This morning after I had watered my gallardia flowers out in the golden greenbelt and was climbing up the little hill just south of the now dry headwaters of Calaboose Creek, I saw a bird on top of the power pole on the brow of the hill. I thought it might be a red-shouldered hawk so I watched it closely as I climbed and then stopped to observe it. Finally, the bird dove from the top of the pole and showed his blue-gray bow of wings--not the red-shouldered buteo hawk but the kestrel, the smallest of falcons.
Gerard Manley Hopkins saw in this bird a sacramental representation of Christ as it appears in his poem, "The Windhover," which begins:
I caught this morning morning's minion, king-
dom of daylight's dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding
Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding
High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing,
In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on swing,
As a skate's heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding
Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding
Stirred for a bird, --the achieve of, the mastery of the thing!
Brute beauty and valour and act. . . .
Monday, September 17, 2012
Friday, September 7, 2012
My "Confessions" Is No Bedtime Story
In the first reader review of my Confessions of a Demonized Christian on Amazon.com, Mitsi wrote, "I was literally attacked by some unseen forces while napping after reading a few chapters. I screamed,"GO!!!!" in Jesus' name of course, and the terrifying forces left!!! Perhaps they did not want me to read the author's story. "
I had neglected to warn readers that they might be subject to demonic attacks and to tell them what they should do if they were attacked. Well, Mitsi did it just fine.
So if you read my book, be ready to rebuke the devil in Jesus name if you are a believer. If you are not a believer and are abruptly convinced by such an attack that you need his protection, then call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ who loved you, died in your place for your sins and was raised back to life for your justification.
"For 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,'" as the Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 10:13. He also writes, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your hert that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9). Do keep in mind that "Lord" means "Master," the "Boss."
I had neglected to warn readers that they might be subject to demonic attacks and to tell them what they should do if they were attacked. Well, Mitsi did it just fine.
So if you read my book, be ready to rebuke the devil in Jesus name if you are a believer. If you are not a believer and are abruptly convinced by such an attack that you need his protection, then call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ who loved you, died in your place for your sins and was raised back to life for your justification.
"For 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,'" as the Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 10:13. He also writes, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your hert that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9). Do keep in mind that "Lord" means "Master," the "Boss."
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Confessions of a Demonized Christian: Introduction
Many people have written of their affliction by demons, but my Confessions of a Demonized Christian is unusual in being a frank, first-person account of how my own sins and a demonic lie led to my occupation and affliction by demons while I was already a Christian.
One of my purposes in writing these confessions is to show other afflicted Christians how to tell whether or not they have received demons into their bodies. Then, by telling my story of how—by God’s grace—I overcame my demons, I want to help similarly demonized Christians overcome theirs. Finally, by exposing the demons’ methods of operation, I want to help yet others entirely avoid invasion by demons.
Christian Writer Since 1973
My track record as a Christian writer since 1973 shows my seriousness of purpose and the absence of sensationalism in my writing. And all my Christian writing was done after having been demonized in 1970. My first major Christian publication was my exposé in Christianity Today (December 21, 1973) of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s deceptive presentation of Transcendental Meditation (TM) as non-religious in order to insinuate it into public schools in the United States. That was followed by InterVarsity Press’s booklet on TM (1974) and by TM Wants You! (Baker, 1976) which I co-authored with Vail Hamilton (Carruth), a former teacher of TM.
My degrees include a BS in Engineering from UC Berkeley and an interdisciplinary MA in Politics and Literature from a small liberal arts university in Texas. With this academic background, I have published articles on subjects ranging from quantum mechanics (Touchstone, September 2003) to the rescue of Jews in Le Chambon, France. In addition, I have critiqued some of the Harry Potter books for American Spectator Online and the pro-life journal, Celebrate Life. My most recent essay, on the surprising morality of Jack London’s “To Build a Fire,” appeared in Touchstone, January/February 2012.
Demonization Defined
The New Testament Greek word “demonize” (daimonízomai) denotes being under the power of a demon or demons. I suffered demonization as a pervasive occupation of my body and a devastating affliction of my soul by demons, in which they subjected me to agonies of fear and anxiety and various physical afflictions. Forms of this Greek verb are usually translated as “demon-possessed,” but the demons never succeeded in suppressing my mind and gaining complete control of my body. For this and other reasons given in Chapter 20, I prefer to use “demonized,” the corresponding English form of the Greek verb, to describe any demon occupation of a human being.
