The devils are here

“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” So says Verbal Kint in Bryan Singer’s 1995 thriller, The Usual Suspects. Versions of that sentiment can be found in previous writers as well, including Charles Baudelaire and C. S. Lewis. It has become commonplace today to conceive of the Western world as a “disenchanted” place, where angels and demons have been relegated to the dustbin of history, a mythological holdover from a more intellectually benighted era.

But reports of the demons’ death have been greatly exaggerated, as recent events illustrate only too well. Even this Halloween week, we are reminded that the demonic realm continues to fascinate and terrorize our imaginations. A quick glance at the top grossing films in theaters right now reveals several conjurings of the demonic.

It should be noted that the disenchantment thesis only holds true in certain sectors of our contemporary society. It is certainly true that many of those holding the levers of cultural power—the media, corporations, educators, and politicians—often operate without any explicit reference to the supernatural realm. But spiritual encounters among the masses have never really abated, as Ross Douthat demonstrates in his important new book, Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious.

Satanism, the occult, and even pagan religion have witnessed a comeback in recent years (as have encounters with the angelic side of the celestial realm). Multiple media outlets have reported a recent uptick in appeals for exorcisms, befuddling the materialists but confirming what believers already knew: The “spirit and wonder world” of the Bible, which the New Testament scholar Rudolph Bultmann found so implausible almost a century ago, is closer to reality than many want to admit.

Hell may not be empty, as Shakespeare wrote, but it can hardly be denied that the devils are here. How can one listen to the wicked rantings of the shooter who took the lives of two precious children gathering for prayer and study at the Church of the Annunciation in August, and not conclude that something literally diabolical was at work? Or how can one read the reports about Charlie Kirk’s assassin, Tyler Robinson, and miss the clearly demonic overtones? All of a sudden, the implausible seems plausible. There is a spiritual battle for the souls of men that only the most hardened skeptic could deny.

None of this absolves the perpetrators of these heinous acts of their moral culpability. “The devil made me do it” is never an excuse. Theologians and ministers have long noted that demonic possession never takes someone by force. It is always traced back to some moment or other when the demon-possessed open themselves to Satanic activity by either by invitation or consent. Nor does a demonic interpretation of evil in the world absolve human responsibility in the development of wicked ideologies.

It has been appalling to see so many express glee over Kirk’s death on social media. It isn’t just a few cranks here or there. The phenomenon is endemic to large swaths of the American left. Spiritual warfare doesn’t displace human responsibility (for example, in the book of Daniel, both the spiritual “princes” of the nations and the nations themselves are free and responsible agents). Rather, demonic activity supervenes upon human activity, and both men and angels are fully responsible for their participation in evil and wickedness.

Now is the time for Westerners to wake from their anti-supernaturalist slumbers and to rediscover the world as it really is: a “world with devils filled,” as Martin Luther hymned. Ultimately, we do not wrestle against our flesh and blood human neighbors, as Paul tells us, “but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). The demonized were the objects of Christ’s healing mercy, after all. His work of redemption is precisely one of despoiling the devil of those held in his captivity (Hebrews 2:14-15).

To be clear, once again, the enemies of Christianity are not innocent victims; they are responsible moral agents. And those who commit heinous crimes should be punished to the full extent of the law, up to and including capital punishment. But unbelievers are being led, as we all once were, by the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:1-3). With regard to our human enemies, Christian love calls for the kind of mercy that Erica Kirk displayed at her husband’s memorial when she extended forgiveness to his assassin. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). But with regard to our demonic enemies, we must show them no mercy, give them no quarter, and fight them with all of our might in Jesus’ name.

And lest we imagine that the devils are just “out there” in the demon-possessed or just “over there” on the American left, we must also recognize that the devils are “in here” as well. Discerning the temptations and wiles of the devil in our own lives is an indispensable part of spiritual growth. All of the great spiritual writers in Christian history—from St Antony and the other desert fathers to the medieval spiritual writers to Reformers themselves—have recognized that the Christian life is a battle with the demons, who are constantly suggesting sinful thoughts (logismoi) to our imagination. We must heed the warning of the apostle Peter: “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world” (1 Peter 5:8-9).

The devil’s greatest trick doesn’t seem to be working anymore. It is becoming increasingly difficult to deny his existence. The real question is what we will do now that his pomps are so patently obvious. The answer is the same as it ever was: to resist him by clinging to the only-begotten and incarnate Word of God. To return to Luther’s hymn, which is fitting both to Halloween and to the coinciding celebration of Reformation Day:

And though this world, with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God has willed
his truth to triumph through us.
The prince of darkness grim,
we tremble not for him;
his rage we can endure,
for lo! his doom is sure;
one little Word shall fell him.