1.
Grace,
mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father, and our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. Today we begin a sermon
series on a Christian response to World Religions. Our text today is from Luke 10:17-20, which
says…(read text), the message is entitled “A
Christian Response to Animism.” Dear
brothers and sisters in Christ.
2.
From the very beginning the mission of the
church was opposed by the spirit world. St. Paul clearly warned that “our struggle is not against flesh and
blood, but against . . . the authorities, against the powers of this
dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil” (Eph 6:12). This is
what animism is. It is the recognition that there are powerful spirits all
around us, invisible to the eye.
3.
It’s
striking that people around the world, from the beginning of time, have been
aware of this. All cultures throughout the ages, separated by continents and
centuries, have similar concepts. Sometimes people dismiss animism as sheer
superstition and imagination. But the fact is that every society in history has
had contact with the spirit world, and that is why all societies have a
religion.
4.
There
are people who have a very clear awareness of this spirit world. In traditional
societies, they have been called “shamans.”
A young woman who was in a pastor’s marriage preparation classes said that she
can tell what the situation of spirits is wherever she goes. As soon as she
enters a room, she knows if good spirits are dominant or bad spirits are
dominant or if they are in conflict. I personally have no awareness like this
(and, frankly, I’m glad I don’t).
5.
Here is
an illustration of this. A Lutheran
missionary was on a trek to the Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the Himalayas
in Northern India, when he came across a shaman in one remote area. The
missionary tried to get the shaman to allow his group to be present when he did
his shaman work, usually in the early morning or late evening. During the day
he worked in the fields like everyone else. Shamans are not only the seers but
also the healers. As it turned out, the shaman resisted the missionary’s
presence because, he said, he had a good spirit. If they came to his work with
an “unclean heart,” he feared that the spirit would beat the missionary’s group
through him. Once he was possessed by the spirit, he had no idea what he was
doing. Since he “had a good spirit,” anyone who came to him also had to have a
pure heart.
6.
Finally,
one of the Lutheran missionary’s group decided to share a personal problem with
the shaman. The shaman sensed that this person was genuine and finally granted
him an audience. In the early morning the missionary’s gathered at the shaman’s
home. They had two translators with them: a local man who knew Sanskari and
Tibetan, and their group translator, a Tibetan who knew English. The shaman did
his ritual at his little altar, and soon his voice changed to a very high
pitch. He was now possessed by the spirit, and the spirit spoke through him. The spirit asked the missionary’s friend
about his problem, and he revealed its nature. It was striking that the spirit
knew much about the missionary’s group already. He spoke of the missionary’s
group as two “religious teachers.” (The other man was a pastor from Germany.)
After the spirit had given his direction, he went on to confirm the message.
The shaman (still possessed by the spirit) told the missionary’s friend to take
five kernels of grain from a heap that was in front of us. The shaman then took
two of these and placed them on a leather drum in front of him. If the kernels
turned in one direction, it would confirm the message. The kernels indeed did
begin rotating on their own as they were supposed to, by the power of that
spirit.
7.
The
shaman then turned to the Lutheran missionary and asked if he had any problems
to share. Of course, missionary’s heart started pounding because he didn’t have
anything, and he thought he might be in for a beating! But, the shaman told him
to be “careful about his official papers.”
The missionary didn’t know what that meant, but when they had returned to
mainland India, he did find that our visa papers to remain in the country had
run into trouble with the Indian government.
When the shaman had nothing more to tell us, he turned back to his altar
and did some chants. Soon his voice returned to normal. As soon as he was back
in his senses, he turned quickly to the translator who was with the
missionary’s group and asked if everything had gone all right. He was still
concerned that he might have beaten them!
8.
Animism
is a very complex world. This shaman had what is called a “good spirit”; he was
caring and pastoral in all his dealings. Other shamans and spirits are very
evil. Some animistic societies use voodoo and mantras and curses. These are
supernatural forces, “authorities and
powers,” far greater than our powers.
9.
