Giving the Devil His Due

Some thoughts on the demonic

Photo by Timothy Dykes on Unsplash

In response to a post in my archives on secularism and the modern fascination with the occult,

Austin Gravley

asked me a question that is worth dwelling on:

[Do you] think Screwtape would see the secularization of occult practices and lifestyles as being just as good an outcome as pre-secularization results would’ve been [?]

The original post made the tentative argument that the rise in occult practices like tarot cards and astrological readings and even “manifesting” have less to do with a re-enchantment of the world and more to do with, as Austin calls it, a “vibe.” For debates about secularism and disenchantment, this is an important distinction to make.

Are we really living in a world where the supernatural is incomprehensible or does it remain a part of daily life for most people? Is the fascination with the occult a commercial fade or a genuine form of belief about the fabric of existence?

In another sense, however, the distinction is unimportant. Either way people are dabbling in the occult and encountering the demonic. If the Devil cannot convince people to believe in the existence of false gods, he can still convince them to serve false gods.

Which got me thinking about the broader ways we fail to “give the Devil his due,” the evangelical tendency to diminish or ignore the reality of spiritual warfare and the demonic in general.