A gracEmail subscriber writes that a relative who accepted Christ later became addicted to drugs and alcohol. "What is a proper prayer on behalf of an addict?" this reader asks. "How would you specifically pray for someone like this?" * * * While there is no magic wording, based on biblical teaching about God, us and prayer, I might pray something like this: "Holy Father, you made us for fellowship with yourself, and you came in the person of your Son Jesus Christ to redeem us. Your will for each of us is freedom and life with you. With that in mind, I lift up (name) to you in … [Read more...]

A gracEmail subscriber asks, "What do you think of the Harry Potter witchcraft issues? With books and a movie coming out, is this something we need to be informed about so as to defend the faith?" * * * Harry Potter, I am afraid, poses a threat to young minds equalled only by the wizardry in Grimms' Fairy Tales, by the witches in Walt Disney movies, or by the magic in J.R.R. Tolkien's "Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings." Imagination is a healthy and pleasurable part of normal life -- for adults as well as for children. Of course, conscientious Christian parents will want to teach their … [Read more...]

I have just read twice and highlighted The Dragon Slayer: Reflections On the Saving of the World (2004, privately published, 202 pages, paper), the latest book from my eloquent friend Jim McGuiggan of Northern Ireland. As usual, McGuiggan devotes his considerable mind and poignant pen to the profound realities that matter most, this time the atonement for sin which Jesus Christ accomplished once for all. For centuries the Irish have been noted as gifted story-tellers and McGuiggan maintains the Hibernian reputation, as seen in this passage reminiscent of Brennan Manning: "We built a wall … [Read more...]

A gracEmail subscriber writes: "What is the New Testament specifically talking about when it says that Jesus and the apostles 'drove out demons?' Does this refer to mental defects (insanity, bipolarism, etc.) or psychological or physiological problems (epilepsy, addictions, etc.)? Or does this mean real demons as in 'The Exorcist' movie? This is very hard to get my head around since I have never to my knowledge met anyone possessed by a demon." * * * I believe that demons are real, that Jesus is stronger, and that demons are cast out by his name. As in the Gospels, demons sometimes cause … [Read more...]

A gracEmail subscriber asks: "What is your view of ministers who claim to bind Satan or chase out his demons?" * * * It depends on the person and what he or she is actually doing. The Bible does not talk about Christians "binding" Satan although it does say we are to "resist" him and that we "struggle" against him. Perhaps that is what these ministers are actually doing even though they call it something else. There are two dangers as I see it. One is to fail to take the enemy seriously, to under-rate Satan's craftiness, and to fail to resist him as one ought. The other danger is to … [Read more...]

A Christian in the South asks, "who or what are demons, of which we read in the New Testament? Alexander Campbell suggested that they were spirits of the departed dead." * * * In classical Greek literature, "demons" were deities, lesser gods in the pantheon of which Zeus was considered supreme head. In popular Greek usage several centuries before Christ, "demons" referred to ghosts, spirits of dead people, which were thought to return to haunt the living. Although some Jews in Old Testament times also believed in ghosts of departed persons (for example, Saul, in the story of the Witch of … [Read more...]

A gracEmail subscriber asks "What did Satan do to be cast out of heaven?" * * * The Bible is somewhat sketchy on this subject. It appears from a number of references that Satan was originally a created angel who led an celestial rebellion against God resulting in their expulsion from heaven. This might be in view in 2 Peter 2:4, Jude 6 and perhaps remotely even in 1 Corinthians 11:10. Many people believe the story is summarized in Isaiah 14:12ff. That text, which begins in verse 3, is specifically talking about "the king of Babylon" who will take Judah into exile but will himself then be … [Read more...]