IV. The Spiritual Warlords’ Writings

The volume of writings on modern spiritual warfare is very large, so it would be impossible to address all of the writers who contribute to them. We’ll be looking especially at the writings of Charles H. Kraft, C. Fred Dickason, Ed Murphy, C. Peter Wagner, and John Robb and how they substantiate their teachings.

A. Disclaimers and Defenses of Methodology23

Especially Dr. Kraft and Dr. Dickason take great pains to point out that what they are doing is not “divination.”24 While Dr. Dickason’s disclaimer over the top of his work is proven to be untrue by his later descriptions of exorcisms, it is not quite as contradictory as what Dr. Kraft writes. He warns about the deceptive nature of the demons, as does Dr. Murphy, but both of these gentlemen seem to think that they can discern what is true and what is untrue in their words. Especially Dr. Kraft puts emphasis on the fact that the experienced deliverance minister can be certain that what the demons say is true, because he learns to exert control over the demons in such a way that they will supposedly only tell the truth.25

B. Doctrinal Statements Supported by Demonic Testimony26

These supposed foundations pave the way for their direct quotes of demonic utterances in order to prove their points. When Dr. Dickason wishes to support his contention that the teaching that Christians cannot be demonized is demonic, he doesn’t quote Scripture, or even cite experience, but goes straight to the demon!27

Dr. Kraft does likewise. He doesn’t cite Scripture when writing that demons are interested in possessing Christians more than Non-Christians, but quotes a demon’s utterance.28 For more passages where he does so, see Appendix A. However, what I find most shocking is the following quote:

Though we have to be careful..., the quickest way to get the insight God wants us to have is often to get it from the demons themselves.29

We are dealing with a clear admission to doing divination here, though Dr. Kraft would deny that!

Though Dr. Wagner does not quote from his own experiences in exorcising demons, he uses a similar approach to substantiating some of his theories by quoting other deliverance ministers30 .

C. Appealing to Other Religions and World Views to Expand and Substantiate Teachings on the Demonic31

While the above is shocking, what I am going to point out now may not surprise many readers, since appealing to other written sources seems normal these days. The scientific method that the spiritual warlords purport to use31 almost demands that we look at more than one source before coming to a conclusion. However, as we have seen, going to any extra-biblical source is not allowed for the Christian when it comes to spiritual reality.

Especially Dr. Wagner is into going to extra-biblical sources to support his strategic-level spiritual warfare model. He will cite sources such as ex-shamans, pagan religions, and animists in order to substantiate his view of how demons control geographical locations32 .

Fellow warlord John Robb is a bit more cautious at first, but then launches into using the same examples himself33 .

• 23See Appendix C for full quotes.
• 24C. Fred Dickason, Demon Possession and the Christian, (Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1987), p. 161.
• 25Charles Kraft, Defeating Dark Angels (Ann Arbor, MI: Vine Books, 1992), p.161 and Ed Murphy, “We Are At War,” Wrestling with Dark Angels (C.P. Wagner and F.D. Pennoyer, eds., Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1990), pp.50-51.
• 26

  See Appendix A for full quotes

• 27

  Dickason, Ibid., p.191

• 28

  Charles Kraft, “Dealing with Demonization,” Behind Enemy Lines (C. Kraft, ed., Ann Arbor, MI: Vine Books, 1994.), p.92

• 29

  Kraft, Defeating Dark Angels, pp.159-160.

• 30

  C. Peter Wagner, “Territorial Spirits,” Wrestling with Dark Angels, C.P. Wagner and F.D. Pennoyer, eds. (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1990), pp.81 and 82-83.

• 31a31bSee Appendix C for full quotes.
• 32

  Wagner, Ibid., pp. 76 and 85-86.

• 33

  John Robb, “How Satan Works at the Cosmic Level”, Behind Enemy Lines (C. Kraft, ed. Ann Arbor, MI: Vine Books, 1994), p. 173.