[books i've been reading]

Spiritual Warfare

by Karl Payne

In Chapter One, Payne sets the stage for his book. His purpose is to equip Christians to do battle against their spiritual enemies. Spiritual warfare deals with the Christian’s battle against those anti-God, anti-creation, and anti-man forces that seek to disorient and destroy God’s people. Christians do battle against three particular enemies: the world, the flesh, and demonic powers (the “powers and principalities” of Romans 8 and Ephesians 6). The main thrust of the book is the latter, since Payne’s experience as a deliverance minister has led him to write the book. Observing the difficulty of addressing this topic, Payne writes, “Spiritual warfare is a topic in Christian circles that can easily appear like a swinging pendulum. On one side of the pendulum swing are the groups who refuse to give any credibility to serious discussions regarding satanic/demonic warfare other than hypothetical lip service concerning the most extreme of possible circumstances. There is a natural, rational, psychological, or psychosomatic explanation for nearly all problems, they say… A more probable cause for each supernatural hysteria, they believe, would lie in the areas of faulty reasoning, emotional excesses, sincere but naïve manipulation, poor Bible study methods or, in some instances, fraudulent and deliberate deception. On the other side of the pendulum are groups that appear to credit or blame everything on the presence of satanic/demonization activity at the expense of common sense and the need to take responsibility for one’s own personal actions… [Demons] have somehow evolved from the position of defeated, evil, finite, created creatures into seemingly omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent beings that possess and control everything from coffee cups to Spirit-filled Christians.” Payne, who is a non-charismatic, conservative Baptist minister, works against these polarizations throughout the book, especially in Chapter Three.

In Chapter Two, Payne asks, “How did a non-charismatic, ordained conservative Baptist minister ever begin working with demonized individuals?” (that question is the chapter’s title.) Payne writes about his first two experiences with demonized people: the first was with a neighbor when he was a young man, and the second came many years later when he was a fresh, new preacher. His experience with the second is recounted in detail and is that which opened his eyes to the spiritual “powers and principalities” alive and at work among us today. 

In Chapter Three, Payne distances himself from those who claim that these “powers and principalities” are behind every bad thing that happens. Because of the reputation deliverance ministers have due to Hollywood, Payne emphasizes that his methodology is quiet, un-cinematic, and otherwise normal (if he’s in his office doing deliverance work, his staff can’t tell the difference between that and a prayer meeting). Payne insists that if deliverance ministries are marked by chaos and confusion, then (a) the minister doesn’t know what he’s doing or (b) he’s intentionally doing it that way for the hype. Some deliverance ministers like to blame everything on demonic forces, and these are the ones whose ministries are more like over-the-top circuses. Payne’s not of that persuasion, nor does he believe that everything can be boiled down to having natural (rather than supernatural) causes. Standing in the Middle Ground between the polar approaches to spiritual warfare, Payne blends the two and proposes that some things can be both natural and supernatural in nature. Affirming that not everything negative in life comes down to demonic activity, Payne writes, “[The] challenges and battles we face aren’t always medical or natural in nature… [The] Bible is just as clear that all of the struggles we confront in life are certainly not demonic or supernatural in nature, either. [In Matt 4.23-24] Jesus clearly recognized the difference between physical disease and maladies, deformation, epilepsy, and spiritual demonic bondage… He successfully healed all of the above without apparently deferring to one over the other.” (24) Conversely, “We should be just as aware that the New Testament reveals there are some physical, mental, and emotional problems that actually can have a supernatural cause. These may be specifically supernatural in origin or also have a natural explanation [e.g. Luke 8.26-29, 13.10-11].” Thus those who are “quick to explain recurring problems in strictly medical, mental, or physiological terms, or to find a demon behind every bush, should remember that some of our battles may be a blending or a combination of both the physical and the spiritual.” (25)

