I thought dark spirits were abusing me.
In a recent sexual abuse case, which is having a significant impact on Christians and churches in Wales, one of the victims was quoted (in the prosecution statement, as reported on the BBC news) as saying “I thought dark spirits were abusing me”. I think I am right in saying that the abuse happened whilst the victim slept. In that half-conscious, dreamy state it must have felt like a nightmare was coming true. Alongside the emotional and physical distress, this individual experienced a sense of spiritual distress. Was this just a vivid imagination or is there more to it? Is there a relationship between abuse and the spiritual realm of the ‘occult’?
I am not here thinking about satanic cult conspiracy theories or about the disturbing things which some people claim to have experienced whilst actively and intentionally seeking interactions with spirits. What is on my mind is the fact that victims of human-on-human abuse sometimes express their traumatic experiences in a spiritual framework. At the very least, processing these experiences can raise questions of spiritual significance - questions relating to meaning and purpose, innocence and purity, and the existence of suffering and evil. When we are confronted by things which are extremely ‘wicked’, especially things which have gone on for a long time under a great cloud of deceit, it can make us wonder about the existence and activity of evil beings working in a hidden realm.
There is a pastoral interface here which we do not often talk about, even though the possibility of hostile spiritual intrusion becomes an area of unspoken concern for many Christians at some point in their lives. If you are worried about this kind of thing you are not on your own and it does not necessarily mean that you are losing your mind! The thoughts I share here are far from comprehensive - they might even raise more questions than they answer. By putting them out in the open I hope to encourage others to take this seriously. Perhaps it will give someone the confidence to raise their concerns with a pastor or mature Christian friend and to seek the help they need.
As we approach this subject, I want to be absolutely clear that spiritual evil can never be used to excuse human sin. God has made us to be responsible creature and holds us accountable for our actions. “The devil made me do it” will never cut it in a court of law or in the higher Court of Heaven! Abusers will have to give account to God for all their actions, just like the rest of us. Sinful human hearts have sinful desires and sinful human beings are responsible for acting on these desires. The biblical view, without reducing our human responsibility, is that demons delight to put temptation in our path. They stir up and enflame our unclean lusts, and blind our eyes to moral and spiritual realities. They will use what power they have to hide and deceive so that sin can continue.
There is a fundamental compatibility between sin and Satan and this is peculiarly clear in situations of abuse. Let me try to explain. From the beginning, Satan has been a gas-lighter - twisting the truth about God to distort his victims’ sense of reality. Like a lion or a wolf he preys on the vulnerable. Like an evil dictator, he seeks to dominate, damage, and destroy. The story of Job reveals something of the perverted pleasure Satan takes in stirring up sin and instigating suffering. He lies and hides in the darkness and hates being brought into the light and exposed. All sin is devilish but there is something especially devilish (‘satan-like’) about serious abuse and abusers.
Because of this ‘compatibility’ between human and spiritual agents, there is no reason for Christians to be surprised if some people sense an evil presence in close proximity to their abuser - perhaps like the victim quoted above. Our Christian duty is not to dismiss and belittle these feelings out of hand. Rather we need to bring their experiences into the light of Scripture and lay hold, with persevering prayer, of all that God says on the matter: Jesus confronted Satan directly and won; Jesus was manifest to destroy the works of the devil; at the Cross of Calvary Jesus disarmed, defeated, and dishonoured the evil one. Alongside the promise of forgiveness for sins, this is a very powerful element of the Christian gospel message.
This can have implication for Christian victims of abuse. Because evil spiritual beings exist in opposition to God, Christians experience life in this world as a spiritual conflict. Just as the devil will do all he can to promote abuse, he will also try to maximise the damage caused by abuse, often employing the subtle power of suggestion as his most effective weapon. He loves to insinuate that God is bad and does not love us. He loves to plant the idea that victims are to be blamed, shamed or forever maimed. He suggests that we are not worth loving and life is not worth living. He wants our deep pain, grief, and righteous anger to mutate into bitterness, hopelessness, and ungodly rage. No surprise if, in the aftermath, he tries to make things worse by robbing you of your confidence in God’s sovereign power, your assurance of God’s goodness, you joy in serving and obeying God, and the peace which God has promised you. Satan knows that God works in Christians so that we “will and do God’s good pleasure” so he will take any opportunity to disturb, unsettle, and distress you, to confuse your mind and paralyse your will.
Again, I am not suggesting that all our problems can be explained on this level. We are physical and psychological beings and sometimes a Christian will need good medical and psychiatric help just as much as the next person. What I am suggesting is that the spiritual conflict which all Christians experience does not happen independent of our physical and emotional circumstances. On the contrary, our trials in the visible world are the terrain on which our spiritual battles are fought (as they were in the story of Job!).
This means that it is not just the immediate victims of abuse who have to be alert to this spiritual battle. When a scandal breaks, the family and friends of the perpetrator are also shaken. If this person was a respected church leader people who were influenced and helped by their ministry might start to doubt much of their own Christian experience. Pastors helping the victims can become overwhelmed by the stories they must listen to and the slow pace of any lasting ‘progress’ - serving in this way is demanding spiritually, emotionally, and physically - and they likely have to maintain this alongside their normal Sunday teaching and other big Church leadership responsibilities. Whether we are involved directly or indirectly, this becomes part of our individual and corporate ‘spiritual battle’.
No doubt I have just opened a can of worms. I can think of no better way of concluding than by quoting from chapter 6 of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. It puts simply and positively so many of the things which I have touched on negatively - the reality and intensity of spiritual conflict, the need to stand and the divine power which enables us to do so, the armour which God provides to protect our every spiritual faculty, the need for Christians to unite in Spirit-filled prayer, the need for divine help even in finding the right words to say, and the priority given to persevering in the proclamation of the gospel even in the most discouraging of circumstances:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Disclaimer: in writing this blog I have drawn exclusively on information which is in the public domain and have not disclosed anything that has been shared with me in confidence.
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