Popular religion and the spirit world.MacNutt searches through scripture and the experiences of those who have undergone
some form of healing and
deliverance, in order to testify that there is indeed a spirit world filled with angelic beings and demons: he also appears to be focused on exorcism. MacNutt’s book forms a part of the huge volume of popular ‘charismatic’ Christian literature that now exist in our bookshops. MacNutt appears to be writing from a Biblical fundamentalist stance, in which he seems to take everything Biblical at face value; for instance, literally interprets the passage from 1 John 3 verse 8. Apparently people should be actively seeking demons to cast out in those around them, in order to fulfil these words from the Bible and think of deliverance from evil spirits as an essential part of the Christian life.In his book, MacNutt writes about the
epileptic demoniac from Mark 9:20, saying that during a healing service he sometimes finds someone who falls to the ground as though they are an epileptic demoniac, similar to the one described in the Gospel. He goes on to assert that the liberated person often remembers nothing of any of this, which would suggest that the person who fell to the ground was actually having an epileptic seizure and not being thrown around by an epileptic demon if there ever were such a thing. He adds that the demonic spirits appeared to take temporary possession of the person on the ground, shrieking and writhing, reminding him of the Gerasene demoniac in Mark 5:1-20.One interpretation of evil is that it is the shadow side of goodness and all people have the potential for doing good or evil: according to C.G. Jung, both are archetypes of the unconscious mind. MacNutt suggests that there are pointers to identify someone who is demonically possessed: the face contorts, the eyes roll upwards, the body contorts and becomes rigid, and the voice changes pitch or pace and these are all common signs in epilepsy and mental illness. It is gratifying that the author includes a section about the discernment of spirits in his book. This has been described in detail by the Desert Fathers: however surprisingly given his Roman Catholic background he makes no allusion to these early practitioners as far as one can tell.The reason why ‘charismatic’ churches are growing so quickly is because of the emphasis on the power of healing and deliverance (Rose 1971) and all are called to exercise this ministry. There may be a different reason for this; having looked into what is often termed power evangelism, it is possible that it is exactly a craving for personal power, which appeals to a great many. It is the feeling that one actually may attain some power in one’s life: the temptation towards powerfulness readily attracts the masses.