It’s Not the Devil People!
2007
I know the topic I’m about to broach is sensitive. For Christians, at least. And for others, it may be mildly amusing. Yet, it’s something that has bothered me for a few years now, and it really just sort of came to a head this evening (I started this post Thursday evening, May 10th) as I watched Tammy Faye Bakker Messner on “Entertainment Tonight” comment on the colon cancer she’s been battling now for several years.
For those of you who don’t know, Tammy Faye Bakker Messner, along with her then-husband Jim, were popular televangelists with a large media empire that, according to Reuters, “brought in close to an estimated $130 million annually at its height in the 1980s and reached 13 million homes daily.” Yet, as Reuters reports, “It all came crashing down amid sex and financial scandals that landed Jim in prison for five years. Tammy Faye divorced Jim and married his best friend.”
Sadly, Tammy Faye was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1996. In 2004, she disclosed that she was cancer free; however, the cancer returned the same year, this time in her lungs. “Entertainment Tonight” reported that she remarked, “‘The doctors have stopped trying to treat the cancer and so now it’s up to God and my faith,’ she writes [on her website]. ‘Please continue to pray for the pain and sick stomach.’” And yes, I pray that God will alleviate her pain so and sick stomach. I pray that she not suffer anymore.
What really upset me is that she blamed the fact that she has cancer on the devil. It’s the devil that’s making her sick, and she, as a Christian, is not going to let the devil win this battle.
Her statement is related to the popular doctrine (in some Christian “circles”) that asserts if you’re “faithful,” you are immune from sickness, disease, financial difficulties, and hardship. According to this belief, referred to as “The Prosperity Gospel” or “Name It And Claim It,” illness and other hardships are not of God. And if they’re not of God, they’re from the devil (or you’ve been in some way unfaithful to God, which opens the door to the devil to do his dirty work in your life). And because Christians (who espouse this doctrine) have “authority” over God’s creation and the devil, they can pray for whatever they want (according to Mark 11:23-24 and other taken-out-of-context scripture passages) and it will be given to them. And so what adherents of this “gospel” teach is that if you’re sick, pray and have enough faith and God will heal you. Take authority over the devil, because “[God has] given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you” (Luke 10:19). Therefore, if God doesn’t heal you, it’s because you don’t have enough faith.
Essentially, what preachers of this “gospel” have done is taken several scripture passages way out of context to develop a teaching that tickles the ears and makes people feel good.
The problem with this doctrine is that it is so very false! God, nor Jesus, never taught that Christians would never endure hardship. For example, the author of the book of Job discusses this issue at length – it’s referred to as theodicy, which asks the question, “why do the righteous suffer?” If you’re unfamiliar with the story, Job is a righteous man who walks in the ways of God. Ha-Satan (the Accuser) approaches God and asks the question, “Will Job serve God for nothing? Doesn’t he only serve You because You’ve blessed him?” God tells the Accuser that he can test Job to see if, indeed, Job will only serve God because God’s blessed him. The Accuser kills Job’s children, destroys his possessions, and afflicts him with boils from head to toe. In most of the remainder of the book, Job and his “friends” try to make sense of Job’s suffering.
In Job 38-41, as God finally addresses Job and his question of “why am I suffering when I’ve done nothing wrong?” we find that the question of theodicy is not answered. As Job has asserted his innocence throughout the book, he seeks answers about his adversity, complaining to God, “I cry to you and you do not answer me; I stand, and you merely look at me” (Job 30:20). Yet, God does not answer the question. No one knows why the righteous suffer.
And yet, they do. The Bible records many who have. Some preachers forget about these key figures. God made them promises, yet, they did not live to see the fulfillment of those promises. And these people had great faith. Check out what the author of Hebrews 11 says about these faithful people:
…By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days. By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated-the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. (Hebrews 11:29-40, emphasis mine)
And so, you ask, what is my issue? My mother passed away last summer from living with lung cancer for over six years. And I know for a fact that it was not the devil’s doing. Nor was it an issue that she wasn’t healed because she didn’t have enough faith.
In fact, Melissa J at families.com so eloquently addresses this issue in her post, “Name It and Claim It a.k.a. Prosperity Gospel.” In response to her post, Valerie Delp commented,
“I have a dear friend who is critically ill. . .she will struggle with her sickness for the rest of her life and will continue to deteriorate physically. She has chosen to believe in the ‘prosperity gospel’ and decided that if she truly has faith she would choose to give up her walking cane (which she needed to walk) as well as refuse normal medical treatment (or even alternative treatments). Sadly, as a result of her decisions, she has caused her own deterioration to speed up…”
Please understand, I am not coming down on Tammy Faye Bakker Messner. What I am protesting is the fact that people who are seriously and gravely ill (and people who know people who are seriously and gravely ill) are espousing this doctrine as truth. What happens is that when they don’t receive their bodily healing, they and others conclude they didn’t have enough faith to take authority over the devil and the disease. This is erroneous. This is wrong. It is more than a travesty. It is heretical. And it puts God, Jesus, and Christians in a bad light.
This post is longer than I’ve wanted it to be, yet, it is so very important. I will conclude it tomorrow.
In the meantime, what do you think of the prosperity “gospel”? What do you think about people who believe that their faith will cure them of sickness and disease?
(Please pray for Tammy Faye Bakker Messner.)
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Allow me to say, here, here. I am so with you. By culture, I still consider myself a Christian and in no way do I believe in the devil. I believe this whole doctrine concerning the devil simply psychologically enslaves people.
