An Overview Definition of Animism
The term animism comes from the Latin word anima, which means “soul” or “breath.” As such, it refers to that which empowers or gives life to something. It follows, then, that animism is the religion that sees the physical world as interpenetrated by spiritual forces—both personal and impersonal—to the extent that objects carry spiritual significance and events have spiritual causes. Thus, if there is an accident or if someone is sick, there is a spiritual reason behind such things that must be taken into consideration. Otherwise, the cause behind the accident or the sickness cannot be fully understood or remedied.
The animistic form of a religion is called “folk religion,” such as “folk Hinduism” or “folk Islam.” The tendency for people to gravitate toward a “folk” form of their religion explains why many international students do not believe the way the “textbook” description of their religion says they believe.
Why Understand Animism?
Why should we seek to understand animistic religions? After all, aren’t those the kinds of religions that are practiced by primitive tribal groups wearing scary masks and dancing around a fire? How relevant can such a primitive religious system be to international students who are both modernized and well-educated?
It is important for us to understand animism because it is both pervasive and attractive to people.
The Pervasiveness of Animism
Most world religions have a concept of God that makes Him out to be distant, abstract, and unknowable. For example, Hindus say that Brahman—their term for ultimate reality, or God—is nirguna, which means “without attributes.” A God without attributes is obviously abstract to the extreme. The result of Brahman being so distant and abstract is that people are left with a spiritual void that calls out to be filled. Hindus have filled that void with 330 million intermediate gods.
We in the U.S. have witnessed this tendency to move toward animism in the phenomenon of the New Age movement. When that movement began over 30 years ago, meditation, in which the meditator sought to experience unity with the divine oneness, was central to the movement. But now channeling—contacting one’s personal spirit-guide—rivals meditation as being at the center of the movement. Again, this is an example of humanity’s tendency to move from an abstract concept of God—the divine oneness—to filling the void with personal spirit-beings.
This tendency also explains why many in our secularized culture, in which God has been replaced by the theory of Evolution, have become so enamored with angels during the past few years.
So, animism needs to be understood because it is the form of religion to which people gravitate.
Additionally, although precise figures are hard to come by, the estimates concerning the percentages of animists in the world are significantly large. For example, Gailyn Van Rheenen, an expert on animistic religions, estimates that “at least 40 percent of the world’s population” are animistic (Van Rheenen, 30). Also, an article entitled, “What’s going on” points to the growth of animism as being a trend of the future: “Religious pluralism reigns; any god will do. Neo-paganism is emerging with disturbing force. There are more registered witches in France than there are Catholic priests” (Myers, 4).
The Attraction of Animism
Another reason animism should be studied is because it holds a tremendous attraction for people. Why?
First, it is popular for some because it infuses the sacred into a reality that has been emptied of anything spiritual by the scientific/evolutionary perspective. Animism puts the mystery back into the secularized world.
Second, animism holds an attraction because it offers people a way to cope with one’s everyday needs and problems, such as the need...
• to be healed of an illness,
• to be successful in a business endeavor,
• to find a job,
• to excel in school,
• to restore a soured relationship,
• to find a mate,
• to gain guidance for the future.
Religion Watch reported, for example, “The new religions making the most impact in Japan today are those stressing individual spiritual powers and techniques...Today’s young recruits are little interested in religious doctrine. The focus on the current wave has turned from belief to techniques” (Cimino, 6-7).
We have all experienced those times when God seems silent and distant and when His apparent lack of action leaves us feeling helpless. The feeling that God is distant and doesn’t care might come after hearing the news that one has cancer, or experiencing the death of a child, or being laid off from a job. At such times we become desperate, and we are tempted to grab for something that works, anything that will give us the power to get us out of our suffering or to fix whatever is wrong.
Animism promises such power. Philip John Neimark—an American-born, Jewish businessman who is also a priest of the animistic “Ifa” religion—says, “Religion is a marketplace. You have to deliver. And Ifa works” (Ifa, 4).
To the extent that we seek to manipulate spiritual powers— including God—for the “quick fix” or for our personal benefit, we are coming from an animistic, rather than a biblical, perspective. In that sense, we all have animistic tendencies.
Only when we serve and worship God solely for who He is— and not for what He can do for us—is our worship pure and free of animistic inclinations (see Steyne, 46-47).
Common Animistic Beliefs and Practices
One God Beyond the Many Spirits
Most animistic religions teach that there is one Supreme Being who exists beyond the intermediate ancestors, spirits, and gods. This God is either by nature monistic (an impersonal oneness) or monotheistic (a personal Being). The problem is that this Supreme Being is either too far removed from his creation or too abstract to be known.
