Today, April 18, is what Christians often call Good Friday, and two days from now is Easter Sunday. These are two of the most significant days for Christians, but they are not usually linked to what is often referred to as spiritual warfare, which is largely based on Ephesians 6:10~17 in the New Testament.
Spiritual
warfare is not interpreted the same
by all Christians. As might be expected, the understanding and emphasis of
moderates/progressives tend to be quite different from that of
conservatives/traditionalists.
The
decisive verse regarding spiritual warfare is found in Ephesians 6:
… we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (v. 12, KJ21).
Conservative
evangelical Christians tend to interpret these words as referring to personal
struggles of individual Christians. For example, John Mark Comer, a well-known evangelical
pastor and author, writes about spiritual warfare in his book Live No Lies.
Comer
(b. 1980) interprets spiritual warfare primarily as the struggle of individual
Christians against the lies that rob them of the enjoyment of personal peace
and freedom.
Shane
Claiborne (b. 1975), a progressive “evangelical,” interprets spiritual warfare
quite differently:
This [2024] election was about principalities and powers – racism, patriarchy, xenophobia. This is not just about Trump. Certainly he has unleashed some of our worst demons. But this is bigger than one man. It is about spiritual and systemic powers that seek to harm some of our most vulnerable neighbors.*1
The best interpretation of spiritual warfare I know of is by William Stringfellow, a lawyer and lay theologian. I wrote about him and his understanding of “principalities and powers” in my Jan. 5, 2018, blog article, and I encourage you to (re)read that post (see here).*2
In
that article, I cited these words from one of Stringfellow’s most important
books, An Ethic for Christians and Other Aliens in a Strange Land (1977).
He wrote there that “principalities and powers” are not some esoteric spiritual
forces of evil in a nonvisible realm.
Rather,
Stringfellow explained, they are “all authorities, corporations, institutions,
traditions, processes, structures, bureaucracies, ideologies, systems” and the
like (p. 27).
That
blog post made seven years ago was about the spiritual warfare evidenced by
Herod’s “slaughter of the innocents” soon after Jesus’ birth. But even more,
Jesus’ crucifixion on “Good Friday,” and his resurrection on that first Easter
Sunday, are also prime examples of spiritual warfare.
Jesus,
the light of the world, combats Satan, the “prince of this world,” according to the New Testament (see John
8:12, 14:30, NIV). In Paradise Lost, John Milton refers to Satan as
“the prince of darkness,” the embodiment of evil.
The
Lord’s Prayer points to an ongoing cosmic conflict between God’s kingdom of
light and the devil’s temporary kingdom of darkness (Rev. 12:7~10).
Through Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, the Triune God won the decisive
battle against the formidable force of evil (= “Satan” or the devil).
The
good news of Easter is not primarily about the hope of future life in a far-off
heaven by those who believe in Jesus. Rather, it is about the kingdom (kindom) of
God becoming victorious here and now, God’s will being done on earth as it is
in heaven.
But
the fight between light and darkness, good and evil, is by no means over. Spiritual
warfare continues. That is why God-believers are admonished to put on “the whole
armor of God” so that they may be able to “stand against the wiles of the
devil” (Eph. 6:11, KJ21).
It
is with great sadness that we see spiritual warfare apparent now even between Good
Friday- and Easter-celebrating Christians aligned with decidedly different
understandings of the Gospel of Jesus.
One side is composed to a large degree by MAGA Christians who see Trump’s assassination attempt as linked to spiritual warfare and also interprets that warfare as being primarily against abortion and LGBT people.*3
On
the other side are those of us who see the force of evil working through the destructive
power structures elucidated by Stringfellow. Those structures, unfortunately,
include the current Trump Administration.
I
encourage you to click on this link
and read Thinking Friend Jarrett Banks’s Palm Sunday prayer at First Christian
Church in Lynchburg, Virginia. He expressed so well the side I want to identify
with. What about you?
_____
*1 These words are cited in a Nov. 8, 2024, post by John Fea (see here).
*2 The Wikipedia article about Stringfellow (1928~85) correctly mentions that his
work has been advanced by New Testament scholar/professor Walter Wink
(1935~2012), who wrote a trilogy on “the powers.” It also notes his influence
on “evangelical social activists” such as Jim Wallis and Shane Claiborne.
*3 About three weeks ago, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “I
certainly believe in spiritual warfare. And I think I saw it firsthand,
especially throughout the campaign trail with President Trump. And I think
there certainly were evil forces. And I think that the president was saved by
the grace of God on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, and he's in this
moment for a reason."
On
March 22 a Catholic priest speaking at a conference in California emphasized
“the reality of spiritual warfare in the fight against abortion, the demonic
attacks against the family and life issues, and the connection between
abortion, the culture, and the spiritual forces of darkness.”