For this
reason, missionary work often begins with what is called a “power encounter.” God must demonstrate
to the people that he is God, that he has power over these spirits. They know
the power of the spirits they worship. If they stop worshiping them and convert
to Christianity, they want to be sure that they will be protected from the
spirits’ vengeance. At the beginning there will often be miraculous healing,
demon exorcisms, visions, and even claims of raising the dead. The people need
to see the power of God so that they can trust him.
10.
It’s
similar to what God did with Moses when he called him at the burning bush.
Moses threw his shepherd’s rod down, and it turned into a snake. He put his
hand into his cloak, and it turned leprous; when he put it back, it was healed.
Moses needed to see the power of God so that he could go to the Pharaoh in
God’s name.
11.
Animism
isn’t limited to primitive tribal societies. The fact is that every society and
every religion is flooded by it. Hinduism and Buddhism have their high
philosophies, but the vast majority of their adherents worship spirits.
Surprisingly, this is also true among Muslims in the villages. A few years ago, a Lutheran missionary had
Saturday morning Bible studies with several dozen Taiwanese teachers who were
studying at the university. Only two were Christians. The rest were Buddhists
by name, but basically animists in practice. Whenever they had a need or a
problem, they went to a shrine and pleaded with the spirit of that place to
help them. There usually are different spirits for different needs. Taiwan is a
highly advanced society, technologically and educationally, but the popular
religion still is animism.
12.
We see
the same also in some Christian circles. Look at the popular worship of saints
in Latin America. The shrines to different saints are located exactly where the
old shrines to different spirits were. People still come for the same purpose;
they only invoke a different name. Look
at the current fascination with angels, especially among our country’s New
Agers. What is the purpose, of channeling, séances, and prayers to “my personal angel”? This is animism, an
attempt to use supernatural powers for our personal interests and goals. We use
different names, but it’s the same thing. New Agers call them psychics or “holistic healing practitioners,” but
they are basically shamans.
13.
People
don’t want to deal with a sovereign God. They don’t want to be called to
obedience and service and sacrifice. They want to be served. They want God to
serve them. They want to use God. They want the powerful genie to grant them
their wishes in life. Anthropologists
have found that almost every society has a clear idea that there is an
all-powerful God. How else could this world have come to exist? But, God often
is seen to be remote and uninvolved in real life. You really don’t have to deal
with him. What you have to deal with are the spirits. These can and will help
you with your problems, like the saints who help you find things or who protect
you while driving or who are your “patron
saint.”
14.
The good
news we have to share—and to celebrate—is that this great God does care. He is
involved. He’s not remote. In fact, he became man. Our Savior Jesus was born in a manger in a little town called
Bethlehem. This all-powerful God experienced our life. Therefore, in the words
of the author of the epistle to the Hebrews:
“We have a great high priest who
has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God. . . . For we do
not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we
have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may
receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb 4:14–16).
15.
Every
society throughout history has developed some way to cope with the punishment
for sin. Beat oneself. Sacrifice babies or animals. Do anything to appease the
anger of the gods over sin. All people, as St. Paul writes, “have the requirements of the law written on
their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now
accusing, now even defending them” (Rom 2:15). Once again, though, the good news is that the
Creator of the universe isn’t indifferent or remote. He cares. He cared so much
that Jesus came to take that punishment for sin in our place. As fantastic as
that sounds, that is how much he loves. “God
so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son” (Jn 3:16).
16.
What
good news! What a great revelation! What a wonderful surprise! We don’t have to
worry about the whims and fancies of the gods. We don’t have to somehow, in
some way, placate them. The all-powerful God has lifted all that from our
shoulders. The all-loving Father has accepted the sacrifice of the Son, raised
him in glory, and has, in the words of Paul to the Ephesians, “seated him at his right hand in the heavenly
realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title
that can be given. . . . God placed all things under his feet and
appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body”
(Eph 1:20–23).
17.
That is
for you. You are free. You are in the loving hands of the all-powerful God of
the universe. You are loved and valued and respected by him, personally and
eternally. He is the one who asks that you pray to him directly as your dear
Father in heaven.
18.
Tell the
world. Tell the New Agers. Tell those praying to angels. Tell yourself: “Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to
you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Lk 10:20), in the
book of the Father, by his marvelous grace.
Amen. Now may the peace that passes all human understanding, guard your
hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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