The Ultimate/Immediate Division
The animist views the “formal” religions—Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, etc.—as being relevant with respect to the ultimate issues, such as who is God, what is humanity’s problem, and what happens after death. They see those religions as being irrelevant, however, when it comes to addressing the immediate issues of everyday life. This division between the ultimate and the immediate is why an animist can be, say, a practicing Catholic, but still consult a shaman (an animistic priest who communicates with the spirits) in order to be healed.
The Spiritual Realm
According to animism, the spiritual realm with which we must deal consists of both personal spirit-beings and an impersonal spiritual energy.
A. The Personal Spirit-Beings
Animists believe there are two different kinds of spirit-beings: those that had been embodied (such as deceased ancestors) and those that had not (such as spirits and gods) (Van Rheenen, 259). The spirits are often seen as being mediators between us and God, able to intercede on our behalf. But to mediate on our behalf they must first be given homage (Henry, 8).
Spirit-beings possess specific powers and are localized geographically. Some spirits exert their powers over human endeavors (such as a business, marriage, community relations, or war), while others exert their powers over aspects of nature (such as storms, the seas, or fields).
B. An Impersonal Spiritual Force
Besides the personal spirit-beings, animistic religions also teach that there is an impersonal spiritual energy that infuses special objects, words, and rituals. Such energy gives these objects the power that people need to accomplish their desires.
Animists will often attribute magical powers to an object. For example, the following is a description of a technique for how those in folk Islam make a fetish out of the words of the Qur’an, their sacred scripture:
One aspect of fetish-making involves writing a verse from the Koran that is relevant to the problem or concern of the person on a piece of paper in water-soluble ink. Before the paper is put inside the fetish, the marabout [a Muslim leader] dips it in water so the ink dissolves. Then the person who will wear the fetish drinks the water, thinking that by doing so the message will be internalized (Quicksall, 10-11).
The Concept of Sin
Animists are concerned not so much about offending the supreme God; instead, their concern is of a more immediate nature in that they are afraid of offending the local spirits. They realize that an offended spirit will inevitably exact retribution in the form of injury, sickness, failure, or interpersonal strife.
For example, Migene Gonzalez-Wippler, a follower of the animistic religion called Santeria, knew that Eleggua—the name of her god—required his followers to perform a simple offering to him every Monday morning. One Monday, however, Gonzalez-Wippler forgot to perform the ritual offering because she had just returned from a tiring trip and was busy unpacking. As she was walking around her apartment putting things away, she cut her leg on the sharp edge of the handle to the cabinet in which she kept her god. “When I pulled back my leg,” writes Gonzalez-Wippler, “the door of the cabinet swung open, and there, looking up at me with aggrieved eyes, was Eleggua’s image” (Gonzalez-Wippler, 236). Gonzalez-Wippler understood the cut to be the price that her god had inflicted on her for having neglected him.
Van Rheenen writes, “Animists live in continual fear of these [spiritual] powers” (Van Rheenen, 20).
Contacting the Spirits
Animists are more inclined than Westerners to attribute spiritual causes to their sickness or bad fortune. Divination, which is “the practice of giving information...which is not available by natural means” (Henry, 71), is the means by which a person discovers either how he or she has offended some spirit or which person has cast a curse on him or her. Divination is also the means by which to discover how to resolve the problem— either what the spirit requires or how to throw a counter-curse.
Methods of divination are numerous and varied; they include tarot cards, palm reading, the I Ching, tealeaf reading, observing how feathers fall, the throwing of cowry shells, astrology, omens, dowsing (see Weldon), rituals, necromancy (contacting the dead), and interpreting dreams and visions. Divination can also be used to discover when it’s the most fortuitous time to do such things as ask for someone’s hand in marriage, begin constructing a building, sign a contract, or make an investment.
There is no universal doctrine throughout the many animistic religions as to what happens to a person after death. Many see the person’s spirit as continuing to exist after death either by being reincarnated into another life on earth or by “graduating” to a higher spiritual level. The belief is also common that the person who dies becomes an ancestral spirit. The family must then continue to give offerings to that ancestor because it has the power either to protect or to plague the family.
Suggestions for Evangelism
Be Sensitive to the Animist’s Perspective
In his book Filipino Spirit World, Rodney Henry talks about how an “informal conspiracy of silence” developed among the laity toward the clergy in the Philippines. By the phrase, “conspiracy of silence,” Henry is referring to the lay people’s reluctance to talk to the clergy about their problems with the spirits because the clergy didn’t take such things seriously. For example, Henry described a situation in which a layperson was asked to deal with someone who was being “troubled by demons.” This layperson said, I stopped to ask our American missionary to pray for me and for the situation with the student. When I explained the situation to him, he simply laughed at me and changed the subject. That was the last time I ever talked to an American about the spirit-world (Henry, 33; emphasis added).
