Deliverance Ministry Resource Page
This simple web page is dedicated to promoting the biblical view of spiritual warfare and deliverance ministry. Below are a number of articles and essays that I have collected and/or written on the subject over the last twenty five years since I first came into contact with abberant teachings in this area. Please contact me through the college if you have any questions or if you have any trouble accessing any of the items that I have posted below. May the Lord Jesus be glorified in all that we believe and in all that we do as Christians. Sola Fide! Sola Gratia! Sola Scriptura!
In Truth,
--Günther Juncker
Professor of New Testament & Greek
Toccoa Falls College
Toccoa Falls, GA 30598
For further reading, beyond what you will find below, I would recommend three books: first is C. S. Lewis' classic Screwtape Letters which every thinking Christian should read at least once in their life (and the same goes for all of his books!); second is the book by Kenneth Boa and Robert Bowman titled Sense & Nonsense about Angels and Demons (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007); and third is the more scholarly but sadly out of print book by Sydney H. T. Page, Powers of Evil: A Biblical Study of Satan & Demons (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995).
(1) Dr. Günther Juncker: Doctrines of Demons
(2) Dr. Günther Juncker: A "Place" or an "Opportunity" for the Devil? The Meaning of TOPOS in Eph 4:27 (PDF)
(3) Dr. Günther Juncker: Does the Greek Word DAIMONIZOMAI mean "Demonized"? (PDF)
(4) Dr. Günther Juncker: Satan's M.O. (Modus Operandi) (PDF)
(5) Dr. Robert Wetmore: Deliverance Ministry Doctrine
(6) Christian Research Institute: Can a Christian Be “Demonized”?
(7) Elliot Miller (Christian Research Institute): "Deliver Us From Deliverance Ministry". This paper was originally presented at a meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society.
(8) A. Scott Moreau's Critique of Territorial Spirits & Strategic Level Spiritual Warfare (S.L.S.W.).
(9) R. Holvast's excellent dissertation highlighting the theological, spiritual, missiological, anthropological, ethnographic, and practical problems with the practice of "Spiritual Mapping" (a key component of Strategic Level Spiritual Warfare [S.L.S.W.] without which it cannot survive as a valid spiritual warfare paradigm). All the key players and critics and history of the movement are covered. Especially valuable are chaps. 6-7 (pp.170-226 of the dissertation itself = pp.185-241 in the PDF file of the dissertation.)
(10) Brian Onken: The Dangers of the Trinity in Man. This was a CRI Journal article some years back that showed the potential dangers of the "trichotomy" view, i.e., that humans are made up of three distinct parts (body, soul, and spirit). Though false, the trichotomy view is not heretical per se. This piece is included here simply because trichotomy is almost always part of the faulty foundation of deliverance ministry which argues that Christians can have demons in their body or soul (mind, emotions, will) but not in their spirit.
(11) The Assemblies of God official denominational position on whether Christians can be demon inhabited or possessed.
(12) Dr. Günther Juncker: Hermeneutics 101: Thinking Clearly About Demons and Deliverance. This essay carefully examines several key arguments in favor of Christians having demons and finds that they consistenly take Scripture out of context. Not for the faint of heart! (PDF)
(13) One of the key players in the modern "deliverance" movement is Neil Anderson. For two devastating critiques of his teachings as, in essence, a form of superstitious Christian animism see: Anderson PFO article.htm by Personal Freedom Outreach ministry as well as the four part Christian Research Journal series titled "the Bondage Maker" available at: http://www.equip.org/category/questionable-teaching/
(14) Further evidence from world class anthropologists that deliverance ministry is a form of Christian animism can be found in the volume edited by Edward Rommen, Spiritual Power and Missions: Raising the Issues (EMS #3; William Carey Library, 1995), with responses from noted deliverance ministry practitioners such as Charles Kraft. The title of the lead article is: "Missiological Syncretism: The New Animistic Paradigm."
(15) Dr. Opal Reddin published a helpful and readable critique of a number of key spiritual warfare errors (generational curses, pulling down strongholds, binding & loosing, and deliverance ministry) in the 1999 edition of the Discernment Newsletter. (PDF)
(16) A fascinating study of Satan and demons has been written by French Canadian scholar Pierre Gilbert titled Demons, Lies & Shadows: A Plea for a Return to Text and Reason (Kindred Productions, 2008). He suggests that the contemporary spiritual warfare ("third wave") paradigm is basically pagan and animistic, rather than biblical or Christian, and that Satan and demons have essentially no power at all to do anything except tempt and lie. This book is well worth reading and is a valuable follow up to his important journal article comparing the modern spiritual warfare paradigm to the ancient Babylonian (read pagan) worldview: "The Third Wave Worldview: A Biblical Critique."
(17) Another helpful analysis of deliverance ministry arguments and Scriptures:
http://sguthrie.net/Deliver_Us_From_Our_Own_Evil.htm
(18) The following scholarly article sets forth both the reasons for, and the dangers of, syncretism. The specific focus is on missionaries in Africa unwittingly adopting the pagan and animistic world view of the people they are trying to minister to instead of teaching and living out the distinctively Christian world view. Section 1 of the article is especially valuable. See Keith Fernando, "Sickness and Syncretism in the African Context." The article appears on the www.biblicalstudies.org website which is an excellent resource for any and all matters relating to biblical studies and scholarship.
(19) A superb book that recently impressed me greatly is also sadly out of print. If you can find a copy you won't be disappointed. See David Powlison, Power Encounters: Reclaiming Spiritual Warfare (Grand Rapids: Baker/Hourglass, 1995).
(20) Close Power Encounters of the Third Wave Kind will be most likely be the title of my someday forthcoming book on the whole subject of spiritual warfare :-)