Although not demonized to the point of complete demon control, I did have one Hell of a fight because my body was already thoroughly occupied by evil spirits before I realized that they were demons. Nevertheless, despite their determined efforts to destroy me, God’s grace was sufficient. And what I learned through my experience in using the Scriptures and other means of grace against them will be helpful to any demonized Christian.
I received these demons at first gradually and imperceptibly through habitual sexual sin and later rapidly and palpably through false mystical experiences. But there are many other avenues to demonization of believers because sins such as hatred, unforgiveness, occultism, and drug use have the same temporal consequences for Christians as for pagans: demonization. This to-some unpalatable reality has been recognized by many Christian scholars and leaders including Dr. Neil T. Anderson, Dr. Keith M. Bailey, Dr. Mark I. Bubeck, Dr. C. Fred Dickason, Dr. Ed Murphy and the late Dr. Merrill F. Unger. I share their view of this controverted subject not only from my experience, but also on the basis of the Scriptures. (See Chapter 20. Bible Evidence that a Christian Can Have a Demon, p. 109 ff.)
Why Such Frank Confessions?
The purpose and form of my Confessions require me to reveal the sins that allowed demons to come into my body. This is humbling, and I would not do it were it not necessary to make clear how sexual sin makes us vulnerable to entry by demons. In addition, to show exactly how demons entered my life requires that I expose the sins of other family members now dead, something that filial piety would forbid were it not for the importance of this material in enabling readers to understand 1) How the devil operates in families and 2) How our sins can harm others in our families.
I don’t dwell on my sins more than necessary, but my discussion of them may yet disturb those for whom the “M-word” is a taboo. Indeed, one pastor suggested to me that perhaps the reason the publishers I contacted did not publish my manuscript was my frank discussion of masturbation (as sin). If that is true, perhaps one reason that alarming numbers of Christian men and even pastors are said to remain addicted to pornography is that they are unwilling to confess their sin of lust under the humiliating name of the activity for the enhancement of which they pay good money to pornographers. Perhaps they are not desperate enough to admit just what they use their pornography for. But the most crucial reason for continuing addictions among Christians may be that they have not recognized and gotten rid of the demons they picked up through their sins and that continue to bind them to their sinful addictions.
Help and Hope for the Demonized
Because habitual sexual sin gives place to the devil just as much as do hatred, unforgiveness, occultism, and drug use; this book will be helpful to those addicted to pornography as well as to those with other addictions. Since overcoming any of these sinful practices may require exercising the authority of the name of Jesus against the demons involved, recognition of their presence may be the missing link necessary for complete and permanent victory.
And there is certainly hope in Christ for all such habitual sinners and addicts, just as there is for other demonized Christians. So this book is addressed to all Christians afflicted by the devil as well as to those called to minister to them. For the cautionary yet hopeful story of how I became demonized and then, through the blood of the Lamb, the word of my testimony that Jesus is Lord and the power of God’s word, was restored to effective service in Christ’s kingdom; read the book.
One of my purposes in writing these confessions is to show other afflicted Christians how to tell whether or not they have received demons into their bodies. Then, by telling my story of how—by God’s grace—I overcame my demons, I want to help similarly demonized Christians overcome theirs. Finally, by exposing the demons’ methods of operation, I want to help yet others entirely avoid invasion by demons.
Christian Writer Since 1973
My track record as a Christian writer since 1973 shows my seriousness of purpose and the absence of sensationalism in my writing. And all my Christian writing was done after having been demonized in 1970. My first major Christian publication was my exposé in Christianity Today (December 21, 1973) of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s deceptive presentation of Transcendental Meditation (TM) as non-religious in order to insinuate it into public schools in the United States. That was followed by InterVarsity Press’s booklet on TM (1974) and by TM Wants You! (Baker, 1976) which I co-authored with Vail Hamilton (Carruth), a former teacher of TM.
My degrees include a BS in Engineering from UC Berkeley and an interdisciplinary MA in Politics and Literature from a small liberal arts university in Texas. With this academic background, I have published articles on subjects ranging from quantum mechanics (Touchstone, September 2003) to the rescue of Jews in Le Chambon, France. In addition, I have critiqued some of the Harry Potter books for American Spectator Online and the pro-life journal, Celebrate Life. My most recent essay, on the surprising morality of Jack London’s “To Build a Fire,” appeared in Touchstone, January/February 2012.