The first principle, then, in dealing with someone who comes from an animistic perspective, is to refrain from scoffing at their view of the world. Such skepticism will only cause them to refrain from discussing that part of their lives with you, but it will not turn them from it.
Be Aware of the Influence of Secularistic Thinking in Our Lives
The Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization has stated that “the influence of the enlightenment in our education, which traces everything to natural causes, has further dulled our consciousness of the powers of darkness” (Lausanne, 2). We, as Western Christians, need to be aware of how naturalistic, empirical thinking has influenced our worldview in that we have dismissed the influence of the spirit world altogether. Such a worldview, moreover, is not biblical.
Find Common Ground
Animism and Christianity share several concepts in common (see Tippett, 1972, 134-139), and the Christian can use them to build common ground.
First, both Christians and animists believe in the existence and the influence of the supernatural. Both Christianity and animism would stand together in their opposition to the naturalistic thinking that says only matter exists. Animists, like Christians, believe that, while we might plant the seeds and cultivate the soil, it is the supernatural that causes the growth. Or, while the doctor might dress the wound or set the broken arm, it is the supernatural that causes the healing.
Second, offending the supernatural carries consequences. With the animist, those consequences include such things as sickness, doing poorly in an exam, interpersonal strife, or financial ruin. With Christians, the consequences of our offending— sinning against—God is a broken relationship with Him.
Third, both Christians and animists have the hope of a way by which to escape the consequences of our transgressions.
Fourth, often the animist believes in some form of a supreme Being who stands above the spirits and spiritual powers.
Asking the animist to talk about his or her concept of the supreme Being and about his or her cultural traditions, legends, and practices often carries unexpected fruit. That fruit could be a redemptive analogy—a theological similarity with Christianity in picture or story form—that could be used to illustrate the Gospel.
Ask such questions as:
What is the supreme God like?
Was there a time when God was close to humanity? What
caused the original separation between humanity and God?
Why does God seem distant now?
How do we offend the gods, spirits, or ancestors?
Is there a way by which to divert those consequences?
Does God care about us now? If so, how?
Highlight the Differences
The key differences between animism and Christianity are, first, that, in Christianity, God has not remained distant and silent, but He has broken through to our world through Jesus Christ, through whom He has made Himself known to us (John 1:1,14,18; Heb. 1:1-2; 1 John 4:9-10).
Second, through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, God has paid for—removed, covered, taken care of—the consequences that we have incurred as a result of our offenses against Him. There is no such grace in animism.
The “once and for all” nature of Christ’s sacrifice, moreover, means that the matter of our sin is settled with God (see Heb. 9:25-26; Is. 53:6; 2 Cor. 5:21), and the path is cleared for us to have a personal relationship with God (Heb. 4:16).
Be a “Better” Animist than the Animist
The animist is coming from the perspective that God is distant and that He does not care about our everyday concerns, or if He does care He can act only through the spirits. As a result, the animist takes problems and concerns to a spirit to solve, or relies on the power of a ritual or an amulet to meet needs.
For example, the following was written about a Catholic woman who placed her faith in a locket that had an image of St. Vincent De Paul on one side and the Virgin Mary on the other:
“Many times I was in danger of losing my life,” said 74 year-old Barbara Trzos. “Maybe because of the locket I was spared.”
She clutched it in Krakow, where she was taken to a prison and sentenced to death. She clutched it in Auschwitz, where she performed slave labor. She clutched it in Dresden, where the bombs exploded around her. She clutched it is Bergen-Belsen, where disease and starvation almost finished her.
“I do believe,” she said, “the locket was just protecting me” (McCaffrey, B-1).
Placing one’s faith in such a thing as a locket is animism. Animists might interpret their clutching onto something, such as a locket, as clutching onto that which God has given them. In reality, however, that object has replaced God; they are trusting in the supposed magical powers of the creation, rather than in the Creator. We, as Christians, need to encourage the animist to let go of whatever he or she is clutching to for protection or prosperity and to clutch instead to the only true and secure Source of our protection and prosperity.
The way to get the animist to question his or her object of trust is, first, to discuss how dependence on animistic powers is an addiction that leads to bondage. The more power we experience, the more we crave that power. Such powers eventually begin to “own” us, however, rather than we them.
Second, we need to demonstrate through our lives that God is intensely interested in every aspect of our lives. We can rest, therefore, in His power to provide for our needs. Peter exhorts, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). It is in the sense of casting all our anxieties on God that we are to be a better animist than the animist, for we should take every concern to God. When a child gets sick, our first reaction should be to pray for him and to seek God’s guidance concerning his care. If we’re worried about our job, our primary response should be to take our concern to God.
