I am unfamiliar with that one. Which of the possible thing with that acronym were you thinking of? I assume it is not medium close-up, microcontroller unit, or Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University (some of the items in the Wikipedia MCU (disambiguation) page.
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So he’s proud when he can’t do us harm?
- Oh Look, Satan wants to play. See Satan smile?
Run, Jane. Run, Dick.
Go get the priest, Jane. Go get the priest, Dick.
Which priest shall we get, Mother?
Go get the Episcopalian priest! said Mother!
Good idea, Mother! said Father.
See Dick and Jane run?
Run, Jane, run! Run, Dick, run!
- In 1974, the Church of England set up the Deliverance Ministry As part of its creation, every diocese in the country was equipped with a team trained in both exorcism and psychiatry. According to its representatives, most cases brought before it have conventional explanations, and actual exorcisms are quite rare; blessings, though, are sometimes given to people with psychological conditions.
- Anglican priests may not perform an exorcism without permission from the Diocesan bishop. An exorcism is not usually performed unless the bishop and his team of specialists (including a psychiatrist and physician have approved it.
- Episcopal Church in the United States
In the Episcopal Church, the Book of Occasional Services discusses provision for exorcism, stating that cases are to be referred to the diocesan bishop for consultation. There is no specific rite, nor an office of “exorcist”. Diocesan exorcists usually continue in their role when they have retired from all other church duties.
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Do NOT read Hostage to the Devil or Glimpses of the Devil. You could get the Heebie Jeebies and get scared for a very long time.
It ties into theological concepts.
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Cessationism. ( which I went into depth on another post. It’s not part of this actual posts question though and so hopefully it won’t be a side line issue. -Why I’m a Cessationist ( yes it’s longish for a post )
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The other kind of pops up in here. Though some beliefs have changed since then. Fall of Satan. Thoughts? - #8 by mitchellmckain
But the main reason why I fall into it is because of revelation and it’s relationship in style to Isaiah
65:17-23 NASB
New Heavens and a New Earth
17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;
And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing
And her people for gladness.
19 I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people;
And there will no longer be heard in her
The voice of weeping and the sound of crying.
20 No longer will there be in it an infant who lives only a few days,
Or an old person who does not live out his days;
For the youth will die at the age of a hundred,
And the one who does not reach the age of a hundred
Will be thought accursed.
21 They will build houses and inhabit them;
They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They will not build and another inhabit,
They will not plant and another eat;
For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people,
And My chosen ones will fully enjoy the work of their hands.
23 They will not labor in vain,
Or give birth to children for disaster;
For they are the descendants of those blessed by the Lord,
And their descendants with them.
one who does not reach the age of a hundred
Will be thought accursed.
21 They will build houses and inhabit them;
They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They will not build and another inhabit,
They will not plant and another eat;
For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people,
And My chosen ones will fully enjoy the work of their hands.
23 They will not labor in vain,
Or give birth to children for disaster;
For they are the descendants of those blessed by the Lord,
And their descendants with them.
When we compare the new heaven and earth story in these verses it conflicts with what we see in the gospels. Such as Jesus says there won’t be marriage , birth or death. But the verses in Isaiah says their will be birth and death. The only way I can hold scripture in authority and not say one of them is lying is to realize Isaiah is about post exile of Babylonians. It’s not meant to be read literally. It’s metaphorical and poetic and about hope. So when I apply that same stands to revelation and the last fe we chapters I can realize it’s also not about a literal new heaven and earth. It’s a message of hope for Christian’s and Jews post roman persecution. So I don’t hVe to look for a literal new earth. So I don’t hVe to wait for Satan to start some war and be killed and everyone see it and ect….
So for me it all ties together into Satan being dead. He’s dead because he was killed after starting a war over trying to kill Jesus through Herod as a kid. It’s also why we don’t need power as dominion over sickness, death and demons because we are in the restored world and Satan is dead. Now it’s up to us to continue to shape this world into a good place.