Payne then looks at the scope of demonic activity in the Western world today. He writes not from theory but from experience. He establishes that according to the New Testament, demons are real and active in the world. “Jesus certainly acknowledged the reality of spiritual warfare [Matthew 4.1-12, 17.14-20; Luke 13.11-17]. So did Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles [2 Corinthians 10.3-5, 11.1-4, 13-15; Ephesians 6.10-18]; James, Jesus’ half-brother [James 4.7-10]; Peter, the Apostle to the Jews [1 Peter 5.6-9]; Luke, Paul’s personal physician and traveling partner [Luke 10.17-20; Acts 19.13-20]; Jude, another half-brother of Jesus [Jude 6-8]; and John, the Beloved Apostle [Revelation 12:10].” (33)

If the New Testament is so clear, Payne asks, “[why] are so many Evangelical church leaders so hesitant to talk about this topic publicly? Why so hesitant to train people to distinguish between the various tactics and warfare strategies of the world, the flesh, and the devil? The short answer is fear. We fear the unknown, and we fear potential theological associations with groups or individuals who abuse this subject. Failure to prepare for spiritual war can, however, be just as irresponsible as excessive preoccupation with the subject.” Payne agrees with Dr. Mark Bubeck in that “fear is the number one reason demons often successfully defeat Christians.” (32) Comparing the attitude towards demonic activity in the New Testament and the Western world today, Payne writes, “Demons are organized in their work and respond to the highest delegated authority commanding them. They are also predictably consistent. Their arrogant responses [to deliverance ministers] are often an indictment against the church of God rather than a praise. Unfortunately, they seem to feel quite safe around most Christians. And at times, they seem so confident they openly attempt to intimidate those who oppose them with challenges and threats. This is certainly a far different response than what we read about in the New Testament when demons were in the presence of Jesus, Paul, and other early leaders. They were terrified and trembled before these men. Today, at least in North America and Western Europe, they feel free to mock and ridicule.” (34) Payne traces this difference to presuppositions and fear within western culture. “[We] are often either unaware of our delegated authority through Christ over demons, or we are afraid to exercise this authority, even if we intellectually understand the privileges. When we fail to use the delegated privileges we possess in Christ, demons certainly aren’t going to volunteer to cooperate in their own hurt. Although they are often predictable, they certainly aren’t stupid.”

“Most of the time,” Payne writes, “demons would rather systematically deceive people in relative silence than draw attention to themselves. If their presence and opposition become too overt, someone might get suspicious and actually try to get help.” (36) Payne holds to the Kaiser Soze approach to demonic activity; Kevin Spacey’s character in The Usual Suspects, a gimp who masterminded a brutal killing spree, kept himself hidden precisely by appearing innocent. He says, “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” The Kaiser Soze approach to demonic warfare (which I find credible) is that demonic activity isn’t limited to the Hollywood versions; these spiritual entities are defeated but clever, and they aim to distort and destroy God’s good creation, not least of all His prized image-bearing creatures. Subtlety, in our western culture saturated with the ethos of philosophical naturalism, is the Name of the Game. The aims of demonic powers, Payne writes, are to “destroy those Christ loved enough to die for. They usually focus first on trying to keep people from knowing Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. If they fail in this assignment, their next job is to do everything possible to keep that born-again Christian self-absorbed and ineffective in ministering to others.” If Christians, influenced more by the media than by Scripture, perceive demonic activity to be marked by demonic possessions of the sort you hear about from the Philippines, a lack of such activity may be interpreted as evidence that demonic activities are nonexistent; we, after all, know better than that. Demons, Payne argues, don’t need lots of Smoke & Mirrors to accomplish their objectives. The possible “marks” or “symptoms” of demonization vary dramatically, but most often they’re not in the same vein as the spinning head in The Exorcist. Recounting his experiences with deliverance, Payne writes that those afflicted by demonic activity “may battle daily with irrational fears, habitual feelings of inferiority, isolation and rejection, debilitating mental accusation and self-condemnation, and eating disorders. They may experience a seemingly insurmountable battle trying to read their Bible, to pray, or to grow spiritually. They may also have frequent thoughts of harming themselves or suicide, struggle with uncontrolled anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, or lust. They may feel hopelessly and helplessly controlled by sex, gambling, or drug and alcohol addictions. They may also have deep feelings of abandonment and social isolation, typically triggered by the notions that they are too unworthy to have any friends. Very few of these individuals have played with Ouija boards and Tarot cards, howl at the moon, or pray to the devil. A person caught in an unrelenting, downward cycle of mental paralysis, overwhelming feelings of depression, guilt, and spiritual failure is more typical of the Christians I’ve worked with than the media’s sensationalized stereotypes.” (35)

