Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Jun/67

Contributor - T. Hogerwaard

Title - Against The Superhuman Forces Of Evil

Topic - Spiritual Warfare

Dr. Koch's findings

Prof. Dr. Paul Scholten, the eminent Dutch jurist and sometime president of the Netherlands Bible Society, once gave an address to members of a mission group. In that speech he referred to the famous Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh whose life ended in suicide. As a general conclusion Prof. Scholten said: "Every demon finally destroys the life of the one who served him." This thesis is extensively and horribly confirmed and illustrated by the findings of a German minister, Dr. Kurt E.Koch. For more than 15 years he has studied everything that has relationship to man's contact with the unseen evil world (witchcraft, spiritualism, soothsaying, etc., etc.). In his dissertation(l) he presents the results of his investigation. Because demonic. influence often manifests itself in phenomena which are treated by psychologists and psychiatrists, he has also studied these fields in order to discern where demonic influences play a role and where they do not.

In normal medicine the rule is that diagnosis precedes therapy (first find out what the illness is and then see what you can do about it). In mental disorders often the way is opposite: in case normal psychiatric treatment leads to a cure there is as a rule no demonic attachment; if it does not, but only conversion to Christ li : berates the patient, then as a rule demonic influences were the cause, of the disorders.

But a hard and fast rule is that when a man's mental disorders are caused by occupying himself with the black arts in one way or another, there are always as regular features: aversion against the Word of God, impossibility to pray, serious depression, suicide plans (often carried out); more often than not with those who seriously have committed themselves to demonic influences the descendants, even in the third and fourth generation, are afflicted by it.

Dr. Koch's findings are confirmed by a Christian psychiatrist Dr. Lechner, who wrote in an article about Demonic influences and psychiatry (page 136):

"What have we to assume as the cause of demonic attachment and possessedness ? Every time you thoroughly interrogate the persons who have these symptoms you find in the history of their lives the use of articles of witchcraft, of black magic, of magic formulas (in order to cure humans or cattle), the sin of soothsaying or visiting those who claim to be able to tell the future with the aid of playing cards or other paraphernalia, also partaking in spiritualistic sances. Black magic is far more common than is generally assumed."

Spiritualism

This is one of the most serious and sinful ways to challenge the Lord and the consequences for all those who engage in it are horrible. We quoted already the experiences of the minister who only once attended those meetings. Many Christians do not see the grave danger because during spiritualistic seances Christian (anyway religious) expressions are being used but here especially we should keep in mind that the devil is able to present himself as an angel of light. Several methods are in use to invoke the spirits and receive messages from the dead but which one is used does not matter much.

On page 29 Dr. Koch gives a shocking example of the confusion in which some people live and its disastrous consequences. "A young woman practiced in private- spiritualism with the aid of a liquor glass and a round piece of wood on which the alphabet was painted. This she used to get answers in any decision she had to make, big or small. Alone by herself she worked out what she had learned when attending spiritualistic meetings. This woman claimed she was able to call great personalities out of the unseen world to give her advice, for instance Luther and the apostle Paul, yes, even Christ himself. She was accustomed to start her inquiries with prayer and she was convinced that what she did was religious. In her village she enjoyed the reputation of being a faithful churchgoer and a devout woman. Now and then she also advised her friends with the aid of her magical board. In such cases she used to say: 'Wait a moment, I will ask the Saviour about it'.

She did not live long. At a comparatively early age she suddenly fell ill. She expected to die soon and told people that the Saviour would come to take her. A woman who was with her when she died gave the following information. In her death struggle the woman suddenly said: 'Now the Saviour is coming for me.' She looked intensively at the window; from the expression of her eyes it was clear that she saw someone approach. Suddenly the expression of her face changed into a fearful grimace and with a cry of anguish she died. The witness said it was as if the woman at the moment she died, suddenly awoke from an illusion to a horror filled reality."

Or this is not so strange and extraordinary as it may seem. Many of us have heard about or even witnessed the testimony of faithful Christians who, seconds before they died, spoke about music and light; obviously the glorious world of God at that moment was already visible to them and they had just the time to say a few words about it. But also the opposite happens. Prof. Dr. G. Johnson, then professor of N.T. at Emmanuel College, Toronto, once told the Bay of Quinte Conference of the United Church during a devotional address (where I was present) that he had a ministerial friend in Edinburgh, Scotland, who had been called to the deathbed of a banker. That man had lived his whole life for money and money only. Shortly before he died, he realized where he was going and to see that, was so horrible that the friend afterwards told Prof. Johnson: "George, I hope never to see something like that again."

Dr. Koch has examined hundreds of cases and it is simply shocking. to read about the end of men and women who had been active in any of the demonic fields. Many of them committed suicide, a great many others died a violent death, practically all others ended their lives in mental institutions. Therefore Dr. Koch warns most earnestly against partaking in any form of anything that has to do with this dark world.

