Full Text for Evil Spirits (Text)

(!tnurnrbia m~tnln!lirul ilnutltlg Continning LEHRE UNO WEHRE MAGAZIN FUER EV.-LUTH. HOMILETIK THEOLOGICAL QUARTERLy-THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY Vol. X April, 1939 No.4 CONTENTS Pqe The Means of Grace in Roman Theology. Theodore Graebner ...... 241 Der Pastor als Synodalglied. F. Pfotenhauer ................ _ ... _ .... _ ....... _ 250 The False Arguments for the Modern Theory of Open Questions. Walther-Arndt ... _... ... . .. _ .... _.............. . ..... _ ... _ .. __ .... _. 254 Sermon Study on 1 Cor. 10:16, 17. Th. Laetsch ......... _ ..... _ ........ _ ...... 262 Evil Spirits ... _ ............... _ .................. ................................. ....... ............. __ ....... 2'16 Predigtentwuerfe fuer die Evangelien der Thomasius-Perikopen- reihe ... _._ .... _._ ....... _ .... _ ................ _ .... _ .......... _ ..... _ ......... _ ........ __ ........ %'19 Miscellanea ... __ . __ ._ .... _ .... _ .... _ .... _ .... _ .... _ .... _ .......... _ .... _ ... __ ... _ ... _ ... _._ 293 Theological Observer. - Kirchlich-Zeitgeschichtliches ... _ .... _ ..... _ .. _ 29'1 Book Review. - Literator ......... _ ... _ .......... _ ... _ .... _ ... _ ... _ ... _. __ .. _._. 309 BIn Predller mua n1cht aIleln wei- tift. aIIO duI er cUe Scha1e unter- welM. wle de rec:hte ChrIsten lOIlen _In. sondem aucb daneben den Woe!- fen we""". duI de cUe Scbafe nlcht l!I8l'Uten und mit fabcber Lehre ver- fuehren und J:rrtum eblfuehren. Ea 1st keIn DIne. du cUe x-te mehr bel der Xlrcbe behael& deDn die JUte Predlit- - Apologfe. An. ... Luthiif'. If the trumpet live an uncertaJn sound who IbaJl prepare blmNlf to the battle? - J Crw.l4.'. Published for the Ev. Luth. Synod of Missouri. Ohio, and Other States CONCORDIA PUBLISHING BOUSE, St. LoaJs, Mo. BCHIV 276 Evil Spirits Evil Spirits In classical usage the diminutive form Ilm[tovLOv is used syn- onymously and interchangeably with the noun llaL[trov. Originally it was merely the neuter of the adjective "divine," referring to godlike "divine power." The noun Ila(~trov occurs but once in the New Testament (according to the best texts), viz., in Matt. 8: 31, OL (lal[tovs<;. In mythology it gradually came to denote an inferior divinity, or a demon. It still has this connotation in Acts 17: 18, where some of the Epicureans and Stoics suspect Paul of proclaiming t;Eva IlmltOVla, i. e., strange (foreign, outlandish, un-Greek, hence barbarian) gods to them. Luther must have felt the former force of the word when he first translated "seltsame Goetter," instead of his later "neue Goetter." 1 Cor. 10: 20-22 is somewhat of a 10CliS classicus or this meaning, where Ilm[tovLOI.<; is used in its Old Testament connotation of heathen deities, false gods, as in Deut. 32: 17, muoav Ilm[tovLoL<; xaL OU itEq\, et al. Strong words are those employed by St. Paul, terrible in their implications: )WLVCllVOV<; 'tal" IlCl.llLOvLroV, JW'tnQLOV (lm[tov[ow, and 'tQwt£~11<; Ilm[tovLrov, the communion of demons, the cup of demons, and the demons' table, condemnatory concepts to make any Christian's soul shudder with horror. The Revelation of St. John also speaks of demon-worship and idolatry in one and the same breath: iva [tYt JtQooXUV'l]OO1J(:fLV 'tn Ilm[tovLa xaL -en sillroAa -en XQuoii ... uQyuQii ... xahii ••. Whva .•• t;u/,LVa (9: 20). In the Scriptures these Ilm[tovw are spirits consistently charac- terized as evil. This usus loquendi is in contrast to extra-Biblical usage, where demons may be used of good and bad spirits alike. The New Testament has no such word as sUllm[tovElv or its cognates, so prevalent in pagan speech. The believer's sole source of hap- piness and blessedness is the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent, never any inferior god of man's fertile and evil imagination; for He alone is 0 [taxuQLO<; Eh:o<;. That the word "demons" designates spirit-beings is amply demonstrated by its synonymity with 'to: JtvEu[ta'ta (Luke 9: 20: 'to Ilmlt0VLo'V ••• 'to JtvEu[ta'tL -e0 uxm'l-uQ'tq>; also 10: 17,20: -en Ilm- [tovta •.• 'tn JtvsuJ.w-ea), denoting unholy and unclean spirits, evil in their nature and action on men and women. In the New Tes- tament these spirits are frankly credited with causing such ailments as are often baffiing to, and beyond the ordinary reach of, medical science to this day, e. g., lunacy and epilepsy. (Cp. Matt. 17: 15, 18: O-eL oEA'Y]vLu~s'tm %aL xaxooc; eXEt· JtoAAU.%LC; ynQ JtL:rt-eEL stc; 'to JtiiQ xaL Jton6.%tC; sic; 'to ullooQ. • •• Kat Bt;ii1citsv &it' au-eoii 'to Ilm[tovLOv.) There are deaf and dumb demons, the same are often the very cause of Evil Spirits 277 these trying afflictions: T0 JtVEU!-t