Thus much of the western church’s silence regarding demonization has to do not with biblical truth but with presuppositions and ignorance. If we are ignorant of the fact that demons are real and active in the world around us, and if we are ignorant of the fact that we have authority over them, we are virtually giving them free reign. “[Although] Christ has delegated authority to every Christian over all the powers of the enemy [Luke 10.18-20], only those Christians who exercise this authority will realize the awesome victory.” (37) “Demons are subject to believers through the authority of Jesus Christ. Although they have no fear of believers personally, they are terrified of the One who walks with us.” (39) Because we are in Christ, we have been given victory over the demonic powers in the world. “This is why James and Peter tell us to resist the devil rather than to run from him [James 4.7-10; 1 Peter 5.6-9]. Our confidence and victory are not in our own resources or strength. The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords delegates our authority and victory. The Christians’ battle with demonic spirits is not ultimately ‘them against us.’ The real battle is between our master, Jesus Christ, and their master, Satan. The good news is that our Master already won this war at Calvary [Colossians 2.13-15]. Christians who fear a fight with demons don’t understand their delegated authority in Christ. They also misunderstand who is ultimately doing the actual fighting.” (41)

Although most of this book focuses on the third category of spiritual warfare (demonic activity), Payne insists that any book on spiritual warfare must look at the other two enemies: the world and the flesh. To attribute everything to demonic activity is to be ignorant that there are two other enemies who fight against us; conversely, to attribute everything to the world, or to the flesh, at the exclusion of the others is to be no less irresponsible. In Chapter Four, Payne looks at our first enemy: THE WORLD. The world as an enemy is mentioned in James 4.4 and 1 John 2.15-17, among other places. Payne identifies the world as “the current condition of human affairs, in alienation from and opposition to God, e.g., John 7.7, 8.23, 14.30; 1 Corinthians 2.12; Galatians 4.3, 6.14; Colossians 2.8; James 1.27; 1 John 4.5” (45). The world is defined in 1 John 2.16, where the Apostle John writes, For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. These three things—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life—are aspects of our enemy “the world.” He defines the Lust of the Flesh as “an external proposition designed to trigger a physiological response in our mind and body.” The lust of the flesh certainly does pertain to pornography and sexual immorality, but Payne includes alcohol abuse, chain-smoking cigarettes, eating disorders, and drug addictions in this category. The Lust of the Eyes “focuses squarely on our desire to have beautiful things, which we believe we must have for contentment. By definition, both the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes in the world’s context deal with external solicitation to sin.” (50) Enviousness, covetousness, and jealousy are all integral parts to the lust of the eyes. The Pride of Life focuses on selfish ambition; while there’s nothing wrong with ambition in and of itself (after all, Proverbs praises the ambitious man over against the lazy fool), this worldly ambition is marked by self-interest over against anyone and everything else. Payne sums up these three aspects of the world on page 56: “[External] propositions designed to trigger physiological urges make up the lust of the flesh. The lust of the eyes focuses on our desire to obtain beautiful things others have that we want. And the boastful pride of life deals with selfish ambition.” Payne argues that the best way to fight the world in all its guises is to evaluate its claims over against scripture. Such evaluation is necessary, because without it, we will be easily duped. “[If] someone tells you that the world can’t look appealing, that is a lie. If the world didn’t appear valuable, it wouldn’t be the major problem it represents, even for sincere Christians. The issue isn’t whether the world has tinsel and trappings to offer for our allegiance; the real question is whether or not the price tag that goes along with selling out for temporal treasure is worth the cost.” (65)