And
then this on April 2: “Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and two of her
fellow GOP congresswomen discussed her bill banning transgender medical
services for children and the ‘spiritual warfare’ surrounding gender ideology”
(see here).
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For those of you who would like to think more about the relationship of current events and Good Friday, I recommend this morning's Substack post by Diana Butler Bass. (You can choose to read it without paying anything.) Here is a link that should work, but if it doesn't and you want to read this, please contact me.
ReplyDeletehttps://substack.com/@dianabutlerbass/p-161545177
Before 6:00 this morning, two local Thinking Friends, sent brief comments:
ReplyDelete"Thank you for this, Leroy." (Lonnie Buerge)
"Wonderful reflection. Thank you for this timely response. Spiritual warfare does go on still. History's arch continues to bend toward justice, even when it looks bleak. Humanity is not doomed." (David Nelson, slightly edited).
Then just after 8:00, I received these email comments from local Thinking Friend Don Wilson:
ReplyDelete"Thank you for such powerful words! My prayer is for the courage and resolve to get beyond simply treasuring them, profound as they are, and putting them into action. I will be on the street protesting tomorrow. But I must do more than that."
Don, thanks for your comments--and for doing what I hope many other Thinking Friends will do, putting thought into action. I would like to join you and the many others today who will be participating in the street protests in Kansas City (and across the nation), but, alas, I no longer have the energy/stamina to do that (due in large part to the fact that I will be turning 87 this summer). My wife and I were a part of the anti-Trump protests in 2017 at the fountain where I assume you will be today, and I appreciate your willingness (and ability) to be there.
DeleteLater on Saturday morning I received response from Don:
Delete" I will be at the 4 Corners protest in Lenexa, at the intersection of I-435 and Maurer. We’ve had protests there for the past few Saturdays and I expect them to continue. I think that numerous protests at various locations are helpful in sending the message."
Thanks for this word, Don. I thought the KCMO protest march was for the entire Kansas City metropolitan area, and I didn't realize there was one in Lenexa [a suburb of KCKS, for those of you who are not familiar with this area]. I fully agree that numerous protests are better than having fewer, larger ones.
DeleteSince I haven't received many comments this morning, let me share a Substack post by Diana Butler Bass. It meshes very well with the blog post and has many images that illustrate her (and my) main point.
ReplyDeletehttps://substack.com/@dianabutlerbass/p-161545177
If the link doesn't work and you want to read Dr. Bass's post, please let me know.
DeleteI thoroughly enjoyed this broadening of our perception of spiritual warfare. The Space Trilogy of C. S. Lewis includes what might be the combination of the personal and the social dimensions of evil. In Perelandra Watson, already gripped by evil motivation, calls the personality of evil into his life surrendering himself fully to its control. Might this be why we have such gross social evil? Individuals have surrendered themselves to the "powers and principalities" of evil and have now become tools of that evil. Might it be both/and rather than either/or?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments, Tom. I have great respect for C.S. Lewis, but I have not read is "Space Trilogy" (or any of his works of "fantasy," which I think are probably quite good for those who like that form of literature, which I do not.)
DeleteYour statement about 'individuals surrendering themselves to the "powers and principalities" of evil and becoming tools of that evil is fully consistent with the "progressive" view I presented. But that is not one that is usually seen in the conservative/traditionalist view I was rejecting. The latter as I understand it, is mostly about what individual Christians need to do to protect themselves from the negative effects of the principalities and powers that seek to destroy their personal happiness--and that has little, if anything, to do with systemic evil harming so many people by means of those sinful strudctures.
Here are comments received yesterday afternoon from Thinking Friend Michael Willett Newheart in Maryland:
ReplyDelete"Thank you, Leroy for your Good Friday blog on spiritual warfare (SW).
"When I retired from teaching at Howard University School of Divinity in 2017, I thought that I was going to carry on Walter Wink's work on SW.
"After working on it for a few years, I gave up. The topic was simply exhausting and overwhelming. I realized that I was attempting to carry on Walter's work and not my own. I spent a summer at Pendle Hill, the Quaker retreat and study center outside Philly, in the summer of 2018. Early Quakers wrote a lot about "the War of the Lamb." I discovered that I was not interested in war, so I went on the lam. At least, on the lam from SW!
"Also, I have been attracted to "non-dualism" these days (Cynthia Bourgeault, Thomas Keating, etc.) and SW is hopelessly dualistic.
"And I found that the literature on SW was almost exclusively by white males. I wanted to hear something from other folks, but I did not know where to look.
