In these days where theological pendulums swing wildly, I’ve been giving special attention to errors – sometimes grave – that occur through over-corrections. As people of faith, I’m well aware of how Christian doctrine and practice has frequently steered wildly out of one ditch, only to veer across the road and plunge into another gulley on the opposite side. Sometimes we oppose something toxic, only to poison ourselves with a corresponding error from the opposite extreme. Or in retrieving something we had previously lost, we swallow the bathwater with the long lost baby.
With that in mind, I want to reconsider how my very necessary rediscovery of spiritual reality may have also opened the door to ill-advised ancient mythologies—errors that Judaism had already expunged thousands of years ago. Herein, I will lay out my concern in stages for the reader to weigh, test and fact-check. I’m claiming nothing definitive here … I am not teaching so much as raising the question for further examination.
In his classic work, The Religion of Israel: From Its Beginnings to the Babylonian Exile, the Hebrew scholar Yechezkel Kaufmann lays out the superiority and genius of Judaism vis-à-vis the pagan worldviews of the day. He treats the Jewish conception of the universe as a radical departure and contesting revelation—rather than a mere evolution from—ancient polytheistic conceptions.[1] Points 1-3 below are Kaufmann’s claims, which may be overstated, but should certainly be attended to by Christian scholars.
[1] I was introduced to Kaufmann’s work through Dr. Christine Hayes’ course, “Introduction to the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible),” lecture 2, which is entitled “The Hebrew Bible in Its Ancient Near Eastern Setting: Biblical Religion in Context.” Cf. http://oyc.yale.edu/religious-studies/rlst-145/lecture-2.
Hi Brad. Lately I have been introduced to a more aggressive model of spiritual warfare that I have some uneasiness about as being maybe too extreme: strong emphasize on Duet 28 and other OT portions, an highly organized multilevel demonic domain, going through very long lists of renouncing and breaking possible ties to the [s]atan and the demonic (eg., yoga classes, possible addition to coffee, not tithing 10%, possible believer possession of the demonic...), ground given to the demonic "spirit of religion" (agent of the [s]atan), spiritual mapping... Seems to be associated to the New Apostolic Reformation circle--all new to me. I share a hybrid theology bred between conservative evangelicalism (childhood to 20's), Anglicanism (subsequent and current 60's)and very recently the Vineyard (want to learn about how the charismata fits into today's faith walk). I like your article and caution about the two ditches and wonder if you can provide some advice?
Posted by: evan vike | September 16, 2018 at 12:25 PM
Yes, Josh, this is what I want to double-check. I don't see more complex as automatically progressive, but in this case, even regressive and syncretistic during the intertestamental period. Read the simplicity of Isaiah's monotheism (certainly a theological leap forward) versus the tangled and self-contradictory mythology of Enoch. The latter sounds more like what Judaism came out of than what it was ever meant to become.
That said, there is surely a real progressive revelation into the NT: the coming of the Son of man and the reality of the Resurrection are surely advances in authentic religion. But Enoch's demonology sounds more Babylonian than Jewish or Christian.
The questions for me are what the NT does with these trajectories and what we as charismatics have done with them ... the issue I have is when Christians treat demons as little gods to be feared and why that even happens in light of the NT.
Posted by: Brad | July 07, 2014 at 06:59 PM
Not sure if I can make my collection of thoughts coherent, so semi-random point form:
1. I grew up with a very strong "all things magic are evil" taught to me. I often found later in life that it got in the way of what God was doing, in myself and in others.
2. There is no cut-and-dry rulebook that will tell you when something is Christian white magic vs when it's truly Spirit-led. Like prophecy, it requires active listening to the voice of Jesus, a healthy community, and biblical witness.
3. I wonder if the only necessary difference between a "paganized" faith as described and what Jesus models for us is simply that God's love wins, period.
4. Despite the unique and powerful way in which the ancient Israelite voices dismiss the pagan worldview, it would be strange to see a theological movement towards a more complex angel/demonology be *less* true, vs more. Seems to fly in the face of progressive revelation, for whatever that's worth. Maybe Israel had the revelation they needed to place God first and foremost, but also needed the later reminder via the Babylonians that the world is still more complex than just God and humanity?
Posted by: josh giesbrecht | July 07, 2014 at 06:25 PM