In Chapter Five, Payne looks at the second enemy Christians face: THE FLESH. “Galatians 5.16-17 clearly [identifies] the flesh as an internal struggle waging war within us and against us. Recognizing the source of the proposition as either internal or external is the key to discerning whether the immediate source of battle with the flesh is from the world or from our inherited sinful nature.” (70) If the proposition to sin comes from something outside of us—a pornographic website, a billboard advertising a fancy car, or through TV commercials—then it is an attack from the world; if the proposition to sin comes from inside us—from our own desires run amuck—then it is an attack from the flesh. Payne writes, “Although new life in Christ does mean that we are no longer legally slaves of sin, dominated and controlled by fleshly desires, it does not guarantee freedom from daily struggles… We can now choose to let either the flesh or the Spirit control us. Before our conversion, we had no choice in the matter.” (71) Payne is adamant that no matter our maturity in Christ, we will be buffeted by our own sinful desires and impulses. Though we are cleansed in Christ, though we are new creations, we are not yet glorified, and we still toil under the weight of sinful inclinations—though we can toil with victory. “Is there something wrong with me that I have selfish, self-serving thoughts and desires? No, because facing conflicting choices is not the problem. That is a privilege. The issue is the choice I make. I can now choose to serve Christ or myself. I am legally free from the curse and dominion of sin to choose whom I will serve.” (72) He adds, “Christians may claim victory over the flesh moment by moment, day by day. But the pragmatic truth remains that the flesh is a constant enemy and an active challenge for the believer until the Lord changes our corrupted body into an incorruptible one.” Payne gives three different “battle plans” against the flesh, all drawn from scripture: (1) Run (2 Timothy 2.22), (2) Renew the Mind (Eph 4.22-24), and (3) Walk Controlled/Filled by the Spirit. The latter “battle plan” is decisive among Christians because of different interpretations regarding what it means, theologically and pragmatically, to be filled by the Spirit. Payne throws in his two cents (which I agree with): “Galatians 5.16 commands Christians to walk controlled by the Holy Spirit… Ephesians 5.18 commands believers to be filled with the Holy Spirit… The principles and results are the same. The word fill means to control. To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to be controlled by the Spirit, and to be controlled by the Holy Spirit is to be filled by Him.” (82) He writes, “When believers choose to confess any known sins between themselves and God, and yield total control of their entire lives to God, they are free to ask God the Holy Spirit to supernaturally fill, control, and empower them to serve Christ, and subsequently they have the ability to consistently walk in victory over the flesh.”