Demonization Defined
The New Testament Greek word “demonize” (daimonízomai) denotes being under the power of a demon or demons. I suffered demonization as a pervasive occupation of my body and a devastating affliction of my soul by demons, in which they subjected me to agonies of fear and anxiety and various physical afflictions. Forms of this Greek verb are usually translated as “demon-possessed,” but the demons never succeeded in suppressing my mind and gaining complete control of my body. For this and other reasons given in Chapter 20, I prefer to use “demonized,” the corresponding English form of the Greek verb, to describe any demon occupation of a human being.
Although not demonized to the point of complete demon control, I did have one Hell of a fight because my body was already thoroughly occupied by evil spirits before I realized that they were demons. Nevertheless, despite their determined efforts to destroy me, God’s grace was sufficient. And what I learned through my experience in using the Scriptures and other means of grace against them will be helpful to any demonized Christian.
I received these demons at first gradually and imperceptibly through habitual sexual sin and later rapidly and palpably through false mystical experiences. But there are many other avenues to demonization of believers because sins such as hatred, unforgiveness, occultism, and drug use have the same temporal consequences for Christians as for pagans: demonization. This to-some unpalatable reality has been recognized by many Christian scholars and leaders including Dr. Neil T. Anderson, Dr. Keith M. Bailey, Dr. Mark I. Bubeck, Dr. C. Fred Dickason, Dr. Ed Murphy and the late Dr. Merrill F. Unger. I share their view of this controverted subject not only from my experience, but also on the basis of the Scriptures. (See Chapter 20. Bible Evidence that a Christian Can Have a Demon, p. 109 ff.)
Why Such Frank Confessions?
The purpose and form of my Confessions require me to reveal the sins that allowed demons to come into my body. This is humbling, and I would not do it were it not necessary to make clear how sexual sin makes us vulnerable to entry by demons. In addition, to show exactly how demons entered my life requires that I expose the sins of other family members now dead, something that filial piety would forbid were it not for the importance of this material in enabling readers to understand 1) How the devil operates in families and 2) How our sins can harm others in our families.
I don’t dwell on my sins more than necessary, but my discussion of them may yet disturb those for whom the “M-word” is a taboo. Indeed, one pastor suggested to me that perhaps the reason the publishers I contacted did not publish my manuscript was my frank discussion of masturbation (as sin). If that is true, perhaps one reason that alarming numbers of Christian men and even pastors are said to remain addicted to pornography is that they are unwilling to confess their sin of lust under the humiliating name of the activity for the enhancement of which they pay good money to pornographers. Perhaps they are not desperate enough to admit just what they use their pornography for. But the most crucial reason for continuing addictions among Christians may be that they have not recognized and gotten rid of the demons they picked up through their sins and that continue to bind them to their sinful addictions.
Help and Hope for the Demonized
Because habitual sexual sin gives place to the devil just as much as do hatred, unforgiveness, occultism, and drug use; this book will be helpful to those addicted to pornography as well as to those with other addictions. Since overcoming any of these sinful practices may require exercising the authority of the name of Jesus against the demons involved, recognition of their presence may be the missing link necessary for complete and permanent victory.
And there is certainly hope in Christ for all such habitual sinners and addicts, just as there is for other demonized Christians. So this book is addressed to all Christians afflicted by the devil as well as to those called to minister to them. For the cautionary yet hopeful story of how I became demonized and then, through the blood of the Lamb, the word of my testimony that Jesus is Lord and the power of God’s word, was restored to effective service in Christ’s kingdom; read the book.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
39 Years of Mayhem, 55 Million Dead Are Enough!
After New Hampshire’s presidential primary, National Review reported that pro-life presidential candidate Rick Santorum had made three telling points about abortion: 1) Science demonstrates that human life is a continuum from conception until death; 2) The debate is about whether it is ever right to withhold the protection of the human community from a class of human beings, the unborn; and 3) Repeal of Roe v. Wade would put this debate back “in an arena where the American public can make this decision.”
Roe v Wade, in denying the protection of the Constitution to an entire class of human beings, hearkens back to the Dred Scott Decision that denied such protection to African-American human beings. And while reversal of Roe v Wade might not afford any legal protection to the unborn in California, for example, the choice would be democratic instead of elitist, the still controverted decision of seven black-robed men.
