MP3 Download ONLINE TV 30/30 TAPE CLUB



SEARCH

 

WATCH
TV PROGRAM

LISTEN TO
RADIO PROGRAM

2000
ARTICLES

ORDER
CURRENT OFFER

ONLINE
CATALOG

VIDEO CLIPS
LIBRARY

 

HOW DO I BECOME
A CHRISTIAN

TV & RADIO LISTING  

 DAILY DEVOTIONALS

ATRI JOURNAL ONLINE

DONATION INFORMATION

 
Ankerberg Theological
Research Institute
P.O. Box 8977
Chattanooga, TN 37414 USA
(423) 892-7722
For credit card orders only:
1-800-805-3030

QUICK LINKS

BLOGS:

Click for
Jim Virkler's
SCIENCE BLOG

Click for
Michelle's
MINISTRY HAPPENINGS

Click for
Dillon
Burroughs'

BLOG

Click for
Billy Pratt
Billy Pratt & Darrell Boan's
TOUGH QUESTIONS ANSWERED

CLICK HERE TO VISIT JOHN'S

SEARCH

ABOUT JOHN ANKERBERG

NEWS FROM THE MINISTRY

THIS WEEK ON THE JOHN ANKERBERG SHOW (TV)

RADIO

RESOURCE CENTER:

CURRENT OFFER
MINISTRY GIFT
30/30 CLUB
APOLOGETICS
BIBLE
BOOKS
CULTS

  JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES
  MASONIC LODGE
  MORMON CHURCH
  NEW AGE
DEATH AND DYING
FACTS ON SERIES
HISTORICAL JESUS
ISLAM
PRACTICAL CHRISTIANITY
PROPHECY
ROMAN CATHOLICISM
SCIENCE
SEXUAL ETHICS
WORLD RELIGIONS
  ISLAM
  OTHER GROUPS
  OTHER PHILOSOPHIES

  ROMAN CATHOLICISM

VIDEO CLIPS LIBRARY

ARTICLES

INDEX
APOLOGETICS
BIBLE FOR DUMMIES

DA VINCI CODE
EDITOR'S CHOICE
ISLAM
MEDIA WISE

MORMONISM
NEW AGE
PRACTICAL CHRISTIANITY
PROPHECY
QUEST FROM MAILBAG
ROMAN CATHOLICISM
SALVATION
SCIENCE

SOCIAL ISSUES
STREAMS OF LIFE
THEOLOGICAL DICTIONARY
VERSE BY VERSE

SEND A MESSAGE TO STAFF
VIEWER COMMENTS
STATEMENT OF FAITH
MINISTRY PURPOSE
FACT A DAY
DAILY JOURNEY
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
FAQs
RECEIVE JAS EMAIL NEWSLETTER
NEWS RELEASES
MAKE A GIFT TO MINISTRY
HOW DO I BECOME A CHRISTIAN?  
 

    
E-MAIL THIS PAGE
Enter recipient's e-mail:


    

 

 
THE JOHN ANKERBERG SHOW CAN BE SEEN ON THE FOLLOWING SATELLITE NETWORKS:

SUNDAY 9:00 p.m. ET
         Channel 369
SUNDAY 8:30 p.m. ET
         Channel 378

SUNDAY 11:00 p.m. ET
SUNDAY 8:00 p.m. PT
SUNDAY 10:00 p.m. PT
MONDAY
1:00 a.m. ET

           Channel 262
SUNDAY 9:00 p.m. ET
SUNDAY 6:00 p.m. PT
           Channel 263

SUNDAY 9:00 p.m. ET
Europe, Asia, Middle East, & North Africa, Daystar is now on the EUTLESAT HOTBIRD 6 SATELLITE (Channel HB6 TR 154) United Kingdom on BskyB channell675, South America on NSS606 -- T12A, Australia & New Zealand on Optus B3 - TR5, South Africa on VIVID -- 68.5 degrees
Africa on PAS 10, Israel on HOT Cable System Channel 98

SUNDAY 9:30 p.m. ET

SUNDAY 11:00 p.m. ET
SUNDAY 10:00 p.m. PT
MONDAY
1:00 a.m. ET

SUNDAY 11:00 p.m. ET
SUNDAY 10:00 p.m. PT
MONDAY
1:00 a.m. ET

           Angel One
Now in Canada on ShifTV

SUNDAY 8:30 p.m. ET

CLICK HERE FOR
LOCAL TV LISTINGS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


NEW AGE

Evidence for the Devil : Secular Sources
by Dr. John Ankerberg, Dr. John Weldon

Hostility to Historic Biblical Christianity

The fact that all spiritistically inspired literature opposes biblical teaching confirms the biblical view of spiritual warfare. Otherwise, why should godly spirits oppose biblical teachings at all? Their own teachings prove that what the Bible says of them is true (i.e., that they are not who they claim).1