Chapter Six focuses on the third enemy Christians face: the devil. The world is our sociological enemy, the flesh is our physiological enemy, and the devil (and his counterparts) is our supernatural enemy. Ephesians 6.16, 1 Peter 5.6-9, and James 4.7-10 acknowledge this enemy as real and encourage Christians to withstand him. Payne writes, "Although demons can attack Christians physically, they more typically focus their accusatory arrows against our minds. Why? As Proverbs 23:7 indicates, if you can control a person's thinking, you can ultimately control his actions... This type of attack is subtle and often more effective than creating an overt spectacle that could wake up even the sleepiest Christian from an apathetic stupor and motivate him to pick his Bible and look for answers." Thus, as Payne makes clear, the Christian's mind is the main battlefield of demonic attack. Revelation 12:10 identifies demonic attacks precisely as that of accusation, and Payne gives three ways to determine if an accusation is from a demonic spirit or is conviction by the Holy Spirit: (1) When the voice, the word, the idea, or the impression whispered in your ear violates scripture, it isn't conviction from the Holy Spirit and it should be ignored; (2) When the voice, the word, the idea, or the impression is vague rather than specific, it is not from the Holy Spirit and should be ignored; (3) When the voice, the word, the idea, or the impression whispered in your ear is consistently demeaning and in second person pronoun, it is not the Holy Spirit, and it should be ignored. On this third point, Payne writes, "A demon is not going to speak to a Christian in a first person singular pronoun because it is not that person. [Rather, a demon will begin using] a second person singular pronoun. 'You' this. 'You' that. 'You' always. 'You' never, and so on. The truth is that we get so used to hearing the accusation and condemnation that we flip the pronouns from the second person to the first person. Slow down the tape and listen carefully; what you hear may surprise you. And if you happen to hear the accusatory voice communicating in a first person plural pronoun--'we'--it may be a clue that you are dealing with more than one demon." (89) When accusations come, we are to pray offensively against the accusations. Psalm 27 is an example of a defensive prayer asking God for protection; Psalm 35.1-8 is an example of an offensive prayer asking God to destroy all that is out to destroy us. On the one hand, Payne takes seriously the Bible's declaration that demonic powers are at work among us and accuse us on a regular basis; on the other hand, this isn't to say that demons lie behind every accusatory thought. "If habitual feelings of unworthiness and condemnation are still mentally debilitating a person after consistently praying offensive prayers, the problem may be physiological or mental rather than demonic." (90) He adds, "It may also indicate the presence of a demon or demons holding ground 'topos' against that person... But if those feelings of unworthiness and condemnation leave as quickly as they arrived, then welcome to the world of demonic warfare." 

"[To] resist demonic attacks," Payne writes, "we must first be able to recognize them for what they really are--lies from the pit of hell. We need to reject and ignore lies, not allow them to control our thinking and actions." (90) The problem many Christians face is ignorance. "[Many] Christians under the fiery attack of demonic archers [Ephesians 6.16] have never learned how to recognize supernatural opposition. There always seems to be a more reasonable explanation than demons, and, when doubtful, they just blame the flesh or a weak will." (86-87) In addition, many Christians shy away from anything resembling spiritual warfare with supernatural forces out of a fear that to get involved will bring them harm. Such fear-based motivation runs contrary to Scripture; after all, Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world (1 John 4.4, 18) and God hasn't given us a spirit of timidity but of power, and love, and discipline (2 Timothy 1.7). Payne points out that while some people believe getting involved in spiritual warfare will make demons scarier and more intimidating, the opposite is true. "[The] more discerning and competent I have become in working with [demonic warfare], the less obvious and more subtle my battles have become... Standing on truth and the delegated authority of Jesus Christ is not an open invitation for demonic bondage. Quite the opposite. When demons realize that a Christian is no longer paralyzed through fear and that he can also shoot back, they hide behind trees rather than march in the open dressed in red coats. Demons are not stupid, and they do not enjoy divine retribution." (91) 

Payne argues against the classic break-down of demonic activity into "oppression" and "possession." He adds a third category: demonization. Oppression is what Christians or non-Christians experience when demons attack them externally, usually through the promulgation of lies, false doctrines, and such of that nature. Possession is what happens when a non-Christian is wholly controlled and imprisoned by a demonic spirit; these are rare, Payne writes, and even then they don't measure up with what Hollywood tells us about them. Demonization is a third category: this is what happens when a demon (or demons) invades a person, Christian or non-Christian, "renting space," so-to-speak, without owning that person. This is different than opposition in that it is an internal rather than external attack; it is different from possession in that the demonized individual isn't totally under demonic control. Ephesians 4.27, Payne argues, makes room for Christians being prone to demonization. The Greek word for opportunity (topos) had a variety of meanings in Greek literature, and it could just as easily mean "place" or "space" as it does "opportunity". His own persuasion that Paul means topos not as "opportunity" but as "space" is swayed not so much by the Greek but by "the personal experiences of solidly Evangelical Christians, church leaders, and missionaries..." (99) In his deliverance work, Payne makes it clear that Christians can be demonized and demons can inhabit space within a Christian without owning that Christian in the same way God owns him. A lot of Christians argue against this interpretation because they can't fathom God, in His love, allowing such a demonic presence in the life of one of His children; but if we agree that God allows our enemy the flesh to be active within us, why must we assume He would have different rules with demons? If it is possible to give demonic powers a foothold in our lives, how might they go about it? What routes might they take? Payne suggests two: (1) unconfessed sin and (2) unresolved anger. He adds, "Passivity, fear, bitterness, and indifference to sin each represent an invitation for demonization." (111) 