So I’m in for Santorum, a statesman who has never waffled on abortion.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Pat Robertson: Relativist and Gnostic
Pat Robertson's acquiescence in divorce for a philanderer married to an Alzheimer's victim was sharply criticized in Christianity Today and warmly defended by Slate.com. I read the Slate.com article, and I think that they got it right when they said that Robertson was just thinking like a Liberal (i.e., a human being?) instead of like a Fundamentalist (i.e., any orthodox Christian). They cited his support of China's One-Child Policy and of the right of a woman to get an abortion in the case of rape by, say, a syphilitic as similar examples of Robertson's right (humane, Liberal) thinking.
In reality, Robertson's Relativism in these three instances parallels that of Albus Dumbledore's argument by which he convinced the hesitant Severus Snape to join in a murder-suicide pact to kill him (Dumbledore) in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." In the case of the wife with Alzheimers, Robertson adds to his Relativism the heresy of Gnosticism. He declares the woman dead already because of the functional loss of her mental faculties. But though the communicaton lines between body and soul are down, the human person and image bearer of God remains until physical death separates body and soul. And since the vow made before God and man is, "Til death do us part," a minister of the Gospel has no right to minimize the obligation of fidelity to the vow for anyone. Those who accept this inconvenient truth and remain faithful to their vows in such a gut-wrenching situation glorify God and model the self-sacrificial love of Christ for his church before the watching world. The men and women who remain faithful to their wives and husbands to the end are real defenders of the institution of marriage and of the power of God's agape love.
In reality, Robertson's Relativism in these three instances parallels that of Albus Dumbledore's argument by which he convinced the hesitant Severus Snape to join in a murder-suicide pact to kill him (Dumbledore) in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." In the case of the wife with Alzheimers, Robertson adds to his Relativism the heresy of Gnosticism. He declares the woman dead already because of the functional loss of her mental faculties. But though the communicaton lines between body and soul are down, the human person and image bearer of God remains until physical death separates body and soul. And since the vow made before God and man is, "Til death do us part," a minister of the Gospel has no right to minimize the obligation of fidelity to the vow for anyone. Those who accept this inconvenient truth and remain faithful to their vows in such a gut-wrenching situation glorify God and model the self-sacrificial love of Christ for his church before the watching world. The men and women who remain faithful to their wives and husbands to the end are real defenders of the institution of marriage and of the power of God's agape love.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Confessions of a Demonized Christian: How I received another "Jesus"
“‘For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope’” (Jeremiah 29:11, ESV).
[The Introduction to my forthcoming book, to be published online, follows.]
Many books have been written about demon affliction, but my Confessions of a Demonized Christian is unusual in that it is a frank, first person account of the sin and folly that led to my occupation and affliction by demons while I was already a Christian. Although my Confessions do not rise to the level of Augustine’s Confessions, neither do they descend to the level of the Confessions of Jean Jacques Rousseau, who, it is said, tried to justify himself by admitting the bad things he had done. My purpose in writing my book as a confession is, first, to help similarly afflicted Christians recognize that they have suffered demonic incursion. Then, by telling the story of how—by God’s grace—I overcame my demons, I want to help demonized Christians overcome theirs. Finally, I want to help others avoid such demon incursion. Therefore, I believe that my Confessions are more akin to Augustine’s than to Rousseau’s because I share with Augustine the goals of the edification of the church and the glory of God.
I think my 38-year track record as a Christian writer shows my seriousness of purpose and the absence of sensationalism in my writing. And all my Christian writing was done after having been demonized in 1970. My first major Christian publication was my exposé in Christianity Today (December 21, 1973) of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s deceptive presentation of Transcendental Meditation (TM) as non-religious in order to insinuate it into public schools in the United States. That was followed by InterVarsity Press’s booklet on TM (1974) and by TM Wants You! (Baker Book House, 1976), a book on TM co-authored with Vail Hamilton (Carruth), a former teacher of TM.
I prepared for these publications by interviewing people involved in TM, often sharing the gospel with them. While maintaining respect for the humanity of TM’s practitioners, I was able to calmly expose the deceptive presentation of Hindu-based TM as non-religious, reveal the anti-biblical character of Eastern spirituality and warn against the dangers of demonic incursion from its practice.
My academic degrees include a BS in Engineering from UC Berkeley and an interdisciplinary MA in Politics and Literature from a small liberal arts university in Texas. With this background, I have published articles on subjects ranging from quantum mechanics (Touchstone, April 2004) to the rescue of Jews in Le Chambon, France. In addition, I have critiqued some of the Harry Potter books for American Spectator Online, and I am working on a literary appreciation/critique of Jack London’s “To Build a Fire.”
