Before continuing with this week’s post on the demonic, I want to let those of my readers who follow the philosophical posts know that my newest scholarly effort, Illumined By Wisdom and Love: Essays on a Sophio-Agapic Constructive Postmodern Political Philosophy, is now available from Amazon and on other platforms.

A friend of mine, who is a professional philosopher and theologian, considers the book to be a formulation of a proposal for the importance of a pragmatic as opposed to an ideological approach to political life. It is deeply impacted by Peirce’s pragmaticism and the thoughts of his followers and those modern thinkers most affected by the developments of modern physics. I am not a professional philosopher, but having been challenged by one of my children to undertake the task I did several years ago. Those who read my posts weekly will recognize the rough outline of my thoughts.

Accusations of the Demonic

There is nothing more common than for someone to describe a person, political party, institution, or other group with which they disagree as “demonic.” The word often means little more than “I violently dislike this person, party, institution, or group.” Like the term “Nazi,” the term has almost lost any serious meaning. In a culture in which unstable or prejudiced people, as well as political manipulators, constantly attempt to influence people by using the term demonic, it is essential to gain an understanding of the proper use and meaning of the term. Furthermore, as Wink points out, in a materialistic world where most people have difficulty conceiving of any spiritual reality, it is important to understand the Biblical use of terms like “angel” and “demon.”

Demons

In keeping with his definition of spirit realities as the inner reality of the physical world and his understanding of persons as embedded in a network of relations, Wink sees the demonic as a warped, inner spirit of human beings and their institutions. [1] He doesn’t deny that people have personal shadows, even demonic potential. Yet, this personal shadow or demonic is part of the network of institutions and physical reality in which a person is embedded. This is in keeping with a post-modern, pragmatic view of the human person as constituted in relationships with self, others, society, and the “life-world” they inhabit. This observation is consistent with modern thought about persons and groups developed within many disciplines, secular and sacred.

Once again, Wink is motivated by a desire to resist two opposite errors made by modern thinkers and many modern Christians: a denial of the demonic or an overly concrete, mythological understanding that overestimates and overemphasizes the demonic. The modern materialistic mindset tends to discount the demonic, giving free rein to demonic activity. On the other hand, a fundamentalist approach tends to see demons everywhere and give them more credence than is deserved. Wink does believe in the reality of the demonic as a separate category of existence—albeit as an “inner spirituality.”

Types of Demonic Manifestation

Wink identifies three kinds of demonic manifestation:

1. Outer personal possession,
2. Collective possession, and
3. Interpersonal demonic possession. [2]

Outer Demonic Possession. By outer personal demonic manifestation, Wink means an individual’s inner spiritual captivity to internalized social realities.[3] By collective possession, he means the possession of individuals in social groups. Finally, by interpersonal demonic, Wink means the struggle to integrate a split-off or repressed aspect intrinsic to the human personality that is only made evil by its rejection.[4] In all this, one can see Wink’s attempt to bring his explanation of the demonic into conformity with modern depth psychology and a process of understanding human personhood.

In discussing outer personal possession, Wink focuses on the story of the Gerasene demoniac. In his view, outer personal possession is not merely personal or the personal pole of a collective melody affecting an entire society. In outer personal possession, one person bears the brunt of the collective demonic, which is thus allowed to remain unconscious and undetected in society at large. I find this unconvincing. It would seem to meet a better analysis of personal demonic as a spiritual reality within an individual personal being who is the result of social forces.

Collective Demonic Possession. Collective possession is somewhat easier to understand. Following Kierkegaard, Wink sees that the 20^th century has seen many instances of what might appear to be societies giving themselves up to evil in mass. [5] In such phenomena as Nazi Germany, and perhaps some social phenomena in other societies, one sees a kind of mass possession by a demonic spirit that has an existence in a group impacted by the same spirit. Once again, Wink sees these demonic manifestations as the inner reality of a social dysfunction that is allowed to become collective and highly destructive. I will devote an entire blog to the Angel of the Nations, examining nations’ redemptive and demonic spiritual potential.

This week, there are remembrances of the Holocaust, which is a poignant reminder that societies do have demonic potential. This is not limited to Nazi Germany but can impact any society which loses its moral grounding and compassion for human beings in the quest for power and influence. After the Second World War, there was a lot of discussion in Germany about the collective nature of the German demonic spirit. Karl Barth thought it was only necessary to admit that Germany had been foolish. (It’s hard to look at the death of 6 million Jews as the result of mere national foolishness.) Others felt that Germany had been infiltrated by a demonic spirit that created a mass disaster.[6] Wink would seem correct that there was more than a mere political miscalculation but the idolatrous nature of Hitler’s entire regime.

