ViaCrucis
Confessional Lutheran
- Oct 2, 2011
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I think you are too quick to throw the baby out with the bath water. If you do not like the word what words would you prefer to use? Opinions do not mean much if you have nothing to back up what you are saying.
My understanding of Jezebel is that she represents immorality, eating the wrong food which Paul addresses and abortion
The issue would be giving names to alleged "spirits".
There is a tendency in certain faith traditions to hyperfocus on the invisible. With grandiose descriptions of an invisible war being fought between good and evil. This is a tendency that has more in common with non-Christian religions like Zoroastrianism or certain heresies like forms of Gnosticism. While it forms a popular narrative in some forms of modern religion, especially American religion, it isn't Christian.
We should avoid the pitfalls of history, it is easy to fall into the trap of dualistic thinking. Falling into the trap of thinking that the world is the staging ground of a cosmic battle between good and evil, between God and the devil. But that isn't what Scripture teaches, and it isn't what Christianity has taught from beginning.
It is true that there are devils, and that they tempt us, appealing to our flesh. But we also have Christ who has already conquered, He is the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world who already has conquered sin, death, hell, and the devil. Thus we must remember that when we read that the devil is a roaring lion, this lion is not the king of the jungle, but the outcast lone scavenger feeding on scraps and which preys on the weak and the young. To borrow imagery from the Lion King, the devil is not Mufasa, he's Scar--dwelling among the hyenas and bones, skinny and famished. The devil is dangerous not because he is strong, but because he is weak and desperate. That is why he seeks whom he may kill, he is a weasel, a pest, a scavanger. And he is crushed already beneath the foot of Christ, and in Christ he is crushed beneath our feet as well. Death is dead, and dying. The devils are weak and pathetic, they are snakes and scorpions to be crushed underfoot.
Martin Luther, in his typical way of talking, once said of the devil, "Sometimes I chase him away with a fart and ask him, 'Are you going to add that to your list of sins too, devil?'"
-CryptoLutheran
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