The New Testament term “demonize” (daimonízomai) denotes being under the power of a demon or demons. I suffered demonization as a pervasive occupation of my body and a devastating affliction of my soul by demons, in which they subjected me to agonies of fear and anxiety and various physical afflictions. They never succeeded in suppressing my mind and gaining complete control of my body, but I did have one Hell of a fight because my body was already thoroughly occupied by evil spirits before I recognized them as demons. Nevertheless, despite their determined efforts, God’s grace was sufficient. What I learned through my experience in using the Scriptures and other means of grace against them, however, will be helpful to any demonized Christian, whatever degree of control the demons may have gained.
I received these demons at first gradually and imperceptibly through habitual sexual sin and later rapidly and palpably through false mystical experience. But there are many other avenues to demonization of believers because sins such as anger, unforgiveness, witchcraft, occultism, and recreational use of drugs have the same temporal consequences for Christians as for pagans: demonization. This, to-some, unpalatable reality has been recognized by a growing number of Christian scholars and leaders including Dr. Neil T. Anderson, Dr. Keith M. Bailey, Dr. Mark I. Bubeck, Dr. C. Fred Dickason, Dr. Ed Murphy and the late Dr. Merrill F. Unger. I share their view of this controverted subject not only from my experience, but also on the basis of the Scriptures. (See Chapter 22.)
To show exactly how demons entered my life requires that I expose the sins of other family members now dead, something that filial piety would forbid were it not for the importance of this material in making readers understand 1) How the devil operates in families and 2) How our sins can harm others in our families.
The form and purpose of my Confessions also require me to reveal my sins that opened me up to demonic incursion, including details of my sex life. This is embarrassing and humbling, and I would not do it were it not necessary to make clear just how sexual sin makes us vulnerable to entry by demons. I don’t dwell on these sins more than necessary for this purpose, but this may be a problem for readers for whom the “M-word” is a taboo. Indeed, one pastor suggested to me that perhaps the reason none of the publishers I contacted was interested in my manuscript was my frank discussion of masturbation (as sin). If that is true, perhaps the reason that alarming numbers of Christian men and pastors are said to remain addicted to pornography is that they are unwilling to confess their sin of lust under the humiliating name of the activity for the enhancement of which they pay good money to pornographers. Perhaps they are not desperate enough to admit just what they use their pornography for. Another reason may be that they have not recognized and dealt with the demonic element of their addiction.
Thus, this book will be helpful to those addicted to pornography as well as to those otherwise demonized because habitual sexual sin gives place to the devil just as much as do anger, unforgiveness, occultism and drug use. Since overcoming any of these sinful habits will likely require dealing directly with the demons involved, recognition of their presence may be the missing link necessary for victory over these sins
And there is certainly hope in Christ for all such habitual sinners and addicts, just as there is for other demonized Christians. So this book is addressed to all Christians afflicted by the devil and to those called to minister to them. For the cautionary yet hopeful story of how I became demonized and then, through the Scriptures and other means of grace, was restored to effective service in Christ’s kingdom, read the book.
David Haddon, August 19, 2011, Redding, California
[The Introduction to my forthcoming book, to be published online, follows.]
Many books have been written about demon affliction, but my Confessions of a Demonized Christian is unusual in that it is a frank, first person account of the sin and folly that led to my occupation and affliction by demons while I was already a Christian. Although my Confessions do not rise to the level of Augustine’s Confessions, neither do they descend to the level of the Confessions of Jean Jacques Rousseau, who, it is said, tried to justify himself by admitting the bad things he had done. My purpose in writing my book as a confession is, first, to help similarly afflicted Christians recognize that they have suffered demonic incursion. Then, by telling the story of how—by God’s grace—I overcame my demons, I want to help demonized Christians overcome theirs. Finally, I want to help others avoid such demon incursion. Therefore, I believe that my Confessions are more akin to Augustine’s than to Rousseau’s because I share with Augustine the goals of the edification of the church and the glory of God.
