The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus (Case for ... Series) by Lee Strobel

Author:Lee Strobel [Strobel, Lee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Religion, Spirituality, Philosophy, History, Inspirational, Religions, Christianity, Jesus, Christian Books & Bibles, Bible Study & Reference, Bible Study, Christian Living, Personal Growth, Spiritual Growth, Religion & Spirituality, Children's eBooks
Amazon: B000FC2KEM
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2008-09-09T07:00:00+00:00

JESUS THE EXORCIST

Before we finished our interview, I wanted to tap into Collins’ psychological expertise in one more area that skeptics find troubling.

“Jesus was an exorcist,” I observed. “He talked to demons and cast them out of the people they supposedly possessed. But is it really rational to believe that evil spirits are responsible for some illnesses and bizarre behavior?”

Collins wasn’t disturbed by the question. “From my theological beliefs, I accept that demons exist,” he replied. “We live in a society in which many people believe in angels. They know there are spiritual forces out there, and it’s not too hard to conclude that some might be malevolent. Where you see God working, sometimes those forces are more active, and that’s what was probably going on in the time of Jesus.”

I noticed Collins had referred to his theological beliefs and not his clinical experience. “Have you, as a psychologist, ever seen clear evidence of the demonic?” I asked.

“I haven’t personally, but then I haven’t spent my whole career in clinical settings,” he said. “My friends in clinical work have said that sometimes they have seen this, and these are not people who are inclined to see a demon behind every problem. They tend to be skeptical. The psychiatrist M. Scott Peck wrote a bit about this kind of thing in his book People of the Lie.” 6

I pointed out that Ian Wilson, in suggesting that Jesus may have used hypnosis to cure people who only believed they were possessed, said dismissively that no “realistic individual” would explain a state of possession “as the work of real demons.” 7

“To some degree, you find what you set out to find,” Collins said in response. “People who deny the existence of the supernatural will find some way, no matter how far-fetched, to explain a situation apart from the demonic. They’ll keep giving medication, keep drugging the person, but he or she doesn’t get better. There are cases that don’t respond to normal medical or psychiatric treatment.”

“Could Jesus’ exorcisms really have been psychosomatic healings?” I asked.

“Yes, in some cases, but again you have to look at the whole context. What about the man who was possessed and Jesus sent the demons into the pigs and the pigs ran off the cliff? What’s going on if that was a psychosomatic situation? I think Jesus really did drive out demons, and I think some people do that today.

“At the same time, we shouldn’t be too quick to jump to a demonic conclusion when faced with a recalcitrant problem. As C. S. Lewis put it, there are two equal and opposite errors we can fall into concerning demons: ‘One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased with both errors.’” 8

“You know, Gary, that idea might fly with the American Association of Christian Counselors, but would secular psychologists consider it rational to believe in the demonic?” I asked.

I thought

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