John 10:20

A great many of those gathered opined, “The man has a demon. He’s lost his mind! Why do you waste your time listening to a mad-man?”  John 10:20 EFP 

Why is it that even today, in my community of faith (although, not exclusively), we resort to labeling people and the peculiar spiritual practices of others we do not understand as being from the devil? It is as if that is the default response to religious expression that clashes with our preferred practices or simply makes us feel uneasy.

Such a tendency must have been the case in the days of Jesus. These people were hearing and seeing things that simply did not make sense from their world view. We have heard their arguments as we read the gospel narrative. “God does not listen to sinners.” “No prophet comes from Galilee.” “He casts out demons in the power of Beelzebub!” “He’s crazy!” All these accusations may be unfair and more than a bit caustic, but they are anchored in fear, if not ignorance and prejudice. Since it does not fit in to the comfortable and familiar it must be rejected. Since there are no arguments that seem to negate the validity of what they are witnessing, then fear must be the most effective tactic to oppose and negate the influence of those that do not fit our spiritual mold, as if there was only one possible method God uses to accomplish His will.

The people making these arguments in Jesus’ day are either afraid of the perceived threat that accepting Jesus’ claim will have on their lives, or they are concerned about the potential impact that might have on the religious system they both support and that supports them. Even today, rather than beginning with the possibility that God is at work in ways we do not understand, we lump people of other faiths and practices as being controlled by the powers of darkness. This narrative should be reason to be more cautious in our careless response to all other expressions of faith that do not match our, rather than letting God be the ultimate judge of those who abuse or corrupt the cause of Christ—a practice that exists in all faiths.