And, for the sake of argument, if there is a devil, my God – as huge as He/She is in my life, could “woop” the devil’s butt any given day of the week. So, with that, I am not concerned or worried. I’m good and the awesomeness of God is so far beyond our comprehension – no matter how hard we try we try to bring Him/Her down to our level. We as a culture have become too familiar with God. God is omnipotent. Therefore, us as believers are in great company.
The whole concept of the devil, in my very humble opinion, is merely man’s way – especially those with all the power in these theocratic institutions, to maintain control over the masses and guilt people into action on behalf of church leadership – since it is they who benefit most from this philosphy.
I am so glad to be a consumer of spiritual truth. There is nothing more liberating.
Peace.
Hi Content Black Woman,
Thank you so much for your comment. While I, myself, believe that there is a devil, I, like you, believe God is so awesome and big that the devil doesn’t matter.
And you’re right, I think, about us being too familiar with God. We think we know what God would do or say, yet, we really don’t have a clue. But, you know, I am so okay with that! I don’t need to have the answers to everything (my husband would tell you otherwise, though).
I appreciate your comment!
Well now! I certainly didn’t expect to see someone espousing on the heresies of the “name it and claim it” movement. Seems like every Christian believes it these days.
As for the existence of the devil, I don’t understand how anyone could simply ignore the numerous chapters and verses in the Bible that clearly speak of his existence and even instruct us on how to fend him off when he attacks. Pesky little myth, this one is.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Hi Lincoln,
I don’t think that every Christian, or even most Christians, believe in the prosperity gospel. I think it seems that way because a few prominent preachers are always featured, as well as their members (although their congregations are quite large). Nevertheless, as people discover that the name it and claim it theology doesn’t work, they begin to search the scriptures for themselves and discover the error in believing such a doctrine. Believe me, I was one. But I know lots of Christians who don’t believe in this doctrine.
Thank you for your comment!
Hi KWiz;
‘Therefore, if God doesn’t heal you, it’s because you don’t have enough faith…’
Not being of a particularly religious nature, as my views tend to lean more towards the idea of one’s own fate or destiny driving the order of things I have to feel a little pity for those that believe the strength of their faith will be the catalyst that either cures or kills them.
For me, faith is not nor has it ever been about healing the body. It has alway’s been about healing the state of mind; or more perhaps the soul, if you will and in order for that process to take place, one first needs to accept that which they cannot change. For those that cannot, there will always be something or someone else to blame, including their faith or lack of it.
Anna
Thank you Anna. I like how you view what faith is about. It makes “sense.” And often, when one’s soul experiences healing, everything else, sometimes, falls in line anyway.
What a beautiful post! I am glad I took the time to read the whole thing. I have lived long enough to know that these bodies that we live in now are bound to fail eventually–it’s just a matter of time! This is true whether you have a little faith, or a lot of faith. (But, if we are believers consider the wonderful new bodies that are waiting for us when we finally do go home.)
I fear for the faith of those who believe the prosperity gospel when time inevitably begins to corrupt the corruptible bodies that we live in.
Tammy Faye Bakker Messner will eventually die, regardless of the amount of faith she has. If not from this current illness, then later, from another cause. The same is true for all of us.
I believe that scripture teaches us to keep our eyes on the eternal prize, not the temporal.
Thanks again for posting!
Hi Laura,
Your comment is indeed insightful and real, as you say, no matter how much faith you have. It makes too much sense. Then again, that’s what alot of Christians come against – the sensical.
@KWiz: It must be regional, they love to roll around in the prosperity gospel around here.
Even in those circles that don’t overtly teach it, there does seem to be a prevailing attitude that if you’re experiencing a lot of suffering, it must be because of some sin in your life. It’s a shame.
While I find some of the tenets of “blab it and grab it” workable… I follow my godsister’s wise advice to “chew up the meat and spit out the bone.”
And yes… we pray for Tammy Faye… for Jim… and for Jay (enjoyed his six-episode reality series).
Like u said, Job was never given the reason for his trials, but still he never lost his faith. To us the readers, were given the insight,that God let the accuser test Job, knowing full well he would not betray the Almighty.We expect love and loyalty only from our children and not from any child, it is the same with God.
For as Jesus said, “If you wish to follow Me, pick up your cross and follow Me”, we may not always know the reason behind our sufferings, but we know in all things God works for the good of those who trust Him and love Him.
God Bless.
Hi Dwacon,
You’re right. You don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater, as my husband says.
Hello Blithe,
Thank you for visiting my site and commenting. What I find great about the story of Job that nobody seems to ever mention is this: People say that Job never lost his faith. However, there are several moments in the book of Job where Job blames God for his plight. But what is great is that in spite of that fact, God chose yet to bless him. We can question God, we can even have a crisis of faith. But God will never leave us.
Hi Kwix, the amazing thing about Job, that the reader gleans from this book that no matter the calamity and tragedy, when pushed to the limit of his endurance, he curses himself, his situation, but never God. He asks for an audience from God to lay his case before Him and ask for justice, but never once does he question God’s existence and never ever curses God, no matter the provocation. God knows that about Job, that is why He lets the accuser have his way with him, knowing His child may rave and rant at the situation but will never leave home. That is the infererence I get from Job. we may not understand the why’s and wherefore’s but it does not matter, for we are not supposed to. That is how the book ends, with Job none the wiser for the reason for his tribulations.
So very true, Blithe. Thank you for taking the time to provide such a thoughtful comment.