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I. Introduction

Studying the new wave of spiritual warfare proves to be a fascinating occupation for most people, as it gives us a lot of new and unusual topics to speak, think and write about. However, a major question is, where do they get that which is new? What of the old adage, “there is nothing new under the sun, save heresy”?

It is appalling to read the writings of the new spiritual warfare authors, such as Charles H. Kraft, C. Fred Dickason, Ed Murphy, C. Peter Wagner, and John Robb and find that their methodology is grounded not solely in the Word of God, but also in extra-biblical sources that describe the spiritual world. While Dr. Wagner and Dr. Robb mainly stick to merely using the teachings of other, non-biblical religions to undergird some of their teachings, Dr. Kraft and Dr. Murphy support their doctrinal and methodological findings with words from the mouths of the allegedly “demonized,” as they like to call those that traditional Christianity would call “possessed.” Basically, they are getting their information from demons.

The goal of this study is to answer the question whether this is a valid practice from a Biblical standpoint, especially looking at the two Old Testament passages of Deuteronomy 18:10-11 and Isaiah 8:19-20. While you, dear reader, may be coming to this paper with a ready answer to this question, I would like to ask you to regard the evidence, both from the writings of the modern warfare movement and also from the Bible itself and draw your conclusions.

We will begin by defining the terms “divination” and “magic” as they are used in connection with the Bible passages that we will look at individually next. Following we’ll look at the evidence within the books of these writers to get an idea of what they themselves think they are doing. Finally, I will attempt to apply our findings to the problem at hand.

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Copyright © 1999 J.M. Diener. All Rights Reserved.