Inner Demonic Possession. By inner personal demonic possession, Wink means a “split off” or unintegrated aspect of the self. This aspect is not alien to the self but intrinsic to the human personality and needs to be owned, embraced, loved, and transformed as part of the struggle for personal wholeness. [7] Jung’s influence is evident in this definition. On the positive side, this way of conceiving the demonic explains why some people who can be seen as demonic can also be seen and diagnosed as psychotic in some way. The notion that this unintegrated aspect needs to be healed by love and transformed into wholeness is not alien to the descriptions of the healings of Jesus in the New Testament. In Christ, the demonic is confronted with the steadfast love of God in human form.

Exorcism

One benefit of Wink’s analysis is his belief that not all demonic is subject to the tradition of exorcism. In so doing, he sets out some traditional signs of the demonic and guidelines for exorcism:

1. The exorcist can only discern if exorcism is strongly recommended by reason and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Every potential explanation, other than demonic possession, needs to be rationally eliminated before an exorcism is performed. This would mean, I think, that to the extent a condition is treatable by psychology, it should be explained and treated as a disease, not a possession.
2. The exorcist must discern an evil presence or personality alien to the person or individual being exorcised. Thus, anyone considering themselves an exorcist must have strong faith, developed wisdom, long-suffering love, and discernment. Inexperienced, immature, or untrained persons can do much damage by ill-advised attempts at exorcism.
3. One common indication of possession can be if the person speaks in a voice distinctly other than their voice or speaks in a foreign language unknown to the victim. However, this is not conclusive since the potential for fakery or psychosis is always present.
4. While blasphemy against God, morality, or everything sacred is an indication of demonic presence, it cannot be said to be conclusive for the reasons set out above. There is often the potential for fakery or psychosis, as I have observed.
5. If the person possessed displays impossible physical contortions or seems to possess unusual power or strength or convulsions, it is an indication that the demonic is present. However, there can be other causes that must be eliminated before an exorcism should occur.
6. If the person believes they are possessed, it may be an indication that exorcism is appropriate, yet it cannot be said to be conclusive for the reasons set out above.
7. While exorcism is sometimes effective, it is not successful in all cases. This is particularly important for contemporary Christians. While the disciples were able to cast out some demons, they were not always successful. If exorcism is not necessary and unsuccessful, it can do more harm than good. This means that exorcism should be a remedy of last resort.

Thus, exorcism is only appropriate in rare cases. In most situations, another approach may be warranted. Although generally speaking, exorcism is not practical or even possible, Wink discusses the potential for such an exorcism to occur when there is a collective possession. A form of social madness or possession can likely be alleviated by the collective prayer of the church and the communal manifestation of the spirit of exorcism within the church. In my opinion, this essentially amounts to answered prayer. This is why prayers for deliverance from social evils and oppression are important and practiced by nearly every Christian group.

The Importance of Love

Near the end of his chapter on the demonic, Wink makes what I believe is his most important observation: “The best exorcism of all is accepting love. It is finally love, love alone, that heals the demonic.” [8] Thirty years of pastoral ministry have convinced me that this is true—and the greatest truth of all. It is to be remembered that when demonic spirits confronted Jesus, they faced the love of God incarnate. They confronted that wise and gentle love that Isaiah tells us would not break a bruised reed (Isaiah 42:3). So often, those who feel attracted to exorcism and confront the demonic forget this great truth. We are not facing the demonic in the name of Jesus unless we confront it with the very same love that Jesus showed towards every human being. As one Jewish friend commented, we must remember the infinite value of every human life. [9]

Copyright 2025, G. Christopher Scruggs, All Rights Reserved

[1] Unmasking the Powers: The Invisible Forces that Determine Human Existence (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1986), 42.

[2] Id, at 43

[3] Id, at 43-50. I find Wink’s entire discussion confusing and unpersuasive. He seems determined to locate “outer personal possession” within individuals’ psyches, and while critiquing modern secular analysis, he substantially adopts it. It is hard to see what is being analyzed as “outer” and what is being analyzed as “inner.” It is hard to see as “personal” what is being described as internalized social forces.

[4] Id, at.

[5] Id, at 50.

[6] Id, at 54.

[7] Id, at 53.

[8] Id, at 57.

[9] Doron Avital, “Speech at a Council of Europe Holocaust Remembrance” found at https://youtu.be/PU4znOiICgI (downloaded January 27, 2025). This entire talk is well worth the time. It was given twelve years ago. Its words are even more relevant today.