Wrestling with Demons

The scriptures referred to are primarily Mark 5:1-20.

One of the oldest questions to trouble humanity is “Where does evil come from?” This is an especially bothersome question for Christians, Jews and Muslims. Since we believe there is only one God and that he created everything good, how did evil enter into the picture? The Bible offers a 2 part answer. First, most evil comes from within us and is expressed in our own choices. (Mark 7:20-23) When we second-guess God and try to do things our own way rather than his, we end up abusing, misusing or neglecting his gifts and his creation.

For instance, a knife is morally neutral. It can be used to carve wood, to cut up food or to wound and kill another human being. The evil is not in the knife but in the person wielding it. We could say the same about just about everything, including religion. People can use religion to encourage us to help the poor, to build hospitals and universities, to extend rights to outcasts or to persecute such people. The evil is not in religion per se but in those who distort it for their own ends. Some people think that if religion didn't exist there would be a lot less evil. Tell that to the tens of millions who suffered and died in Stalin's atheistic “worker's paradise” or Mao's atheistic communist China. The evil in people will find an expression no matter what instruments are handy. If knives didn't exist, murder would not cease. If all weapons disappeared, people would use rocks and sticks and fists. Killing people would be less efficient but not obsolete.

Which brings up the question of whether things designed to be weapons are inherently evil. We usually think that it depends upon whether they are in the hands of the attacker or the defender. But what about weapons so awful in their destructive power that we hesitate to use them even to protect ourselves? That is something we must answer if we are ever to stop the proliferation of the chemical, biological and nuclear weapons that are so efficient that they could wipe out not just our enemies but ourselves. Germs, toxins and radiation do not discriminate when they kill.

Weapons are created by humans and so can be seen as expressions of the evil within us. Whether we use weapons or not, people often do harm to others by their words and actions. And usually the people who do evil are acting for rational, if ignoble, reasons. Theft can be seen as a rational and pragmatic, albeit immoral, solution to not having something you want.

But what about irrational evil? How does one explain, for instance, the jealousy that leads to murder and suicide and destroys the very person the other wanted to have? What do we make of the thirst for vengeance that leads to endless feuds in which no one wins? What about the madness that causes a person to harm themselves and others? Those don't seem to come from mere self-interest. Often it looks like something took over the person's mind or personality. In these cases people in every ancient society all over the world, including those who wrote the Bible, thought that the second part of the answer to the question, “Where does evil come from?” is “evil spirits.”

It is not an answer we like to hear in the 21^st century. We feel we are beyond such superstitions. We look down on people in the past for thinking such things because of what C.S. Lewis called “chronological snobbery.” We think we know better because we come later in time and we know more. But do we? What anatomical feature of the brain explains a Hitler? What measurable biological cause makes one man into a Pol Pot and another into his victim? Precisely what mixture of DNA and environment produces a Jeffrey Dahmer? What are the scientifically verifiable characteristics that distinguish the participants in the Boston Tea Party from members of Al Qaeda? What were the exact proportions of brain chemicals in Benedict Arnold that made him first a Revolutionary War hero and, when he became a traitor, which of them changed and to what extent?

There are a number of scientists who say we have no free will, though they cannot answer these basic scientific questions that underlie their assertions. And we really don't know much more than our ancestors about the exact causes of evil. Yes, we know that there are such things as DNA, brain lobes, serotonin, dopamine, etc. We know what they do in general and how they influence large groups of people but we don't precisely how they all interact and how those interactions give rise to specific thoughts, actions and individual personalities.

James Fallon is a neuroscientist who has studied the DNA and scanned the brains of psychopaths. Then he discovered that his genes and his brain scan are also those of a psychopath. But while he has some of the characteristics of a psychopath (lack of empathy, fear and regret), he is a productive member of society who married his childhood sweetheart and raised a family and hasn't broken laws or murdered anyone. Though internally he has a lot of similarities to those he studies, he is more than just the sum of his genes and his brain structure. Your body does not necessarily determine your destiny.