In our book Cult Watch we stated in brief that the evidence demonstrates that these "loving" spirits with their endless disguises—from "angels" to "aliens" to "nature spirits"—fit the category of the demonic. It can be shown that these spirits—despite their frequent use of religious words and claims to spirituality—promote sin and immorality, and endorse occultism. Some even promote criminal activity and such perverse rituals as necrophilia (sex with corpses). They also pervert and distort biblical truth, reject Christ and hate the God of the Bible, and purposely deceive those who listen—sometimes with sadistic intent. If the above can be demonstrated (as it can), what other conclusions may we arrive at other than that these creatures are deceiving spirits? Why should we listen to them?

Consider the teachings of the spirit entity "Emmanuel" as found in the text by Pat Rodegast entitled Emmanuel’s Book. Morally, Emmanuel teaches the permissibility and desirability of divorce ("incompatible" marriages); the possibility of "open marriage" (adultery); the permissibility of abortion ("a useful act" when done "with willingness to learn" for "nothing in your human world is absolutely wrong"); and homosexuality and bisexuality as normal behavior.2

Emmanuel also demeans political leaders as ignorant and sick and teaches that the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust really chose to be murdered in order to grow spiritually. Thus, Emmanuel says that Hitler and Stalin should not be condemned too severely for they also are part of God.3

One book by a psychologist/channeler having wide experience with channeling says that a common theme of almost all modern channeling is that because men are literally creators of their own experience, "There are no victims." All personal experiences with evil are simply things we choose to create to "learn certain experiential lessons."4 But are these teachings logical? Are they the kinds of moral codes man should live by? Are they good, ethical teachings in any sense? Can they be considered socially constructive? Are these ideas what we would expect from morally pure, divine, or highly evolved spiritual beings?

Or, on the other hand, are they what we would expect from evil spiritual beings? The fact is that such teachings are not the exception; they are merely representative of hundreds of other spirits’ teachings as reflected in occult literature today.5

The Destructive Power of the Occult and the Testimony of Brilliant Thinkers

The personal damage to people’s lives revealed throughout the history of the occult is powerful evidence that occult practice links one to a world of evil spirits. This may explain why some of the most energetic minds of the modern era have accepted the reality of demons: They do leave evidence of both their existence and their nature.

The astute Cambridge professor C. S. Lewis said in regard to the existence of demons: "It seems to me to explain a good many facts. It agrees with the plain sense of Scripture, the tradition of Christendom, and the beliefs of most men at most times. And it conflicts with nothing that any of the sciences has shown to be true."6

Trial lawyer, philosopher, and theologian Dr. John W. Montgomery holds eight earned degrees, including two doctorates, and is the author of over a hundred books and articles. He owns one of the largest personal occult libraries in the country and is convinced "there is overwhelming extra-biblical data and empirical confirmation" documenting scriptural claims for the existence of a personal devil and demons.7

If even veteran psychic researchers admit the following concerning our ignorance of the psychic realm, certainly there is no reason to reject the idea of demons outright: "In truth, even the most knowledgeable among us must admit that when dealing with psychic aspects, we command no more than varying degrees of ignorance."8

Is the skeptics’ position really tenable? Dr. Montgomery argues that, in controversial areas especially, special care must be taken to objectively assess the facts of the matter, whether or not it is personally comforting: "We must ‘suspend disbelief,’ check out the evidence with the care demanded for events in general, attempt to formulate explanatory constructs that best ‘fit the facts’ and at the same time be willing always to accept facts even if our best attempts to explain them prove inadequate."9

Let’s offer a final illustration of why we feel we cannot ignore the possibility of a real devil and demons. It is a fact that all men everywhere believe that at any given moment, an invisible world of living creatures hovers about us (such as viruses and insects); indeed they even play an important role in the outcome of affairs on our planet, such as crop harvests and disease levels. Nevertheless, we rarely see them.

There are literally billions of creatures about us that we never see—in the air, water, and soil. Yet we know they exist, either by careful observation or the evidence of their visits.

It is a little strange that in a world where billions of creatures are not seen and yet believed in, that men refuse to accept the existence of God, angels, and demons merely because they have not yet seen them—when, in fact, their "tracks" are virtually everywhere. Perhaps some people cannot see them because they rule out their existence to begin with; hence, their "tracks" are explained by recourse to other theories. But for those persons who observe both nature and religion carefully, the "tracks" of the invisibles are only too obvious.

