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Appendix C: Disclaimers and Defenses of Methodology

Note: These are quotes from the writings of the spiritual warfare proponents that are contradicted by their own practices and other passages in their books.

A. C. Fred Dickason

Demon Possession and the Christian, (Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1987), p. 161.

We must be careful not to label research in to demonizations a type of divination or spiritism. It is directly opposed to such a thing. It does not gullibly seek information from spirits of men or of superior creatures. It does not seek to advance personal wisdom or power. It does seek to determine whether believers have been invaded by demons and in doing so depends upon the risen Christ to clarify the matters needed to help the oppressed.

B. Charles Kraft

1. Defeating Dark Angels (Ann Arbor, MI: Vine Books, 1992), p.161.

2. Demons can’t be trusted. It is true, demons cannot be trusted. But I’m afraid the real issue is not whether we can trust demons, but whether we can trust ourselves and God to discern what of the things they say is usable and what will mislead us. As one who has talked to hundreds of demons, I agree that this is a concern. 
However, most of what demons say can be checked out. It can also be controlled. I have frequently told demons to “Shut up!” because they tried to take control away from me and the Holy Spirit We need to make it clear to them that they are not in control, we (with the Holy Spirit) are. Once I got used to being in control and asserting it, the problem of not trusting the outcome disappeared.

As we grow in listening to God and extracting information from demons, we will find it easy to spot most of their at-tempts to bluff and distract us. Over and over again, then, in spite of the demons’ attempts to mislead, we discover things that enable us to bring inner healing and freedom to our clients more quickly and effectively than otherwise.

2. “Dealing With Demonization”, Behind Enemy Lines (C. Kraft, ed. Ann Arbor, MI: Vine Books, Servant Publications, 1994), p.107

These are some of the things that can be discerned natu­rally, either by observation or by asking questions. In addition, God does show things to people supernaturally, though usu­ally in combination with the observation of natural phenom­ena. As you develop more experience, you will find your ability to discern sharpened. You will also notice that demons make a lot of mistakes that give them away. Learning to spot these mistakes and to take advantage of them is an important part of the operation.

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