When I was working as a pastor there was an incident of notable disagreement between a woman at the church and the church leadership.
This woman saw herself as having a “deliverance ministry” and devoted hours to praying, in particular ways, with and for other people. A good portion of that time was spent, in her description, in delivering people from the influence and presence of evil. The incident that I am recalling had to do with a request of the woman for, what she called, a “covering prayer” from the church leadership before she prayed a “deliverance prayer” over a young girl. The girl would have been 8 or 9-years-old at the time and was exhibiting some behaviour that was oppositional and challenging which concerned her mother. The woman who saw herself as having a deliverance ministry came to believe that the behavioural challenges might point to some kind of evil influence, demonic oppression, or possession. Her plan was to pray a prayer of deliverance over the child, but, in her highly particular grid of good and evil, this prayer needed to take place in a church and the woman needed the blessing and “covering” of the pastor and/or the leadership or things could get out of hand.
Myself and the church board refused such blessing and permission. We would not, as much as in our power, allow the child to hear a suggestion that she might be oppressed or possessed by the devil. The refusal to participate in such a thing led the woman, who saw herself as a kind of prayer warrior / deliverer, to be quite upset. In her mind, the leadership of the church was stopping the work of God. It was not long after this that the woman and her husband left the church. I remember that she said, with some incredulity, that she just could not understand why I would not support her in her deliverance ministry. What harm could be done, and didn’t I see how such a prayer could do so much to help the child? I remember telling her that I thought it was potentially very damaging to suggest to a child that they might be controlled by the devil.
You may have heard the news story late this summer about a camp in Saskatchewan. Redberry Bible Camp is run by a conservative and fundamentalist branch of the Mennonite Brethren. There was an incident at the camp that brought it to the attention of the media and the police. When asked about the incident, the Camp Director did not apologize or seek to downplay what had happened. Instead, he expressed a kind of incredulous anger saying, “You should know better if you're sending someone to a camp that has the word ‘Bible’ in it. It's like sending your kid to a ‘gay camp’ and being upset that they're teaching them ‘gay things.’ That is your fault for being ignorant.” Wow, “onwards Christian soldiers,” such a message of love.
(Don Somers/CBC)
The incident at Redberry Bible Camp was a kind of exorcism. The softer word for such a thing is deliverance and that is what the camp and the leaders involved called it. You can read the article for the details, but during the week the campers were told about spiritual warfare and demonic activity. They were kept awake late into the night for sermons and talks on the presence of evil and told that some indicators of demonic influence might be thinking that a girl was cute or laughing at The Simpsons TV show.
A self-proclaimed specialist in deliverance was brought in and he performed the exorcism on a young teenage boy who, according to reports, experienced seizures. The specialist referred to himself as Apostle and he handed out business cards to the campers in case they needed his services in the future. The scene and the surrounding instruction from the leaders to the boys was so jarring that some called their parents. Not long after that, various news organizations began to follow up the story and Redberry Bible Camp became national news.
Lots of churches have camps with which they are associated. These camps might be run by the church itself or by a group of similar churches. Many, perhaps most, campers have fantastic experiences at camp and, in contrast to the story of the Redberry “apostle,” staff and volunteers are properly vetted and the camp programmes are enjoyed by and beneficial for the the campers. Perhaps, such extreme examples are very much the exception, but for some people the theological perspective has some familiarity. Church camp can be invested with a ton of meaning. I have heard camp referred to as “the place where God works” or “the place where I really meet God.” No doubt, significant spiritual experiences can occur at camp, but the idea that God is particularly present there, as compared with other places, is actually the genesis of some potentially harmful theology.
I recall decades ago, when I was a speaker at a church camp, that some staff asked me to come and take a look at something they were concerned about in regards to spiritual warfare. They had found a circle of rocks in the woods and something had been burned nearby that circle and there seemed to be satanic symbols (very faint, but you can see it if you really really look, I was told) left behind and we should really be praying about the evil trying to attack the camp, and it was evidence of the good that was happening because the devil was opposing it. Truth be told, to me it looked like someone had a little bonfire.
When there is a hyper-investment of spiritual meaning in a place or a gathering, you begin to more regularly hear terms like “spiritual warfare.” As staff and volunteers seek to do their best to care for the kids at camp, they can sometimes raise the stakes emotionally and spiritually. The goal can be more than just a fantastic time with social and developmental growth and even spiritual growth. The goal can be some kind of spiritual and religious victory, conversions, “re-comittments,” and baptisms. With the stakes raised to such heights, anything that prevents or opposes such victories can be interpreted by some as an expression of spiritual warfare. This is what can lead to grotesque incidents such as that at Redberry Bible Camp, incidents that would be comic-book exaggerations if they had not actually happened.
There is much discussion that can be had about the existence and nature of evil. Reflection on how to interpret particular texts in Christian scripture might also be of benefit. There is no doubt a wide range of opinion on the devil and evil, and what it has to do with people. My interest for this consideration is to note one theological point and one social/psychological idea.
The theological point is proper placement of consideration of evil. There is no clear “theology” of evil or the devil in Christian scripture. In other words, if someone says or implies that they have it all figured out, how evil works, what the Bible says, they are making it up. The more detailed their conceptual framework, the more that you can assume it is pretty much bullshit.
Karl Barth presented the theological concept that evil could only be considered as “that which is overcome.” For him, that overcoming had to do with Jesus. In this way of thinking, which does seem more true to scripture, evil is not real in the same way that good is real. The devil is not real in the same way that God is real. Evil is distortion not reality, though this distortion can have actual impact.
The social and psychological idea that I offer is to note now easy it is for some to get caught up in seeing and defining evil according to their own life and experience. Consider the woman who saw herself as having a “deliverance ministry.” In her desire to help others she meets a single mom who is having trouble with her young daughter. Surprise surprise, guess what the woman’s explanation for the daughter’s troubles is? A demon. Just the kind of thing that her spiritual expertise could address. I happened to know some details about the mom’s circumstance that might help explain the daughter’s struggles, but pastoral confidentiality meant that I did not want share those details.
As it pertains to camp, is there perhaps a spiritual immaturity evident in assuming that God is particularly present in the things that we measure as success and that failures can be explained by the work of the devil?
We can do better than this. We can aim for maturity and thoughtful consideration in how we see spiritual growth and good and evil. I am not saying that particular places and experiences are not real and meaningful and even life-altering for people. I am simply asking for a better view than magic places and the chasing of spiritual highs. God is as present in mundane daily life as at camp, and becoming aware of such truth is spiritual growth. Or, as I often put it to people who know the particular camp associated with my church experience, “I never accepted Anvil Island (Daybreak Point Bible Camp) as my Saviour and Lord.”
As Barth said that evil can only be understood as that which is overcome, his direction would be to spend less time focused on sensationalistic, fantastical, and fear-inducing thoughts of evil and the devil, and more time considering what we know of the goodness of God in Jesus Christ. Consider life and goodness and compassion and love as shown in Jesus and even as you don’t deny the existence of hate and terror and cruelty, you will be called to something better.
Excellent.
Very good. Thanks Todd