When I was growing up, I was taught that games like Dungeons and Dragons were demonic. I avoided them at all costs. I feared them and assumed that what I was told was true. As an adult, I started to wonder what exactly about these games was demonic, and did some reading. I have a hard time finding any evidence of demonic influence, yet the games still make me uncomfortable.
This isn't an uncommon issue in Christianity, I'm afraid. The fear of otherwise neutral things based on the fear-mongering of others. In Christian circles, it is common to blame almost any unfortunate situation on the Devil, and it is also common to accuse anything that is misunderstood as being demonic. People look for evil influences in politics, music, books, even in soft drink companies. Why?
I find that this obsession is usually held by people in fear. They fear that they will somehow unwittingly fall for some demonic trap or force. Therefore they look for evil in everything, and as happens with any conspiracy theory, if you look hard enough and want to find something badly enough, you will find something to latch on to. Just like those who believe that reptilian creatures rule the earth or that some secret Illuminati group controls our fate, people who look hard enough for signs of demons will find what they are looking for; real or imagined.
As I already stated, this obsession with demons is based off of fear. It is also entirely unnecessary. Christ has defeated all demonic forces for Christians in our place and as such, we have nothing to fear. Christ is our substitute, He is our defense against the darkness. As long as we are in Him, nothing can take us away. (John 10) So then why are so many Christians, including pastors, so obsessed with demons?
Fear is easier to preach than faith. Scaring people is easier than motivating them, so preachers who do not want to put in much effort preach on one of two subjects: the Devil or the book of Revelation. Both of these subjects are then preached in such a manner as to literally 'scare the hell out of' the congregation. However, we find that our God is not a God of fear, but of peace. (2 Timothy 1:7) In fact, we find that God wants us to be of sound mind, to be strong, and to not fear.
Fear mongering is un-Godly. It is lazy preaching. It focuses on evil instead of Jesus. As such, I find it to be a dangerous and unprofitable form of teaching. In my experience, preachers who end up feeling the need to mention the Devil in every sermon they preach usually do so as a habitual fallback plan. They are so accustomed to focusing of evil rather than good that it has become their nature. This is an unhealthy example for a church. Our habit should be to exalt Christ, not credit every happenstance to the Devil. In some circles, every illness, poor choice, and misadventure is attributed to the Devil. In doing so, they ascribe more power and glory to him than he deserves.
Some would accuse me of underplaying the power of the Devil. To them I would simply say this: Beside Christ, who is my Lord, Savior, and God, there is no power that the Devil has. I'm not underplaying anything. I'm instead focusing on the Author and Giver of Life. If we focus on Christ, we will not go wrong. He is the Alpha and Omega, beginning and end. There is no other. We need nothing but Him. That should be the natural fallback of every preacher. We should always fall back to the magnificence of Christ. If we do, our doctrine will be Godly and the Devil will be of no consequence to us.