Our ancestors knew less about their bodies than we do, not because they were stupid, but because they didn't have scientific instruments. We only attribute infectious diseases to microbes because we can now see them, thanks to microscopes. And yet while the compound microscope was invented somewhere around 1600, the germ theory of disease wasn't widely accepted until the late 1800s. It took modern man nearly 300 years to make the connection between those things he discovered thanks to the microscope and their presence and function in diseased tissue.

Prior to observing these beings that were invisible to the naked eye, demon possession was as good an explanation as any for the invisible causes of irrational kinds of evil. Yet demons were not the only explanation people had for disease. In Matthew 4:24 it says, “And they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and severe pains, demoniacs, epileptics and paralytics and he cured them.” Notice that the demon-possessed are differentiated from other afflictions such as pain, disease, epilepsy and paralysis. Not every malady was blamed on demons.

In fact from Mark 5 and similar passages it looks as if demon possession has a lot in common with what we presently call mental illnesses. When I was a psychiatric nurse, I observed symptoms of psychoses that are reminiscent of the demoniacs in the Bible, such as rigidity, hearing voices, extraordinary strength, the ability to block out the sights and sounds of the real world, and thinking there were persons or entities inside oneself. Were my patients possessed? Many of them spontaneously said they were. Was that just their cultural conditioning? Or was it the only way that they could express what it was like to live a life that seemed to be controlled by forces other than their own will?

We still use the term “demon” to talk about the sources of deeply irrational and emotional turmoil. We say of someone dealing with his crippling traumas that he is “wrestling with his demons.” And nobody laughs at that expression because we all know what it's like to have desires and fears and intrusive thoughts that we keep trying to bury but which threaten to emerge and engulf us. In the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, they used vampires and demons as metaphors for personal issues like abusive relationships, addiction, difficult parent-child relationships, loneliness, isolation, fear, torturing oneself with guilt feelings and other problems we encounter in everyday life.

I think that looking at demons in this way still has value in today's world. While we are discovering that more and more of the so-called mental illnesses are caused by physical factors, like bacterial and viral infections, inflammation, and brain structure, the best form of treating them seems to be a combination of medication and talk therapy. We are reasoning beings and we must deal with the psychological and spiritual consequences of our suffering, whatever its cause. Even when dealing with addiction, which has physical factors that make some people more susceptible, there are other issues that contribute to it. One model is that addiction is a form of self-medication. Some turn to alcohol or illegal drugs to overcome depression or post-traumatic stress, which may be caused by abuse, neglect and/or trauma. So recovery from substance abuse is often only the first step in dealing with the underlying problems that led to it.

What should a Christian do when faced with these kinds of “demons?” Should we refer all troubled people to health professionals and close up shop? No. Certainly anyone who is out of touch with reality, whose moods are so high or so low that they are interfering with everyday life, who is so dependent on a substance that they cannot stop despite mounting negative consequences, or who is a danger to himself or others should be gently but firmly directed to a mental health specialist. But even that doesn't mean that we should neglect the person's spiritual needs. They may at times feel that the universe is against them. A person who is ill or recovering from illness deserves to hear the good news that God loves them and forgives them. Why deny them the comfort of knowing that God is on their side and that through Jesus he understands suffering first-hand and that he offers them peace of mind? Studies show that being religious helps reduce suicide, alcoholism and drug use by providing community, structure, meaning, purpose, and hope.

Let's see how Jesus deals with the demoniac in Mark 5. It can help us deal with people facing less serious but no less painful mental health problems in their life.

First, Jesus does not show fear of the demoniac. Even if you don't believe in demons, mental illness can be scary. But most mentally ill people are not dangerous to others. You don't want to be confrontational but neither should you avoid such people unless they are obviously violent or paranoid. I am glad to see that Jesus uses the “firm, kind, unhurried approach” that we nurses are taught.

