Illness: Natural or Demonic?

Luke 13:11 - And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself.

Our Western World has experienced many benefits from advances in medical technology over the last several centuries. Many illnesses once thought incurable are now easily treated. Life expectancy has increased, as has the quality of life most enjoy as “60 has become the new 40.” These advances in medicine have come from the rigorous application of the scientific method: hypotheses of chemical reactions and their effects are developed and tested repeatedly until a reliable cure is confirmed. Every year former plagues are eradicated, and hope persists that more will continue to fall in the future, including Alzheimer’s Disease, AIDS, and tougher forms of cancer.

Yet, the scientific approach to medicine tends to assume all illnesses have natural, physical causes. Although most cases of illness and disability in the New Testament can be described as natural consequences, several, such as the bent over woman in Luke 13:10-17, are explicitly attributed to demonic causes. Note in verse 11 above she had a “disabling spirit.” Jesus described her as “a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years.”

We may not often see obvious demonic manifestations, but that does not mean demons are not at work. In the majority world, deliverance from demonic oppression often opens doors to physical healing. Dr. Craig Keener documents many medical anthropological studies that document connection between sickness and witchcraft. “A number of Hmong refugees in the United States have died in their sleep from heart failure with ‘no structural heart abnormalities.’” (Craig Keener, Miracles, Baker, 2011) There is a spiritual world around us that we cannot see, but it affects us. Make sure you live in the spiritual freedom only Christ can bring.