I think my 38-year track record as a Christian writer shows my seriousness of purpose and the absence of sensationalism in my writing. And all my Christian writing was done after having been demonized in 1970. My first major Christian publication was my exposé in Christianity Today (December 21, 1973) of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s deceptive presentation of Transcendental Meditation (TM) as non-religious in order to insinuate it into public schools in the United States. That was followed by InterVarsity Press’s booklet on TM (1974) and by TM Wants You! (Baker Book House, 1976), a book on TM co-authored with Vail Hamilton (Carruth), a former teacher of TM.
I prepared for these publications by interviewing people involved in TM, often sharing the gospel with them. While maintaining respect for the humanity of TM’s practitioners, I was able to calmly expose the deceptive presentation of Hindu-based TM as non-religious, reveal the anti-biblical character of Eastern spirituality and warn against the dangers of demonic incursion from its practice.
My academic degrees include a BS in Engineering from UC Berkeley and an interdisciplinary MA in Politics and Literature from a small liberal arts university in Texas. With this background, I have published articles on subjects ranging from quantum mechanics (Touchstone, April 2004) to the rescue of Jews in Le Chambon, France. In addition, I have critiqued some of the Harry Potter books for American Spectator Online, and I am working on a literary appreciation/critique of Jack London’s “To Build a Fire.”
The New Testament term “demonize” (daimonízomai) denotes being under the power of a demon or demons. I suffered demonization as a pervasive occupation of my body and a devastating affliction of my soul by demons, in which they subjected me to agonies of fear and anxiety and various physical afflictions. They never succeeded in suppressing my mind and gaining complete control of my body, but I did have one Hell of a fight because my body was already thoroughly occupied by evil spirits before I recognized them as demons. Nevertheless, despite their determined efforts, God’s grace was sufficient. What I learned through my experience in using the Scriptures and other means of grace against them, however, will be helpful to any demonized Christian, whatever degree of control the demons may have gained.
I received these demons at first gradually and imperceptibly through habitual sexual sin and later rapidly and palpably through false mystical experience. But there are many other avenues to demonization of believers because sins such as anger, unforgiveness, witchcraft, occultism, and recreational use of drugs have the same temporal consequences for Christians as for pagans: demonization. This, to-some, unpalatable reality has been recognized by a growing number of Christian scholars and leaders including Dr. Neil T. Anderson, Dr. Keith M. Bailey, Dr. Mark I. Bubeck, Dr. C. Fred Dickason, Dr. Ed Murphy and the late Dr. Merrill F. Unger. I share their view of this controverted subject not only from my experience, but also on the basis of the Scriptures. (See Chapter 22.)
To show exactly how demons entered my life requires that I expose the sins of other family members now dead, something that filial piety would forbid were it not for the importance of this material in making readers understand 1) How the devil operates in families and 2) How our sins can harm others in our families.
The form and purpose of my Confessions also require me to reveal my sins that opened me up to demonic incursion, including details of my sex life. This is embarrassing and humbling, and I would not do it were it not necessary to make clear just how sexual sin makes us vulnerable to entry by demons. I don’t dwell on these sins more than necessary for this purpose, but this may be a problem for readers for whom the “M-word” is a taboo. Indeed, one pastor suggested to me that perhaps the reason none of the publishers I contacted was interested in my manuscript was my frank discussion of masturbation (as sin). If that is true, perhaps the reason that alarming numbers of Christian men and pastors are said to remain addicted to pornography is that they are unwilling to confess their sin of lust under the humiliating name of the activity for the enhancement of which they pay good money to pornographers. Perhaps they are not desperate enough to admit just what they use their pornography for. Another reason may be that they have not recognized and dealt with the demonic element of their addiction.
Thus, this book will be helpful to those addicted to pornography as well as to those otherwise demonized because habitual sexual sin gives place to the devil just as much as do anger, unforgiveness, occultism and drug use. Since overcoming any of these sinful habits will likely require dealing directly with the demons involved, recognition of their presence may be the missing link necessary for victory over these sins
And there is certainly hope in Christ for all such habitual sinners and addicts, just as there is for other demonized Christians. So this book is addressed to all Christians afflicted by the devil and to those called to minister to them. For the cautionary yet hopeful story of how I became demonized and then, through the Scriptures and other means of grace, was restored to effective service in Christ’s kingdom, read the book.
David Haddon, August 19, 2011, Redding, California
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Reminiscences on the Life of My Brother: Earl's Last Hunt
My oldest brother Earl's 83rd birthday is today, June 11. Since both our birthdays are in June, and he was 10 years, 18 days my senior, I never forgot it as I sometimes did my other brothers’ birthdays. I had planned to mail him a home-made birthday card produced on my MS Publisher program with a hand-written message and a complimentary close of the one word, “Love.” Unfortunately, I was too late because he died suddenly last Sunday, June 5. Take heed.
