ABC Debate: Does Satan Exist?

This debate was aired in March 2009 at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, featuring a panel of Mark Driscoll and Annie Lobert answering "yes", and Deepak Chopra and Carlton Pearson answering "no" (sort of). As I pretty much expected from mainstream media like ABC hosting something like this, this was not much of a debate, as far as debates go. The "debate" quickly evolved from opening statements and rebuttals into a disorganized scuffle with plenty of non-sequiturs to go around. However, it is something very interesting to watch and hear the different arguments, though not much is accomplished in what appears to be an intensely edited version of the event. It is interesting to take a look at, if you can stand the slightly terrible interface with this website (beware of ad overload).

Mark Driscoll on Spiritual Warfare Pt. 4

Below is the concluding Q&A session on spiritual warfare. The overall learning from this for me is a new perspective and a better biblical basis for understanding what the Christian life is and how it is played out, specifically in the context of spirituality--good and bad alike. So many people these days talk about spirituality as if it's a completely positive thing to be "spiritual." I think we often forget that there are good spirits (angels that love God), but also there are bad spirits (angels that hate God) that are in rebellion against God but sometimes emulate their leader Satan by "[masquerading as angels] of light," (2 Corinthians 11:14) and can be very deceptive. It is vital that discernment is practiced and grown by constantly "[testing] the spirits," as the Apostle John commands (1 John 4:1-4).

Mark Driscoll on Spiritual Warfare Pt. 3

In part 3 of this teaching series, Mark Driscoll expounds even further on demons and spiritual encounters. This is an intensely practical (as well as extremely disturbing, not to mention controversial) message where he walks through how he deals with demonic "trials" in Christian counseling, including verbal communication with demons, their militaristic organizational structure, and many examples from his experience. I am sort of stunned after listening to this and not sure what to make out of it. While I am tempted to dismiss it all as craziness, I cannot help but believe this man who has had such a profound impact on my life through his preaching and teaching (just through the internet). I have listened to and read 95% of what he has produced and what he has written, as well as what has been written about him (though I can't account for the immense amount of blog activity on him, positive and negative alike), and I can say with certainty that he is sincere and this is not a facade. I see the total biblical credibility of this teaching, but I still cannot mentally grasp the reality of the spirit realm. It's shocking and unbelievable to me, yet so painfully real that perhaps it is simply overlooked out of fear. I just picked up reading Night by Eli Wiesel last night, and the atrocities committed during the Holocaust in concentration camps I can only begin to explain by utterly evil forces at work in the world. I cannot conceive of a human soul concocting these acts alone. There have to be spiritual influences, pure evil from out there and from within. I don't believe humans are capable of behaving in such ways apart from demonic guidance and temptation, but rather originally created in the image of God and imbued with dignity and goodness at heart. Sadly, I think the fall is so far-reaching and man's rebellion so increasingly incumbent in the world, that the line between the two has been horribly blurred and spiritual discernment is rarely practiced well. I've never heard this topic so much as mentioned with much sincerity (perhaps only Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis), and certainly never heard anyone teach about it. I'm grateful for this teaching series which has been a small revolution in my thinking on the subject. There is still part 4 to come, which I think will be a Q&A session.

As well, Driscoll has added his notes from this teaching here.

Mark Driscoll on Spiritual Warfare Pt. 2

This is part 2 of 4, where Pastor Mark Driscoll continues his lecture on spiritual warfare, discussing what he calls the "ordinary demonic." This encompasses such seemingly "bland" run-of-the-mill sins such as rebelling against authority, lying, gossiping, and even avoiding sex with your spouse per 1 Corinthians 7. Driscoll rightly points out that these are not exactly what we think of when we think of something as being "demonic" or even "satanic." This is however exactly what they are, as these Scriptures explicitly state over and over again. Additionally, he briefly discusses the "unordinary demonic," which is more what we think of in the realm of demonic spirituality, including such things as satanic accusations, spiritual-physical attacks and torments, false miracles/healings, and demonic possessions. As well, this is a tremendously practical teaching and puts a perhaps new twist on how to view the Christian spiritual life, specifically as in a context of warfare and how to guard against the works and effects of Satan and his minions.

Mark Driscoll on Spiritual Warfare Pt. 1

There's a lot of freaky sounding stuff in here. He is the only person I've ever heard of talking about encountering spirits/demons/forces that doesn't sound like a whacko and that I actually believe. There's some pretty helpful and practical material here also. The reason why is that he makes an effort to say that people who normally talk about this subject and claim to have supernatural experiences with demons are very open about it and will talk arrogantly about their power in whacko-fashion (think the crazy preachers on TV). Driscoll makes it clear that handling spiritual warfare biblically is primarily a humble activity that does not boast about one's experiences with demons and spirits in worldliness, but boasts only about Jesus in humility, following the example of Paul.