Secondly, Jesus doesn't give up on the person. His initial attempt to heal the man is not successful but Jesus continues to try. He changes tack but he stays engaged. It is easy to give up on people who do not get better on our time table. God doesn't give up. That's another piece of good news people need to hear. And then we need to follow that up by not giving up on the person either.

Third, Jesus gets to know the person. He asks questions and listens. As a nurse I found it pays to listen to the patient. Many doctors do not. They often make up their mind before hearing everything the patient has to say. It is important to take into account every complaint the patient has because a seemingly insignificant detail might be crucial. Even as non-professionals, we should show our respect for and our interest in people in distress by listening. The Red Cross found that the survivor of a disaster has to tell the story of what happened to them an average of 17 times before they can put it to rest.

In this case, Jesus asks the name of the demon. The answer is chilling. “My name is Legion for we are many.” A Roman legion was made up of 6000 men. This man is beset by countless demons. Yet Jesus does not shy away or give up. Jesus is more than equal to our problems no matter how many or how large they are.

Eventually the man himself suggests a solution: let the demons go into a nearby herd of pigs. With the severely mentally ill, a doctor should suggest the course of treatment. But if the person you are helping is working with mental health problems other than psychosis, and you let them talk long enough, they will often suggest a possible solution. They may say, “I know I ought to do...” or “Do you think I should...?” In some cases, they may know what they ought to do but they cannot do it alone. They usually need someone to give them permission to try it and give them support as they do it.

Fourth, Jesus does not lose interest in the man after curing him. When the townspeople come, they find the man clothed and in his right mind. Jesus and the disciples must have dressed him and cleaned him up. They respected his dignity and treated him accordingly. Undoubtedly Jesus the healer saw to the man's self-inflicted wounds. Jesus was never content to, as some ER doctors say, “treat 'em and street 'em.”

At nursing school we were cautioned to never forget that the patient is more than a disease and so we must treat the person as well as treat the disease. The psychological and social after-effects of being sick have to be addressed. Recovery and rehabilitation are part of the healing process.

Next Jesus cuts the umbilical cord. The man wants to stay with Jesus but Jesus sends him back to his home and his friends. Jesus saw that it was important for this man to get back to his life. He had missed so much for so many years that he deserved a normal life, not the nomadic one Jesus had chosen. So he sends him back to his loved ones.

But he also gives the man a prescription. He does this in the form of a mission: to share his story with others. Remember what the Red Cross said about how important retelling their story is to survivors. We see ourselves as the heroes of our stories and heroes always triumph. It can be hard to accept that we have suffered resounding defeats or were ever helpless or powerless and that those too are part of our story. Putting your pain into words helps exorcize it. It can also help others. When people share stories of how they survived some traumatic event or illness, it gives hope to others suffering from the same or similar problems.

Jesus also gives the man a perspective on his ordeal: gratitude. Jesus did not attempt to tell the man why he suffered but had him focus instead on how he was delivered from his suffering. “Tell them how much the Lord has done for you and what mercy he has shown you.” Some people fuel their will to survive with anger or hatred. They live beyond the disaster but it is not a life of joy. They survive but they don't actually get better; they just get bitter. Medical studies show that gratitude is healthy both psychologically and physically. In the studies, even people with chronic illnesses saw some benefits, like better sleep, when they counted their blessings.

What are your demons? What are the undead issues and traumas that won't stay buried, that rise again and again to haunt and hurt you? Don't let them defeat and dominate you. Don't give into your fears of them. Remember this: Jesus is what demons have nightmares about. Though your troubles may be legion, they are no match for the love and forgiveness of God. Face them, name them and turn them over to Jesus. Do not give up on him because he will not give up on you. Let him heal you, either through the agency of the gifts of a doctor or psychologist, or maybe through a sympathetic and wise brother or sister in Christ. Let your story be heard and give hope to the world. And count your blessings. Let your attitude be gratitude.

May God's mercy be ever on your lips and may the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

First preached on June 22, 2003. There has been some updating and revising.