Chapter Seven looks more in-depth at how demonic attacks tend to be more subtle than blatant. In the previous chapter, he wrote, "The most common method of attack I have discovered in working with believers struggling under demonic affliction is habitual debilitating and paralyzing mental accusation." (101) This ties in with what Revelation 12.10 tells us, that the devil accuses God's people. On page 105, he writes, "There are hundreds and thousands of Christians on the receiving end of the fiery arrows of demonic accusation who secretly feel very much like [a hamster going nowhere on its wheel]. No matter how hard they try or how dedicated they are in their Christian lives, they never seem to be able to progress beyond the bottom of the wheel and the feeling of being trapped inside the cage of their mind and thoughts." This unrelenting barrage of mental accusation gives birth to feelings of failure and frustration which blossom into feelings of bitterness directed towards God and other Christians; feelings of discouragement and inadequacy are replaced with anger and resentment. Depression, hopelessness, and apathy are the common End Results. This, Payne writes, is what demonic accusation is like. It is subtle and focused on growing Christians. At the beginning of Chapter Seven, Payne writes, "Demonic warfare is usually a battle of mental subtleties and deception that more often than not focuses upon growing Christians... [There] seems a direct correlation between a believer's devotion and commitment level and the subtle attention and attacks demonic spirits direct toward that person. The bottom line seems that the more dedicated and consistent a Christian is, the more that person must face the enemy's fiery arrows." (113) 

Why do demons tend to be more subtle and overt in western cultures? Payne writes, "[Many] Christians... seem comfortable dismissing or ridiculing the existence and the reality of spiritual warfare. In so doing, such Christians relegate a believer's conflict with demons to childish ghost stories or to discomforting phenomena missionaries overseas might occasionally confront but that 'ordinary' Christians can simply ignore." (115) "[Subtle] covert attacks in our [western] society are usually more effective than aggressive overt attacks that could possibly wake up even the most religious skeptics to question the reality, reverence, and correctness of spiritual faith, doctrinal presuppositions, and theistic worldviews." Demonic powers are brilliant and they have a mission; their ultimate goal isn't garnishing their fame but waylaying the kingdom of God. They will do what needs to be done in order to further their goal, and in our western culture saturated with the ideals of materialism and philosophical materialism, covert operations work far better than what we might find in tribal, animistic cultures. "Attempting to convince a person who has spent the majority of his life trying to appease evil spirits that supernatural entities do not exist is probably not an effective plan of attack. But terrorizing that same person through open attacks and bizarre manifestations, and communicating a message that his gods are not strong enough to protect him from the wrath of an offended demon might effectively allow the demon to continue manipulating and controlling him." (115-116) Conversely, "[Ridiculing] both Christianity and demonism as emotional hocus pocus and the sign of a weak, gullible mind could be a very effective way to keep a proud, self-made, rationalist and empiricist, impressed with his own education, opinions, and accomplishments, from even exploring the possibilities of spirituality in general, demonic warfare specifically, or the gospel message of new life in Jesus Christ." (116) To overtly attack someone steeped in philosophical naturalism would be foolishness to the highest degree; it would very likely backfire. "Why wake up people who are spiritually asleep, haplessly bobbing on the waves of naturalism and happily adrift in a sea of moral, ethical, and religious relativism? If someone or something made the mistake of arousing them from their slumber, they might actually become motivated to take some aggressive action. A more effective plan is to let them stay drugged in their hubris and religious skepticism, sound asleep and devoid of any understanding of spiritual realities."

