So in our contemplative prayer group the other day the subject of angels and demons came up during our discussion. The context was that of trying to understand the nature of logismoi (see my entry on logismoi on my page Reflections on Christian Mysticism). According to the Orthodox, negative logismoi are thoughts of particularly strong power and intensity that come from an evil, spiritual source – demons. This to me was a freeing concept: because I am not responsible for these thoughts – they are coming from a source external to me – I do not need to feel guilty in any way for having them; I can just notice them and let them go without interacting with them any further. I don’t need to speculate or psychoanalyze endlessly why I have the thought or what I need to do about it, I can just let it go.
However some of my friends had a hard time with this, specifically with the idea of demons. How could there be malevolent spiritual entities that desire us harm, and have the power to insert thoughts into our minds? Perhaps this is just a primitive notion, and the actual source of logismoi is some unacknowledged part of our unconscious. Or, perhaps we can think of logismoi as originating from metaphorical “demons”, like advertising in the media or government propaganda.
For the context of understanding logismoi only, such concepts might be sufficient. But I’m interested in discussing the larger issue of the existence of the supernatural itself. It appears to be a major stumbling block for many Christians these days, and I can’t help wondering why. I can understand why an atheist or an agnostic might have problems with the supernatural, but a Christian has as central to their thinking a major supernatural event, namely the resurrection of Jesus; furthermore, they look forward to a time when they too will be resurrected, not just metaphorically but physically. Life after death sure sounds supernatural to me! So given that Christians are already committed to these supernatural concepts, why stop there? Why doubt things like the occurrence of miracles, or the existence of angels or demons?
One objection I’ve heard is that a belief in the supernatural can be used to exploit people. If a man with crippling back pain that prevents him from working believes that he can be miraculously healed at a revival meeting, and in fact feels better for awhile after attending – but then relapses a few days later, has he really been helped? Shouldn’t he have gone to an appropriate health care practitioner to have his condition treated effectively instead? Perhaps the preacher just used him as a kind of propaganda tool, when what a real Christian should have done was collect funds to get him the necessary health care to resolve his problem. Doesn’t believing in miracles prevent people from doing the hard work needed to build a better and just society for themselves and others?
I plan to respond to this objection, and others, in my next post. Until then, what problems do you have with the supernatural? Do you doubt that miracles happen? How about that angels exist, or demons? If so, why? I’d love to know!