He willed to me, among other things, his Winchester Model 94, .30-.30 carbine with which I killed my first deer on Red Mountain, East Fork, Trinity River, Trinity County, in 1956. I just realized that I had returned the favor by loaning him my Model 99 Winchester .308 with which he killed his last deer, probably sometime in the 1960s. After that exhausting hunt, he said he realized, "I don't have to do this." He came to prefer to see the beauty of the living animals and rather disapproved my continued willingness to hunt and kill them. Aesthetically, I agree with him, but like biblical Isaac I still have a yen for venison. I last hunted in 2009 and we didn't even see a buck--until we drove back through French Gulch where they hang around on the lawns even (or especially?) in the middle of deer season.
Henry David Thoreau had a similar development. While at Walden Pond he liked to catch and eat the pike. Later, he gave up such fare, but he admitted that if he returned to live on the Pond, he would be sorely tempted by those tasty fish. As a Transcendentalist (Pantheist) like Emerson, he probably had spiritual reasons for renouncing the killing of animals. As a Christian, I am free to take and eat meat, whether that of wild game or of livestock. Since the forgiveness of sins, my very salvation is based on the shedding of the innocent blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, I realize that in some circumstances, the shedding of blood is required for life to be preserved.
Thoreau thought that boys and young men should be allowed to pursue wild game because it brought them out into nature. But he viewed it as a stage through which they perhaps had to pass on the way to maturity. For myself, I'm not dogmatic, but I think those like my brother who renounce the chase have the better part. And perhaps those like my young Christian friend Brian, who never wanted to start hunting have the best of it.
Still, for some hunters, there is another aspect of hunting, the hunter's bond of trust formed over years of hunting together. You always put your life in the hands of your hunting partners and these relationships can become very close. Killing game becomes secondary to the ritual of the hunt, love for the wilderness in which you hunt and the relationships nurtured by the hunt.
Moreover, in gutting and skinning a deer, with blood at least up to your elbows, you get some sense of the reality of what happened to Christ on the Cross when he shed his blood for the sins of the world. And without the shedding of that blood, we all would be lost.
He willed to me, among other things, his Winchester Model 94, .30-.30 carbine with which I killed my first deer on Red Mountain, East Fork, Trinity River, Trinity County, in 1956. I just realized that I had returned the favor by loaning him my Model 99 Winchester .308 with which he killed his last deer, probably sometime in the 1960s. After that exhausting hunt, he said he realized, "I don't have to do this." He came to prefer to see the beauty of the living animals and rather disapproved my continued willingness to hunt and kill them. Aesthetically, I agree with him, but like biblical Isaac I still have a yen for venison. I last hunted in 2009 and we didn't even see a buck--until we drove back through French Gulch where they hang around on the lawns even (or especially?) in the middle of deer season.
Henry David Thoreau had a similar development. While at Walden Pond he liked to catch and eat the pike. Later, he gave up such fare, but he admitted that if he returned to live on the Pond, he would be sorely tempted by those tasty fish. As a Transcendentalist (Pantheist) like Emerson, he probably had spiritual reasons for renouncing the killing of animals. As a Christian, I am free to take and eat meat, whether that of wild game or of livestock. Since the forgiveness of sins, my very salvation is based on the shedding of the innocent blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, I realize that in some circumstances, the shedding of blood is required for life to be preserved.
Thoreau thought that boys and young men should be allowed to pursue wild game because it brought them out into nature. But he viewed it as a stage through which they perhaps had to pass on the way to maturity. For myself, I'm not dogmatic, but I think those like my brother who renounce the chase have the better part. And perhaps those like my young Christian friend Brian, who never wanted to start hunting have the best of it.
Still, for some hunters, there is another aspect of hunting, the hunter's bond of trust formed over years of hunting together. You always put your life in the hands of your hunting partners and these relationships can become very close. Killing game becomes secondary to the ritual of the hunt, love for the wilderness in which you hunt and the relationships nurtured by the hunt.
Moreover, in gutting and skinning a deer, with blood at least up to your elbows, you get some sense of the reality of what happened to Christ on the Cross when he shed his blood for the sins of the world. And without the shedding of that blood, we all would be lost.
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