"Demonic spirits would much rather lull Christians to sleep than risk waking them up," Payne writes on page 120. "Dopey, mopey believers don't present much of an obstacle to an organized army intent on destroying its enemies. Demons understand that sleepy Christians living an ineffective spiritual life will eventually succumb to apathy... Visible manifestations and direct confrontations with demonic spirits just might serve as a wake-up call for believers stuck in the rut and routine and convenience, compromise, and comfort of playing church. Demons don't want to have to contend with Christians motivated to stand up and fight." As Payne puts it, "Why would a smart demonic spirit risk forcing a confrontation when so many Christians are looking for a reason to avoid the issue of demonization? Emotionalism, stress, an overactive imagination, and extremism are easier explanations for demonic activity than being forced to respond to a direct confrontation with demons that visibly manifest themselves." (121) 

In Chapter Eight, Payne shows how he usually goes about his "exorcisms" (though he doesn't use that term). I've read a good number of books on exorcisms and demonic warfare (it's an interest of mine), and this chapter is refreshing: it isn't filled with lots crazy stories that look like something straight out of William Peter Blatty's mind. Payne admits that when he first started, he had a good amount of chaos: "I had people yell, scream, swear, cross their eyes, gasp for air, run from my office, fall on the floor in twisted contortions, mock me and those praying, and other things..." (129) When a visiting missionary asked him why he allowed such things to go on, he was taken aback, because he didn't know he could stop them. The missionary talked about laying down ground rules for the exorcism, which the "exorcist" is allowed to do because of his delegated authority in Christ. Thus Payne writes, "If warfare counseling is consistently a circus it's because the individual conducting the session either doesn't know what he is doing or he is allowing the chaos on purpose, possibly in an attempt to make himself look more important to the situation than he really is." Payne's process is as follows:

(1) Identify unconfessed sin that could be a foothold. Using texts such as Mark 7.21-23, Galatians 5.19-21, and Colossians 3.5-8, he has those who are concerned they may be dealing with demons confess sin in their lives that demons may be using as an "entrance point."

(2) Establish Ground Rules. Ground rules "draw a tight box around the demons. Demons are tricky and desire power, even when we are in the process of commanding them to leave. The ground rules make it clear that they are on the side that has lost, and the counselee is on the side of Christ who has already won." (130) He lists 12 Ground Rules on pages 130-132.

(3) Declarations of truth. Payne declares the truths of victory, authority, protection, and position from various scripture texts.

(4) A series of questions followed by expulsion. Payne asks the demons their names, commissioning source, specific jobs, habitual lies, and the ground it holds. After the demon has answered the questions, Payne commands the demon to leave under the authority of Christ.

(5) Follow-Up. Payne encourages the counselee, after being cleansed from demonic presence, to keep short accounts with sin, utilize offensive prayer, and commit to studying the Bible. Regarding this last point, Payne writes, "I am convinced that demons have more respect and fear of the Word of God than most Christians." (142)

Payne also writes about how he goes about his exorcisms, making two key points: (1) he doesn't perform exorcisms on the first meeting. He doesn't believe every problem Christians face comes from supernatural activity. Remember: Christians also face-off with the world and with the flesh, and the battle tactics are different with those. Furthermore, some Christians may believe they are under demonic influence when they are simply in need of a good doctor, psychiatrist, and medication. (2) He doesn't perform exorcisms for those who don't want them. If a person is invaded by a demon, but doesn't wish to be free (i.e. doesn't desire it to the point of confessing sin, repenting of sin, and surrendering one's entirety to Christ), then the exorcism simply won't work. If a person has made room for a demon and continues to consent to that demon's living there, the demon won't be forced to leave. Payne can only speculate as to why this is the case, but it's something he's experienced.

