It's The Devil's Fault
While some of us are tempted to ask why God allows our children to be born with special needs (see last month’s article), some of us have the opposite reaction. For them, the very idea of “blaming” God seems entirely out of bounds, yet the wound remains. The pain must be dealt with. And so, we blame the devil or demons.
Not long ago I ran across an article in a fairly prominent Christian magazine. A “prophetic healing evangelist” claimed to have healed two children of the “demon spirit” of autism. I make no judgment about the writer’s motivations or sincerity. Still, my blood boiled. Quoting Luke 17:19 where Jesus tells a man that his faith has made him well, this person claimed that as the mothers released their faith completely the full manifestation of the healings could be completed .
Let me be clear, I believe God heals. The New Testament, especially the Gospels, make it clear that demonic forces are real and do indeed inflict harm on the world. We should recall, however, that in the book of Job it is clear that the devil cannot simply do whatever he wants whenever he wants.
There are, however, real problems with this healer’s line of thinking.
In the story being quoted (Luke 17:11-19), Jesus heals 10 men with leprosy. Only one, a Samaritan, returns to thank Jesus. Samaritans were looked down on by the Jews of Jesus’ day because they were seen as half breeds who did not worship God correctly. When Jesus says that this man’s faith healed him, it is first about who he has faith in–namely Jesus–which would have been totally unexpected for a Samaritan.
Second his faith is clearly contrasted with the other lepers who are Jewish and therefore have right belief and worship (in theory anyway). Yes, our faith is important because Jesus works in and through it, however, it is not about how much we have. It is about what God does with it (remember too that the others were still healed). Just prior to this Jesus told the apostles all they needed was faith the size of a mustard seed (v.6)!
What does this have to do with the possibility of demonic influence in autism?
A few things. First, not all of Jesus’ healings were directly related to demons. We should not ever go down a path that says, “if it is bad it is therefore demonic.” This is simply not biblical belief and frankly gives the devil far more credit than he deserves. Sometimes a disease is a disease. Second, there is simply no indication from Jesus’ ministry that the size of our faith has any impact on removing demons and none where deliverance was in any way something that happened over time. When Jesus healed, he healed.
On the surface, one exorcism seems to indicate that it is our faith that is needed for healing, but closer inspection shows that this is not true. In Matthew 17:14-21, Mark 9:14-29 and Luke 9:37-49, Jesus heals a demon-possessed boy whose symptoms sound a lot like epileptic grand mal seizures. The boy’s father went to the disciples first, but they could not heal him. Then he goes to the source, Jesus himself. In Matthew’s account, when the disciples ask why they could not heal the boy (v.19), Jesus tells them it is because they did not have enough faith (vv.20-21), NOT the father!
Mark’s account seems to pose a problem. The father is understandably doubtful when he takes the boy to Jesus (after all the disciples just failed). He asks Jesus “if” he can do anything (v.22). Jesus replies “’if you can?’ Everything is possible for one who believes.” (v.23) Isn’t this proof that my faith as a father has a direct impact on my son’s healing? Not so fast (v.24):
Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
What parent of a child whom they want to see healed doesn’t understand this plea?
The man has faith to a point. He wants to believe, but his faith can only take him so far. And Jesus knows this. Because he heals the boy anyway.
The devil is real. Demons are real. But they are not responsible for everything, certainly not every disease. It is spiritual malpractice to tell a parent that their child is suffering from demonic attack because they have a disease like autism. As we have seen over the past several articles, often we do not know why suffering happens. We do know that God is bigger than the cause of our suffering in any case. The world is a broken place. The question for us is not how big our faith is, but whom are we putting it in. Jesus has proven he is far more powerful than the devil.
Written by Kevin O’Brien
