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VIEWPOINT
Taking a tribal worldview seriously

Bryan and Teresa Born

Recently we received our copy of the MB Herald convention reports (Sept. 13). Included in it was the document offering ministry guidelines for “Spiritual Warfare”. The Board of Faith and Life deserve thanks for their efforts to address this most important topic. We were not surprised to hear that it produced considerable debate at the Canadian MB Conference convention. The document makes some excellent points and can serve as a good springboard for further discussion. We hope that the opportunity to discuss it has not been concluded by the motion to accept the document, as we have a few concerns that we would like to raise. Primary among these is the observation that this document was produced in North America and shows little recognition of the way our brothers and sisters read Scripture in other parts of the world. This is demonstrated in the following ways.

First, although the document quotes from the MB Confession of Faith – “These [demonic principalities and] powers also work through political, economic, social and even religious systems to turn people away from holiness, justice and righteousness” (Article 4) – nowhere does it suggest that spiritual warfare needs to address systemic evil. It treats spiritual warfare as an affliction of individuals. North Americans debate whether or not individual Christians can be oppressed or possessed by demons when Scripture does not even deal with the issue. As pointed out, the Greek term daimonizomai means “demonization”. Why not just follow Scripture and get on with the task of freeing people from Satan’s power? (That is what Jesus and Paul did – Acts 10:38; 26:18.) Although we believe the concern for individuals displayed in the document is laudable, we are afraid that the much bigger issue has been lost. What about the New Testament language concerning “principalities and powers”? What about structural or systemic evil? What about corrupt political regimes that hold millions of people captive? What about world economic systems which ensure that the poor in the southern hemisphere remain impoverished while the rich North continues to prosper? What about military industrial complexes posing as democratic nation states and imposing their will on the rest of the world?

Our brothers and sisters in Africa are also concerned about Satan’s work in an individual’s life, but they are far more aware than most Westerners that spiritual warfare is much more than “deliverance ministry” – it needs to be viewed holistically. In the churches we work with, believers recognize that Satan is very active and that his demons are wreaking havoc in individual lives. They also understand that Satan uses social structures and the people within them for his ends. Satan knows how to manipulate historical, cultural, economic and social forces for his evil plans. This, for example, is why the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa must be addressed on multiple levels. Of course, some people are sexual addicts, enslaved by demonic powers. But the much bigger question is what has led to a situation where entire ethnic groups seem caught up in a tragic spiral of death. Economic, cultural and historical forces all need to be addressed. Spiritual warfare as discussed in the BFL document seems far too narrow. Perhaps a better title would have been “Guidelines for Ministry with Demonized Individuals”. This leads to our second point. Halfway through the document, the following statement is made: “We caution against interpreting the biblical data on spiritual warfare using a tribal worldview with its emphasis on territory and power encounters”. This is a very troubling statement. Not only is the use of the term “tribal” pejorative in many contexts, but it also needs to be defined carefully if we are going to caution against its use. Furthermore, if we should not use a tribal worldview to interpret Scripture, then which worldview should we use? Perhaps it will be argued that we should use a biblical worldview. Our friends here in southern Africa would agree. They take territorial spirits and power encounters seriously precisely because their “tribal” worldview is so often reflected in Scripture. Dreams, witchcraft, demons, ancestors, etc. are found throughout the Bible. Let us be honest. Do we, with our Western, scientific worldview (so clearly reflected in the “Pastoral Application” section of the BFL statement), think that our worldview is so superior to theirs? There is more than just a subtle undercurrent of cultural superiority in this statement.

In this same paragraph, the whole issue of “territorial spirits” is addressed and quickly rejected. Clearly there have been excesses in the way some people have emphasized the role of demonic forces in specific geographic regions, especially when considering the limited amount of biblical material on the topic. But even though the biblical record rarely alludes to “territorial spirits” (Daniel 10:1-21; Isaiah 24:21), a closer look at the entire biblical picture, with its discussion of the gods of the nations, might also prove useful. What we find most unfortunate is the almost cavalier dismissal of this concept as a relic of a “tribal worldview”. Have we come so far in the West? Furthermore, does belief in territorial spirits “imply that these people are helpless victims of the cosmic battles of the gods”? We would argue that this is not necessarily the case. It is simply a recognition that the spiritual forces we wrestle with may concentrate their efforts in certain locations and employ certain tactics in some locations more often than in other locations. Many of the Christians we know in Botswana recognize that the power of ancestral spirits is stronger in some locations than in others, while witchcraft dominates in other areas and racism is rampant in still others. They do not suggest that this means that people in those areas are “helpless victims” but that they need to be aware of the dangers they face and “put on the full armour of God” in order to experience victory over Satan.

The document goes on to assert that “belief in territorial spirits also denies the work of the cross”. We are deeply offended by that statement, for it is an accusation of heresy. Many of the believers we know are convinced that it is only because of “the work of the cross” that they can experience victory over Satan and his evil forces, including territorial spirits. We would argue that they take “the work of the cross” far more seriously than many, if not most, Western Christians with our overconfident reliance on our knowledge and abilities. Furthermore, the argument used to back up this position is highly questionable. What is one to make of the argument that Satan’s delegated authority was taken away after Jesus’ death and resurrection? Of course, this is true – Jesus has all authority; the power of death and condemnation has been broken; Jesus holds the keys to death and Hades. But what does this have to do with whether or not territorial spirits exist? The statement implies that after Jesus’ death and resurrection Satan no longer has power over people’s lives or social structures. That is ludicrous. The entire New Testament gives evidence of Satan’s ability to destroy lives. Paul speaks of “the god of this age [who] has blinded the minds of unbelievers” (2 Corinthians 4:4) and the “ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” (Ephesians 2:2). The apostle John says that “we know . . . that the whole world is under the control of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). Jesus Himself prayed that His followers would be “protected from the evil one” (John 17:15). To point to Jesus’ authority and victory over Satan at the cross in order to deny belief in the existence of territorial spirits is an extremely weak argument. If Satan can still influence lives today (as the Bible clearly says he can), why should he be unable to deploy his forces strategically? The document claims to rest on biblical authority instead of experience, but it appears the Western worldview has taken precedence in this circumstance.

This is the crux of the matter. We all come to Scripture wearing certain glasses – our culture and experiences shape the way we read Scripture no matter how hard we try to deny it. We are sorry to say that had we been present at the convention, we would have voted with those who opposed the acceptance of this document. It is permeated by an individualistic Western worldview which is unable to account for much of what is happening in the world. We fully endorse the emphasis that the document places on Christ’s victory over Satan and the presence, power and protection of the Holy Spirit. Most definitely we believe that “the one who is in [us] is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4), and we are convinced that no demon or power can “separate us from the love of God” (Romans 8:38-39), but we wonder if this document presumes to know too much about “the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:11).

Bryan and Teresa Born are MBMS International/Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission missionaries in Gaborone, Botswana.

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Last modified January 9, 2003.

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