"I found handy the little book 'Four Views on Spiritual Warfare' (ed. Belby & Rhoads, 2012). It contains Wink's last writing, which was shaped by Gareth Higgins and Michael Hardin after Wink's death."
"Again, Leroy, thank you."
Michael, I appreciate you making these substantial comments. I was hoping to hear from you as I knew you have considerable knowledge of and respect for Dr. Wink. I am sorry your initial desire to carry on his scholar work didn't pan out.
DeleteI don't remember of hearing before about the book you mentioned at the end. I found that it is on sale at Amazon.com under the title "Understanding Spiritual Warfare: Four Views"--but it doesn't seem to be availiable in any of the local college/seminary libraries.
You said that you "found that the literature on S[piritual] W[arfare] was almost exclusively by white males." While that is probably true, don't forget that Stringfellow spent most of his career as a lawyer working in Harlem and for the benefit of people who were not "white males," even though he was.
Have you read Stringfellow's book that I mentioned, and if so, what do you think of his central emphasis. I have only read a little of Wink's works, and that was a long time ago, but I did not think his work on the "powers" was as good and important as Stringfellow's elucidation of the "principalities and powers."
I am also quite interested in "non-dualism" and know that Western views of that important idea is closely related to the thought/writings of Cynthia Bourgeault, Thomas Keating, whom I have read only to a limited degree. I have recently thought most about about that concept from reading Richard Rohr and Jon Paul Sydnor's recent book--and in my blog post last year about his new book, I write some about non dualism. (See here:
https://theviewfromthisseat.blogspot.com/2024/09/shall-we-dance-considering-all.html
The problem I have with seeing everything non-dualistically is how to explain the evils we see around us. And it does seem that if we White males talk about the validity of a non-dualist understanding of the world, that gives little incentive to combat the "systematic evils" that impact the lives of so many people who are not White, cisgender males.
The reason I like and emphasize Stringfellow's position on spiritual warfare is because of his linking the "principalities and powers" to those aspects of Western society that have been so harmful to Black and Brown people, to Native Americans, to women, and to LGBTQ people, etc. How to you see non-dualism dealing with the kind of effort Stringfellow thought was necessary to improve the lives of such people who suffer from the work of the principalities and powers against them?
It seems to me that the "Good Friday" / Easter emphasis of the Christrian Gospel does offer hope and help for such people when properly understood and put into practice. At least that is the point I hope to make in the blog post, but perhaps it was not adequately stated.
My response to Michael was rather long and somewhat challenging, so it took him quite a while to have the time to respond to my comments, but here is what he sent me to email on Monday (5:12).
Delete"First, I don't think that I have read much Stringfellow outside of what I read in Wink. Yes, Walter was VERY influenced by him, and I came to WS through WW. I can't really remember if I had ever actually read any WS on his own. I must have. So, I must give you a dated view of WS. Nevertheless, I agree with you. I didn't like WW as much as I did WS--at least their writings. (I loved WW, didn't know WS personally.) The latter seemed grittier, more involved in the real world. WW was certainly no ivory tower academic, but his Jungian bent, though attractive to me at first, seemed to dilute the thrust of his work. When I became a devotee of WW, I was a card-carrying Jungian biblical scholar, but I simply grew out of it. WW certainly made good use of Jungian thought in his workshops and writings, and I loved the art that he and his wife June led us in (and I incorporated them into my classes), but there was something gimmicky or trendy or superficial about Jung in WW. As a friend said about WW, 'Too much Jung, not enough Barth.'
"You write, 'I am also quite interested in "non-dualism" and know that Western views of that important idea is closely related to the thought/writings of Cynthia Bourgeault, Thomas Keating, whom I have read only to a limited degree.; CB's most recent book is on TK, 'The Making of a Modern Christian Mystic' (2024). Rohr blurbs the book. It's a good place to read and review both thinkers.
"You also write, 'If we White males talk about the validity of a non-dualist understanding of the world, that gives little incentive to combat the "systematic evils" that impact the lives of so many people who are not White, cisgender males.' I don't think so. That's not my personal experience, and that's not what I observe from other non-dualists, certainly not CB, TK, RR, or anyone else in the CAC orbit. Non-dualists struggle against those who perpetuate evil as much as dualists. In some ways, they struggle even harder because they realize that they are ultimately one with these folks.
"You further ask, 'How do you see non-dualism dealing with the kind of effort Stringfellow thought was necessary to improve the lives of such people who suffer from the work of the principalities and powers against them?' I don't know that I feel comfortable as a paid spokesperson for non-dualism, but it seems that non-dualists work just as hard on behalf of the victims of malevolent dualism as benevolent dualists do. They just refuse to put people or movements or ideas into good and bad. They embrace all in order to save all."