In Chapter Nine, Payne answers “Common Questions” that he’s run across again and again over the years. Payne argues that all Christians undergo warfare against demons: most Christians are simply oppressed, meaning demonic forces seek to influence us externally. This oppression can come and go. Demonization, however, is what happens when demonic forces seek to influence us internally. Payne admits he doesn’t know all the details about how all this works, only that he’s come up with the term demonization because it gets away from the Oppression/Possession schema and makes sense of why Christians can be “possessed” by demons. The best part of this chapter, I think, is Payne’s answering the question, “Why are so many Christians afraid or hesitant to address the subjects of spiritual warfare and demonic activity?” (1) Most Christian circles outside of charismatic-oriented churches and groups typically ignore the areas of spiritual warfare and demonization. Christians in non-charismatic churches are often worried about their reputation in those churches if they become involved in spiritual warfare or become associated with people who work in the field. (2) Many Christian groups have abused the subject of spiritual warfare and demonic activity. Because of certain groups of Christians who have turned spiritual warfare into a sort of circus, sincere Christians like to keep their distance from them, often to the point of rejecting anything and everything that is similar in thought or practice to such groups. (3) Too many Christians care about being politically correct rather than biblically correct. “The popular media have consistently promoted the ridicule of God, Satan, and demons in a fashion that makes Christians look dumber than the common ancestor of the apes we supposedly evolved from.” (179) Payne remarks, “Christians who fear a backlash from the media or their neighbors and colleagues seem to work harder at blending into society than opposing its accelerating slide into godlessness. They too often spend more time accommodating the lies of naturalism, relativism, Darwinism, and Marxism than they do promoting the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ and the inerrancy of Scripture. God calls Christians to walk in the light and expose evil, not excuse it.” (4) Some Christians give Satan and his demons too much credit. Some Christians are hesitant to discuss or even think about spiritual warfare and demonic activity because they fear getting involved in it themselves and becoming subject to Satan’s attacks. Never mind that a Christian is, by nature, already involved in spiritual warfare; ignorance about our authority in Christ and a spirit of fear prevents many Christians from looking seriously into this subject.

In Chapter Ten, Payne gives examples of things that might happen during an exorcism, relating stories of his own experiences. This chapter serves also as a warning to Christians who are flippant about sin. "A person who receives Jesus as Savior but habitually ignores him as Lord is potentially setting himself up for a walk with Christ that more closely resembles a job to endure than new life in Christ to enjoy. Picking and choosing which sins to confess or ignore may work if pleasing man is the goal. But we should understand that Christians who refuse to confront habitual sin in their lives are handing out an open invitation for demonic bondage, whether they realize it or not." (182) He continues, "[When] a true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ chooses to hide, ignore, or run from sin that has opened ground to demonic spirits, he may suffer ongoing mental, emotional, and sometimes even physical torment. This is true regardless of the person's position in Christ, even though that believer is still heaven bound according to 1 Corinthians 3.15." (183) "[Playing] with sin or excusing it isn't resisting demonic attack; it's inviting it. James and Peter are both clear that victory over the devil will occur when we resist the devil in humble obedience to God... But playing with sin is to a demon what blood in the water is to a shark." He hammers out a rebuke: "The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians that they were not ignorant of the purposes (methodologies) of the devil (2 Corinthians 2:11). He could not and would not make the same claim for most Christians living in North America in the twenty-first century. Christians, by and large, ignore or shy away from spiritual warfare. Pantheists and New Agers embrace demonic spirits as ascended masters or spirit guides, and spiritists often celebrate contact with demonic spirits as some sort of spiritual enlightenment." (188)

In the Epilogue, Payne sums up the thrust of his short book: "Our enemies--the world, the flesh, and the devil (sociological, physiological, and supernatural opposition)--represent every possible combination of spiritual warfare we will encounter in this life. We must learn how to recognize all three enemies and not focus on one at the expense of the others. In Christ, we have the authority and the power to consistently walk above their temptations and propositions if we will learn how to discern the source of our battles and apply the proper defense system God has designed for each enemy." (213-214)