Dave Hunt uses the analogy of the subatomic particle called the neutrino as an illustration of the closed-mindedness the skeptic has toward the spiritual world.10 The neutrino is a particle that has no physical properties (no mass), no electrical charge, and is unaffected by gravitational or electromagnetic fields. A neutrino traveling toward the earth would pass right through it as if it simply did not exist. In fact, only one in ten billion neutrinos passing through matter the equivalent of the earth’s diameter would react with a neutron or proton!

Now, let us assume there are intelligent "neutrino" beings. They would, of course, not be able to detect our universe; to them it would simply not exist. A neutrino entity could, at the very most, suspect our existence from certain secondary effects. But he would undoubtedly be ridiculed by his fellow colleagues and could never prove his suspicions since his neutrino instruments would simply be incapable of detecting our universe.

If such beings existed, we who live upon the earth might find it unendingly amusing that these entities would refuse to admit our existence merely because they could neither see us or detect us directly. Their philosophical and logical "proofs" of our nonexistence would make good party fare. And if it were possible that we could in some manner interact with their world (while they could not affect ours), no doubt humans would have a very merry time with any curious neutrino beings willing to investigate our effects or "prove" our existence. To those neutrinos willing to dedicate their lives to our research, it would undoubtedly be most profound, with many disturbing implications.

The parallels here to the materialist’s unwillingness to believe in a spirit world and the parapsychologist’s eagerness to try and prove one exists is obvious. Both are caught, as it were, in a "neutrino trap": The former’s closed-mindedness prevents his realization of another dimension; the latter’s curiosity and credulity permits unending manipulation. And note carefully how little a neutrino being could ever really discover about our world. All his time would be spent with the enticing and fascinating secondary effects that, at best, would constitute the tip of the iceberg. After all his painstaking investigation, after all the theoretical constructs he could muster, he would remain infinitely ignorant about the real makeup of our world. He would know nothing of our physical constitution or abilities, our morality or civilization, our social structure and laws, our penchant for cruelty or wars.

The psychic’s dilemma is also obvious: He is the equivalent of a neutrino being poking and prodding a foreign environment, with absolutely no genuine knowledge of its inhabitant’s makeup and morality, or its world’s laws or dangers. A neutrino being was never meant to exist on an earth world, and neither is an earth being capable of exploring a neutrino world without courting whatever unknown hazards might be present. But to say evil spirits cannot exist, or that there is no evidence for them, is simply untenable by the canons of biblical, cultural, and empirical data.

In conclusion, a person would be hard-pressed to maintain that demons simply do not exist after considering not only the divine authority of the Bible and the testimony of Christ (who, as God, is an infallible authority), but also the consensus of history and religion, the testimony of active and former occultists, the phenomenon of spirit possession, the hostility to biblical revelation displayed in spiritistic literature, and the personal wreckage in the history of occultism.

In the end, one either trusts the spirits and ignores the facts, or trusts the facts and ignores the spirits.

Notes:

 

1 See the companion article: "The Teachings of the Spirits."

2 Pat Rodegast, Emanuel’s Book (Weston, CT: Friends Press, 1986), pp. 132, 198-201, 227, 232, 205, 161.

3 Ibid., pp. xx, 145, 88, 151, 208, 223, 228.

4 Kathryn Ridall, Channeling (New York: Bantam, 1988), p. 58.

5 See the companion article: "The Teachings of the Spirits."

6 C. S. Lewis, Screwtape Letters (New York: Macmillan, 1971), p. vii.

7 John Warwick Montgomery, "Commentary on Hysteria and Demons, Depression and Oppression, Good and Evil" in John Warwick Montgomery, ed., Demon Possession: A Medical Historical Anthropological and Theological Symposium (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany, 1976), p. 232.

8 Martin Ebon, "Psychic Roulette," Psychic Magazine, Dec, 1975, p. 58.

9 John Warwick Montgomery, Principalities and Powers (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany, 1975), p. 146.

10 Dave Hunt, The Cult Explosion (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1980), pp. 15-16.

.

.

 

 

 

 

 

THE JOHN ANKERBERG SHOW

Make a donation to

The
John Ankerberg Show

If you have been ministered to today, please help us minister to others by making a contribution to the ministry.

Please enter gift amount then press "Make a Donation"
 

Ministry Gift
Price:
$

THIS WEEK

Step by Step Through the Book of Revelation

CLICK HERE
TO WATCH ONLINE


DR. JOHN ANKERBERG'S RESPONSE TO CREATION QUESTIONS

Dr. John Ankerberg answers your questions on creation in the following article available both as a downloadable PDF and broken down into individual questions for online reading.  Click the link below to read:

Does Scientific Evidence Today Show that God Created the Heavens and the Earth? And What Does the Bible Say About When He Created?

 

 

Copyright 2006, Ankerberg Theological Research Institute