture seriously, that Jesus and his disciples cast out demons. Sydney Page has condensed the New Testament accounts of encounters between demonized people and Jesus or his disciples into the following paragraph.
There are seven accounts of exorcism in NT 1.) The demoniac in the synagogue at Capernaum (Mark 1:23-27; Luke 4:31-36). 2.) The demoniac(s) in the region of the Gerasenes (Matt. 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-39). 3.) The daughter of a Syrophoenician woman (Matt. 15:21-28; Mark 7:24-30) 4.) An epileptic boy (Matt. 17:14-21; Mark 9:14-29; Luke 9:37-42); 5.) A mute demoniac (Matt. 9:32-24). 6.) A blind and mute demoniac (Matt.12:22-23). Also Acts 16:16-18 when Paul cast out the demon in the Philippian slave girl. Also there are many NT references that Jesus cast out demons and gave his disciples power to cast out demons (Matt 10:1,8; Mark 3:15; Luke 9:1). Jesus attributes his work of casting out demons to the work of God against Satan’s kingdom (Matt. 12:24-30; Mark 3:22-27; Luke 11:15-23). (Page, 122)
Page then affirms, I think correctly, that the church is to be an extension of Christ’s work and therefore, following Christ’s teaching, exorcism is a valid Christian practice.
While we cannot deny that Jesus cast out demons, it is clear that the NT was not written as a demonology handbook. It is assumed and affirmed that Jesus had authority over demons, but what this means for His followers is not always clear. There are still many questions that the Biblical accounts of exorcisms do not answer. One question is how can a Christian tell if someone is demonized. Some suggest that 1 Cor. 12:10 states that the spiritual gift of discerning of spirits is the answer to this question. But how will one know if they are hearing from the Lord or just their own intuition since it is possible to project our own understanding on the situation? The NT is not meant to be a handbook on demonic bondage. It is the starting point for our understanding of demonic influence on humans, but it is not a complete reference manual. This leaves Christians who believe what the Bible states about the reality of demons to work out a framework for understanding demonic influence. This also leads to widely different opinions on the matter and all opinions claim to base their understanding on the scripture. As Page admits, “(All to often), experience, rather than scripture, often seems to play the dominant role in developing a theology of the demonic.” (Page, 128) Thus, the role of demons in the personalities of humans is not only difficult to understand scientifically, but it is also a concept that is not fully explained and clarified in scripture.
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