Thanks, Michael, for your further comments and response to the questions I raised. My problem is not with the Christians who emphasize contemplative prayer, and about ten years after it first came out in 2003, I was in discussion group that studied and talked about Richard Rohr's book "Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer"--and I have long been an admirer or Rohr. But my question, does "everything" mean "everything." Certainly when it comes to individuals' struggles, everything they struggle with belongs. And everone belongs in the human family and should treated with respect--and I think that is the important point you ended with.
DeleteBut the topic of the blog post was the "principalities and powers" which war against human well-being (flourishing). So my main question is about accepting those powers as "belonging" in God's good creation so they just have to be accepted rather labeled as good or bad. That is the problem I still have of adopting non-dualism completely.
Well, there is much more I would like to write about this, but I need to move to other things now.
You inspired me to reread Ephesians. It is a hard book in that it struggles with issues somewhat different from what we struggle with today. For instance, slavery and patriarchy are assumed, and are merely called upon to reform. I miss the wild mercy of Galatians 3:28, "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." Still, that is the general direction where Ephesians is heading. Sometimes we have to start with baby steps.
ReplyDeleteAs for whether the spiritual warfare is personal or corporate, I think it is both. Paul is clearly calling people to a new and better worldview, and a lot of that is personal, but not all. As Martin Luther put it in his great hymn (A Mighty Fortress Is Our God), "For still our ancient foe/Does seek to work us woe/His craft and power are great/And armed with cruel hate/On Earth is not his equal."
Early in his career, Luke has Jesus returning to Nazareth, where he visits the synagogue, and reads from Isaiah, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." When he starts to explain the Jubilee, the crowd turned against him and tried to kill him. (Luke 4:16-30) Further, in all four gospels, Jesus forcefully cleanses the money-changers from the temple. So, how far does Paul want us to go with spiritual warfare? As for Jesus, this is the season to think about "take up your cross." (Luke 14:27) It is also the season to remember that today, April 19, 2025, is the 30th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. Think about spiritual warfare as you read this: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/19/timothy-mcveigh-oklahoma-bombing-far-right-1995
Thanks for posting substantial comments again, Craig. There is more I want to say in response, but first I will say only the following regarding your first paragraph.
DeleteWhile I agree that Galatians is perhaps more relevant to us today than is Ephesians--and I, too, especially like 3:28. But there are some difficult passages in Galatians also and some good ones in Ephesians (in addition to the verses I referred to in the blog). Certainly, some of the matters were specifically about the then and there context of the Christians in Ephesus. StilI, with regard to the present context in which we live, I particularly like Eph. 2:4~10, 4:25-26, and 5:15-21--and the following verses are often read in Christian wedding ceremonies. Unfortunately, many pastors have used that passage, but I repeatedly told the seminary students I taught in Japan to be sure to start with verse 21 if they were going to use the verses that followed that key verse in their wedding ceremonies.
With the Bible, as with Shakespeare, there is no end to our ability to find more depth to explore. As I was thinking about your reply, I suddenly thought about John 21:25, and realized I needed to update my youthful reading of that verse. It used to make me cringe a little, too many books! Now I see joy in the verse, there is always more to see! Just like with physics, where ever since Galileo had the idea to turn one of those recently invented telescopes into the heavens, scientists have designed ever better telescopes to show us more and more of the mystery of the universe, leading to more and more questions!
ReplyDeleteYou might enjoy a similar experience I had with Shakespeare some years ago. I was reading Harold Bloom's Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human. When I got to his treatment of the Merchant of Venice I had a personal theory reconfirmed, most people are like galaxies, with a large black hole in the center of their psyche. The Merchant was his. His dispassionate prose broke down, his attention to detail faltered, he was not even sure whether the play was comedy or tragedy. Well, last night, when I started this reply, I thought I had a quick statement. However, having learned from experience not to trust my memory without verifying, I started looking up what I was about to say, and discovered I was not quite remembering a key scene correctly. However, when I did read it, I was struck by something else I read more recently, namely, that Shakespeare may have been written by a woman, indeed, an Italian, Jewish woman, whose father was forcibly converted to Christianity. She started informing my reading, which took me back to Bloom’s title: The Invention of the Human. Perhaps the play is more about “the battle of the sexes” and generational change than Christian versus Jew. Indeed, neither religion shines too bright in the play. So I have a lot more thinking and reading to do on that. If you want a peek, I found a link to Reformed Judaism’s take on Aemelia Bassano here: https://reformjudaism.org/blog/were-shakespeares-plays-actually-written-jewish-woman#:~:text=This%20year%20marks%20the%20400,Bassano%20%E2%80%93%20is%20the%20true%20playwright.