Sunday, January 9, 2022

Harry Tennant on Problems with the "Accommodation" View of Demons and Demon Possession

  

. . .we have some additional areas of difficulty, as follows:

 

Jesus addresses the demons;
The demons respond;
The demons are cast out or depart.

 

Why should language of this kind be used if demons do not exist? Some people explain the language by saying that Jesus simply used the language of his day because that was how people thought and understood. Whilst this method of explanation has some value, it also has deficiencies. It looks as though the Lord Jesus Christ was contributing to popular beliefs. A more understandable explanation is that Jesus had to use for the sufferer language which was helpful to him. The sufferer had been told by those around him that his trouble was demon possession. Jesus had to deal with that fact in the process of his healing work. (Harry Tennant, The Christadelphians: What They Believe and Peach [2d ed.; Birmingham: The Christadelphian, 1998], 166-67, italics in original)

 

Further Reading


Listing of Articles on Christadelphian Issues