ATHANASIUS AND THE PARTIAL DISENCHANTMENT OF THE WORLD
The Temptation of St. Antony, by Michelangelo. Public Domain.
When I was in middle school, I attended a youth group where many of us were reading through the Gospels. It became evident to all of us very quickly that we inhabited a world that seemed much different than the world that the New Testament presented. This was perhaps nowhere more obvious than in the stories of Jesus casting out demons. Especially in Mark’s Gospel, we encountered story after story where Jesus confronted demonic powers and exorcised them from people (e.g., 1:21-28; 5:1-20; 9:14-29). None of us had ever had an experience with a demon. Some of us had heard missionaries talk about encounters with the “powers of darkness,” but most of these stories struck us as dubious. In small groups and at church camps for the next few years, the question would come up time and again: Why did demonic activity seem so commonplace in the world of the Gospels when it seems so rare to us today?
We all assumed (as I still do) that the demonic encounters recorded in the Gospels were real. They could not merely be chalked up, as many New Testament scholars do today, to mental illnesses that first-century people could not comprehend or diagnose. Jesus and his disciples “wrestled not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil” (Ephesians 6:12). We also understood that demonic activity could look different depending on circumstances. Just because we did not see demonic possessions or anything else that struck us as extraordinary did not necessarily mean that the powers of evil were not at work. Still, though, the question remained as to why demonic activity in the Gospels was so obvious and widespread while that does not seem to be the case today.
If we could not find a good answer to this issue, we would be led to assume that (1) the Gospels were not true, or (2) the stories of demonic activity could not be taken as literal history. As I searched for a satisfying resolution to my questions, I quickly found that I was not the first believer to be curious about discrepancies in demonic activity between then and now. In fact, the early church father Athanasius (296-373) also recognized that there was a difference between demonic activity during New Testament times and in his own day. However, he did not see this discrepancy as an embarrassment or challenge to the faith, but rather as proof of Christ’s saving power. In Chapter 7 of On the Incarnation, Athanasius argued,
“When did the deceitfulness and madness of demons fall under contempt, save when the Word, the Power of God, the Master of all these as well, condescended on account of the weakness of mankind and appeared on earth?”
“[In former times], demons used to deceive men’s minds by taking up their abode in springs, rivers, trees, or stones. They imposed upon simple people by their frauds. But now, since the Divine appearing of the Word, all this superstition has ceased, for by the sign of the cross, if a man will but use it, he drives out their deceits.”
“For whose death ever drove out demons, or whose death did ever demons fear, save that of Christ? For where the Savior is named, there every demon is driven out.” [1]
Athanasius’ argument is fascinating. He takes it as common knowledge that in former times demonic activity had been much more noticeable and ordinary -- demons appearing in springs, rivers, trees, and stones. However, this overt demonic activity has apparently largely ceased. This, too, seems to be common knowledge for Athanasius. He credits this decrease in overt demonic activity to the coming of Christ, whose death drove demons out. With Jesus’ appearance, the world was, in some sense, disenchanted. [2] This does not mean that the world is no longer subject to supernatural forces. Both Jesus and the forces of evil continue to influence and impact the world. However, the demonic forces have been severely crippled and put to flight due to the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Athanasius possibly had in mind a text like John 12:31: “Now is the judgment of the world; now will the ruler of the world be cast out” (emphasis mine). Part of Jesus’ salvific ministry entailed him “destroying the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8) and pushing the powers of darkness away. This has been accomplished through Jesus’ Passion, and for Athanasius, demonic activity has largely quieted down as a result.
For Athanasius, the difference in demonic activity between the time of Christ and our own time has everything to do with where we find ourselves in salvation history. We live after the death and resurrection of Jesus, and his work has driven out the evil ones from the earth. Thus we should not be surprised that we experience overt demonic activity far less commonly than people in Gospel times.
Now, of course, demonic activity continued in the New Testament after the conclusion of the Gospels. Demons play a major role in the book of Acts (e.g., 16:16-24 and 19:11-20). Paul’s letter to the Ephesians and the book of Revelation indicate that spiritual warfare will continue throughout the church age until the return of Christ. We must also consider that modern-day Christians across denominational lines continue to testify that overt demonic activity still occurs today. Demonic possession and exorcisms still play significant roles in the ministries of many clergy throughout the world, especially those in the Roman Catholic and Pentecostal traditions.
Athanasius recognized this, and he did believe demonic activity still occurred in his own day. At times, this demonic activity could seem as serious, powerful, and commonplace as it did during the time of the Gospels. This is clearly seen in his Life of Saint Antony, in which Athanasius shows demons oppressing the poor hermit Antony throughout his religious life. [3] Even On the Incarnation shows that Athanasius believed in the ongoing work of oppressive demonic forces in the world, since he gives advice regarding how to combat them: “In the very presence of the fraud of demons…let him use the sign of the cross…and but speak the Name of Christ, and he shall see how through Him demons are routed.” [4]
Athanasius would not have us think that we live in a totally naturalistic world that is void of all harmful powers, nor would he have us look on claims of supposed demonic activity with nothing but skepticism and derision. Rather, he would encourage us to remember that if we live in a time and place where we see little-to-no overt demonic activity, the powers of darkness have not always been so silent. Jesus has begun to “deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13), and we should view any absence of overt demonic activity as a sign of Christ’s victory over Satan and his demons.
If we bring all these ideas together, we can summarize Athanasius’ thoughts: overt demonic activity still potentially happens today, but it is usually less common now because of Christ’s finished salvific work. Jesus’ driving out and destruction of the forces of evil, like his bringing of the kingdom of God, is an already begun, not-yet completed reality. Already, the evil one is overthrown (John 12:31), but he is not yet fully conquered as he will be one day (see Revelation 20:10). Already, Christ has driven demons away from his people, yet they are not yet cast out as they will one day be. The world is now partially disenchanted from the demonic, but one day, when the new creation comes, there will be no darkness (Revelation 21:25) and no unclean spirit (Revelation 21:27) left to harass the people of God.
Athanasius’ answer may not be the only answer to the dilemma of demonic activity, and perhaps it does not fully answer all our questions. However, it is an answer, and a good one at that. Athanasius gives us comfort, reminding us that the powers of evil have been defeated. His teaching also calls us to continue in eschatological hope, looking forward to the day when this partial disenchantment of the demonic is completed when Christ comes again.
In the meantime, we struggle and fight against the forces of this present darkness, waiting for the light of Christ to dispel the night completely.
Athanasius, On the Incarnation, edited by Paul Halsall and Tim Hawes (1998), 34-35.
I am borrowing this word from Steven Wedgeworth. He briefly tweeted about Athanasius’ demonology and usefully employed this word. The tweet has since been taken down.
Athanasius, Life of Saint Antony, trans. Robert Meyer (Westminster, MD: Newman Press, 1950).
Athanasius, On the Incarnation, 35.