Unless they are talking about two different things. Jesus tells us to pray “Your kingdom come, your will be done. On earth as it is in heaven.” So there are two places being talked about. There is the kingdom of God in heaven and the kingdom of God on earth. The earth is for giving us birth. But the earth is a place of considerable limitations, where things are perishable. Heaven is for the imperishable. But the earth is not as it should be – not as God meant it to be. So Jesus told us to pray that the will of God would not only done in heaven but also on the earth. And you can also say that even heaven is not as it should be, because there are so many spiritually dead. So Revelation speaks of a new heaven and a new earth, because much will be changed when many of the spiritually dead are brought back to life.
I don’t see how what you linked has anything to do with an alternative to cessationism. The alternative to cessationism is that nothing has changed. It means the miracles of the Bible are no different than the miracles we see today, because miracle are not and never were some kind of magical violation of the laws of nature.
I’m not even sure what you think you read or what you felt you were asking.
What was a typing that’s an alternative to cessationism?
As we should be, to the extent of being wary, but we have to be sure that it isn’t just our cave-brains unconsciously recognizing a face in the wall or something like that. If someone thinks they are oppressed or being haunted, why not teach them to go through a list of possible causes?
Have you considered getting them to talk with an actual exorcist? I know a couple of people that have dealt with the demonic, and they’re quite methodical about their approach to it. They dispelled the Hollywood notions in my mind and reminded me that God is still ultimately in control.
This is definitely where we need to step back and say, “Wait a second.” Last time I checked, watching Billy and Mandy didn’t make me a vessel for Satan, even though the show quoted Aleister Crowley and has a character named after a Mesopotamian god.
I’m willing to suggest that it could potentially happen, but it might depend on the person subjected to the material, and to what extent the material is actually demonic.
You seem to be doing good so far. The evil one only has as much power as we give him.
Your right, I didn’t understand. I see the connection now.
I’d actually welcome a no-holds barred malign supernatural manifestation witnessed by billions, tested exhaustively by science, as that would be indirect evidence for the benign. But not necessarily…
I cannot imagine what such might be.
If you are going to believe in a force for good it makes sense to believe in an (equal?) opposite force for evil. The world demonstrates the ying/yang principle extensively. But, just as God tends to leave you alone if you ignore Him, likewise Evil (demons) tend to do the same. Evil only becomes dangerous when you mess with it.
There is much in this world that we do not fully understand or even perceive. True, the bible tends to over emphasise the power and influence of demons, attributing them to things we now understand differently, but.
If you are not a cessationist, like me, and believe in the power of the Holy Spirit, it would be foolish to dismiss the opposition power as fallacy. However, confronting it would qualify as “messing with it” so unless you are certain, perhaps the best advice is the one from War Games “don’t play”.
Richard
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The Rite (2011, movie, based on the book “The Rite” by Matt Baglio] (Rite True Story vs. Movie - Real Michael Kovak, Father Lucas Trevant)
- "*The book is all true. There’s nothing in that book that’s not true." - Father Gary Thomas (CatholicExchange.com )
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Believing in cessationism, which I 100% do, does not mean thinking the Holy Spirit is not at work. I linked a thread that has death with that subject.
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You are rather limiting it though. And I am guessing that if you do not believe that the Holy Spirit works through people any more then you would not expect demons to either. IMHO that is an error.
Besides I can vouch for the Holy Spirit still being manifest in humans. I have witnessed it in both the 1st and 2nd hand, as I have also put elsewhere. IOW I think you are being naive at best and foolish at worse to believe as you do.
Richard
Well create a separate thread to my cessationism thread and counter my arguments and we can go from there. Just make sure you read through it all because I’m not big on repeating stuff already answered and I’m even less keen on wasting my time to correct someone who seems to not even know what I believe. If you scroll up a bit you’ll find the now closed thread on why I’m a cessationist. If you want to, read it and make your own thread separate from this one and if it’s actually countering my positions I’ll worry about doing the same.
I was an active participant in that thread. If you didn’t believe me then, you won’t now.
Richard
The devil is in no way an equal, opposite force. Saint Michael the archangel is the opposite of the devil.
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To be honest I walked away from that thread even more confident in my stances. So far in my life after every discussion I’ve ever had for a decade on this subject at the end I have been left even more certain cessationism is the best interpretation of those issues. So much so I don’t even pretend in my mind that there is a possibility of it being wrong.