What he says about spiritualism applies as well to all other forms of contact with the world of demons: "Spiritualism and Christianity stand over against each other as fire and water. Spiritualistic practices (active or passive) drive out the Spirit." Persons who 'in an earlier period of their lives attended spiritualistic meetings and stopped doing so later on, very seldom become Christians. The demonic powers have made them subject to themselves and do not allow them to surrender to Christ. They are slaves, without realizing it. In many places in Germany (and no doubt elsewhere too) there are men and women who are called when someone is ill or when there is illness among the cattle. They claim to be able to cure persons and cattle with the aid of their magic formulas. In some cases it even helps but then the human beings are more damaged in their mental setup than the original illness harmed their body. This too is downright demonic and the consequences are exactly the same as they are for those who occupy themselves with spiritualism. Again: it is the same with those who claim that they can foretell the future, who claim that by studying the stars they can give information about a person's future; it is the same with those who make and wear amulets or talismans. Hypnotism when exercised by laymen, can also do grave damage to the mind of him to whom it is applied and of the one who does it as well, for more often than not this too is connected with spiritualistic practices and a magical background.

Far too many Christians think that all this is innocent and harmless and that you can do it "just for fun", but it is far from funny. Dr. Koch writes about this attitude: "No matter whether you pull out the pin of a hand grenade for fun, in ignorance or knowing what you are doing, the result in all cases is the same."

A Christian has to stay away from all this as far as possible. To these matters, which can only be judged by men like Dr. Koch and others who are competent to judge two dangers have to be avoided. The first (prevailing with many uneducated persons) is that 'every abnormality is seen and considered to be the result of devilish influences; the other is the attitude of rationalism (prevailing with intellectuals and pseudo intellectuals) that this whole sinister world simply does not exist because it does not fit in their laboratory view of life. The well known intellectualistic attitude: "What I do not see, does not exist!" The "third sphere", as we explained in the first article, exists in our days exactly as it did in the days of the Old and New Testament and it is just as dangerous as it was then.

Magical practices are discerned: there is white magic and black magic. In the first case at the start the Trinity is invoked, in the latter case three names of devils. But in nature and consequence there is hardly any difference. The endeavour to make God subject to our will and wish is so serious that the. direct invocation of the powers of hell can hardly be worse than this. As Dr. Koch writes: "This hybris is the fundamental position of magic which makes it easy for the theologians to understand what the use of magical formulas actually means."

About being possessed and demonic attachment

It very seldom happens that the last stage of demonic influence, the situation of being possessed in the Biblical sense is reached but it happens just the same in our days as it did in those of our Lord. When it happens, the symptoms are exactly the same, giving the lie to what Bultmann said about these matters. Dr. Lechner, the Christian psychiatrist (quoted on pages 277 ff.) wrote: The Christian psychiatrist has to make an important contribution in this area. However, his position is far from easy. On the one hand it is impossible for him to deny demonic possessedness as psychiatric science is accustomed to, on the other hand it is impossible for him to agree with the ideas prevailing in believing circles about being possessed." He discerns between three areas; the first two: "being possessed" and "demonic attachment". From literature he quotes three cases: Gottliebin Dittus (Blumhardt); Frau Brandstaetter and one reported by Johannes Seitz. He himself has treated some cases of persons being possessed. His conviction: "Being possessed is neither an obsolete biblical narrative nor a theological invention but a terrible reality." He mentions seven symptoms of being possessed: two voices in one person; clairvoyance; paroxysm; great bodily strength; resistance against God and His World; exorcism during attacks; complete cure after the devils have been cast out. He also draws attention to the fact that the cases he saw resemble point for point those reported to us in the New Testament.

Demonic influence or demonic attachment, according to Dr. Lechner, manifests itself in abnormal utterances of mental life as a consequence of occupation with the evil world. The symptoms are: insensitiveness to any and every Christian influence; religious doubt; impossibility to admit and confess sin and guilt; impossibility to concentrate when trying to read the Bible or to pray; permanent lack of peace; disquietness; great fear; explosions of anger, quarrelsomeness, blasphemy, depression, inclination to suicide. Often this is accompanied by: alcoholism, immorality, telling of lies, stealing and robbing, being enslaved to smoking and the use of drugs. In many respects the symptoms are the same of demonic possessedness but only in persons possessed there is speaking with two voices and clairvoyance. Indeed, in our days as in days gone by the devil still goes around, as the apostle wrote, "like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5 The Good Shepherd is the only One Who is able and willing to protect us against all the superhuman forces of evil.

(To be continued)

Please click the "Back" button of your browser to return to previous page.