Quaker 2.0

Hi, Christopher F.,

Here’s my take on the “demons” language. I’ve been alarmed when people have used a naive interpretation of “demons” to abuse, shame and disturb people who are already suffering from mental illness. I do understand that was not the aim of those “casting out demons” but I think great caution is necessary as to the effects on those who lives are at the centre.

However: I have experienced being set free what I understand as Christ’s living presence. I am coming to know God as the stream of Living Water, as the Kingdom to be uncovered amongst us which is a new order, which puts God’s mercy, love and grace in the place of the ruler. During this turnaround in my understanding, I feel I have been liberated from demons. This might sound small but it’s really significant to me - a key instance is the demons of “fashion”. Whilst many Friends are able out of their own human strength to refrain from being caught up in the fashions of media culture, I had been entrapped by it. I used to spend way too much time thinking about clothes, trying to dress in a way that would not be judged badly by those around me, undermining myself with comparisons to those whose paid work it is to look good.

One of the many things God has done for me is to show me a way to dress that is simple and liberates me from all those worries. I am completey freed from the tyranny of wondering if I look fashionable/acceptable etc. I know I look right to God’s eyes. I have five dresses of the same pattern, all my clothes are comfortable and servicable. No more decisions about what to wear! Praise God.

I find that pastor’s rationale far from rational. Having dealt with mental illness myself, I also find his comments to be insensitive. The mindset of beliving that mental illness is “demon possession” is funny at the least and abhorrent at the worst.

Sadly, this is the religious mindset of America more often than not.

Friends, as peace-loving people need to work to counteract this form of dis-information. What is worse is how this woman’s family feels hearing what is being said.

Shalom

Alice - I love the way you express the idea of salvation - that part of what it means to be saved is to be set apart from the things that keep us from God. I think most people understand that it’s not just being set apart from sin, but from any of the things that keep us bound up.

I think that’s always been my take on the social gospel - that setting people free from poverty and oppression isn’t just about living out a testimony - it’s about actually seeing salvation come into the here and now.

Daryl - a friend of mine managed a Quaker camp up in central California and one week she had a camper who had been told by his pastor that he should stop taking his psych’ meds and just trust God. When he did and became unstable, the same pastor attempted to exorcise the youth, pinning him down on a table and praying over him for hours. When my friend finally found out, she took control of the situation and got the young person help.

What strikes me most about this story is that it shows what happens when we stop being skeptical - when we revert to our childhood fears and assumptions and allow irrational behavior become our testimony of God to the world. I sometimes imagine God shaking his head in disbelief (like Jesus with the people around him) at how dangerously silly we are and how desperately we need to “grow up.”

Sometimes, I think that Satan gets a bad rap for things that we don’t want to face up to. The popular quote in the ’70s was “the devil made me do it.” Nah - I don’t think so! Having spent much of my life involved with alternative medicine, I have learned that I need to be aware of my body and there are some things that just need what my doctor calls Vitamin P (Paxil, Prozach, etc.) And as a Christian Mom, and I hope, mentor to the young women in my realm, we do them a disservice by not sharing the realities of the physical dis-eases at various times in our lives. Frankly, I’m glad Tom Cruise wasn’t my husband.