by
miss marigold 
Well, now that I've blogged about sex and relationships a good four or five times, I think it's time I revisited another issue, which is that of demons and unclean spirits. I'll discuss this in a three-part series, which will be split into these categories:
- How Evil Visits Different Cultures (which I'll deal with today)
- Christians and Demon Possession
- Why We Should Not Be Afraid
I grew up in a country and a culture that actively believes in the power of ghosts and evil spirits. According to Chinese tradition, spirits come out from the "lower realm" during the seventh month of the lunar calendar, which is called
Ghost Month. On the thirteenth day of that month, the gates of Heaven, Hell, and in the land of the living open up so that the spirits are free to roam. Taoists and Buddhists would engage in rituals to diminish the sufferings of the ghosts. People would set up offerings and burn "spirit money" for their ancestors and include empty chairs for them during meals.
Most civilians were also extremely superstitious and practiced certain behaviors in order to ward off ill fortune or to add good fortune. Every other day, I'd hear loud chanting or funeral music outside. While I didn't attend any festivals (or funerals) as I belonged to a Catholic family, my friends who had a traditional Chinese ancestor-worship upbringing recounted tales of spirits summoned up from the ground. One friend told us that the spirit of his deceased uncle entered an his aunt and forced her body into contorted positions. Another friend said that she felt her dead father's "chi" pass over her family as they exhumed his remains.
You can imagine my surprise, then, when I moved to New York City and encountered people who believe that demons and unclean spirits are nothing more than products of folklore. Or should I say, *they* were surprised that I actually believe in those things. One friend even laughed at my reaction to his request that I use a Ouija board with him ("NO WAY!")
Maybe it's because there's such a contrast between NYC's and East Asia's concept of spirituality and the underworld, but whenever I go back home, I feel the dark presences much more clearly than I did before coming to college.
I'm not so much afraid as just creeped out. When I go through shadowy alleys back home, something in me stirs and I feel compelled to pray. But when walking through dark NYC streets, I'm more afraid of being mugged than anything. I brought this up with a friend who'd also moved to NYC from East Asia. She doesn't ascribe to any particular religion, but she had similar observations about the spiritual atmosphere of both regions.
This really got me thinking about how Satan adopts his
modus operandi according to whatever culture he's attempting to bring down, much in the way he exploits our weaknesses to his purposes. People ask me how I'm sure that the people back at home aren't just imagining things. This is what I surmise: evil expresses itself according to what is relevant to a particular culture. NYC is industrialized, extravagantly rich, over-sexualized, and a huge media center; therefore, you see evil in the form of materialism, adultery, and corporate greed. I'd guess that the average New Yorker is desensitized to spiritual folklore and the concept of demons, therefore, Satan isn't going to use that. He'll be much more subtle and use things that seem really harmless (money) to foster evil.
While hometown's not poor or uneducated by any means, the spirit tradition is so deeply ingrained into the culture that they still can act as weak spots that evil can exploit. Therefore, you have a whole country living in fear instead of in spiritual freedom.
I'm largely opposed to the idea that Scripture must completely separate from culture and the times because, well, if evil expresses itself differently according to culture, can't God do the same thing? I know there's a line we must draw when determining what really shapes our worldview (Scripture or culture), but I think God can work even more effectively than Satan can through the spirit beliefs of East Asia or the materialism of NYC. I don't think God is relative to culture, nor do I think He is compromised by it; rather, I think that He reveals Himself according to what He knows a particular culture can understand and discern.
Do you ever feel dark spiritual presences around you (in any form)?
Comments (56)
Interesting...but I think evil is a product of man (and woman), not satan, the devil, or any other thing or being, which would explain why different cultures have different manifestations of evil. Although in the case of your explanation, the Chinese don't view their practice as evil in the least bit whereas the people responsible for all the crimes in NYC surely must know that what they're doing is wrong.
A book you should read, if you haven't already is The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. It is written in the form of a letter from one demon to another about how to affect people in an environment like New York. It's a fascinating read.
@TheMandarinKing@xanga -lots of links out there , might want to check out http://pewforum.org ,for example . You'll be surprised at how these numbers can change . Like you and me and most of the people in this thread ,we are writing about our experiences/perceptions/memories , which can be totally different . Remember the 6 (or is it 7?) blind men and the elephant ? Instead of skepticism I like to read these entries with appreciation .
I completely understand what you're saying..I haven't had any personal experiences with evil spirits, but one of my best friends is going through something now where she encounters something on a regular basis and it's really bringing her down. Do you have any advice? I don't know what I believe, just that God wouldn't want her to feel like this. So, I feel that prayer is the best way, but then again, it's never happened to me. Thank you for posting about this; good timing.
Well haha I guess it's meaningless and redundant to believe in ghosts. But I'm not trying to say that I don't believe that ghosts don't exist. I do think that they exist, but I dont' think I will believe in them. Get my point?!
Well anyhow, I guess the mostly utimate point of view towards this sensitive issue is just try not offend such kind of things, disregarding one's trying to believe or not these things' existence. Not getting involved in it, nor does one trying to offend them, is mostly likely to be the best way to deal with such issue.
I know perhaps I'm trying to say no point on this issue, but this is perhaps my perspective regarding this sensitive unfathomed issue. No matter if it's the evils from the chinese or western cultures, i guess what I've just suggested can be a good thought to be attempted.