Third, we must point the animist to Scripture. Go to Matthew 10:29-30, for example, and point out that Jesus said that God is not only aware of each sparrow that falls to the ground but that He is even aware of the number of hairs on our heads (Matt. 10:29-30). If God is concerned about such small matters as sparrows and our hair, how much more is He concerned about us, for we “are worth more than many sparrows” (Matt. 10:30).
Make it clear that approaching God through prayer is the answer to our everyday problems, not depending on the power of some spirit or an amulet. Also, we should pray for things with the animist. Ask the animist what concerns he or she has; and then pray for them with him or her.
Then stand back and be prepared to see God work in ways beyond our previous experience or limited expectations.
Be Ready for God to Work in Mighty Ways
Jesus made a connection between the demonstration of God’s power over Satan’s kingdom and the invasion of the Kingdom of God into Satan’s realm when He said, “if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matt. 12:28). Significantly, He made a similar connection between the conquering of demons and the invasion of His Kingdom when He gave His pattern for prayer: “Our Father in heaven . . . your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven . . . but deliver us from the evil one” (Matt. 6:10,13, emphasis added).
Because the Lord’s Prayer is clearly still relevant for us today, God’s demonstrating His power over Satan and his demons to confirm the presence of His Kingdom is also still active today. This is significant for us as we consider working with animists.
Because the power to cope with everyday issues is such an important matter to an animist, the animist will probably not be inclined to switch allegiances from the spirits to Jesus unless the power of Jesus is visibly demonstrated to be greater than that of the spirits.
Moreover, God does not seem to be shy about showing His power to animists who are seeking after Him (Shetler, notes). So, be ready to be amazed by the way in which God will work.
At the same time, though, we as Christians must walk a fine line between an expectant faith that believes God wishes to demonstrate His power to the animist and a presumptuous faith whereby we make demands of how God is to demonstrate His power. God knows best what is important to a person in animism and which demonstration of His power will have the most effect in that person’s life. The point is that we need to seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance in knowing how we should pray for an animist.
While, initially, God might demonstrate His power in amazing ways in order to get the attention of the animist, the issue will quickly change from that of power to that of trusting God and becoming conformed to His character (see Shetler, 78-79). Malcolm Hartnell, a missionary to the animistic Digo people in Kenya, Africa, stated it well when he wrote,
If Christianity, in the person of God, simply offered a better genie than the demonic powers, Digoland would have converted a long time ago. But, of course, it does no such thing. At the heart of the Christian faith is a personal relationship with God, akin to that of a child to its parent. God does promise to meet our needs, he does promise to guide us, he does promise to give us victory over sin and Satan. But the primary goal of our relationship with God is not to get everything we want but to make us more like God himself and he answers our requests according to that purpose (excerpt from the Hartnell’s personal prayer letter).
We need to turn the animist’s heart to see his or her need for such a relationship with God.
Turn Their Hearts Towards Desiring a Relationship with God
Animists need to understand that God can meet both their immediate and their ultimate needs. The most urgent issue, though, is their need to break their addiction to power—and to the “powers”—and to be in a relationship with God.
Jesus addressed the issue of how the believer is to meet needs:
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well (Matt. 6:31-33).
There are three things to note in the passage above that are relevant to the animist.
A. Nature Reveals God’s Glory
God is the One who is behind nature, not the spirits, for “God clothes the grass of the field.” The creation reveals God’s handiwork and displays His glory (Psalm 19:1), not that of the spirits! The spirits are unworthy usurpers of His glory. We should give our worship and allegiance to Him alone, not to some created spirit-being.
Jesus is talking in the above passage about people’s everyday needs, and He is saying that God cares about meeting them.
When we trust things like spirit-beings or rituals and charms, we are actually bringing into question the goodness of God’s character, for we are doubting that He cares. Jesus is saying in the above passage that, of course, God cares (see 1 Pet. 5:7); and because He cares, He will provide (see Acts 14:15-17). To believe anything else is to disparage God’s character and to place our trust in the creation rather than the Creator, and that is an offense to God. Animism, in effect, says that those things that are created are better able to handle our concerns than is the God who has created all things (see Acts 17:29-30), thereby placing the creation above the Creator. That is idolatry. The animist must understand that God is a jealous God and that He will not tolerate such idolatry (Ex. 34:14; Deut. 4:23-24; 6:13-14), for He alone is worthy of our trust and worship. He cares for us more than any spirit or god.
C. Seek God First
Our lives are not to be consumed with temporal matters. Instead, our desires are to be for God’s “kingdom and his righteousness.” This is where almost everyone’s thinking is backwards, for most of us believe that after we take care of the everyday matters, then we can concern ourselves with God.
Jesus is saying, however, that our desire to know the eternal One is to be our first priority; God will then take care of the temporal matters. The phrase “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” denotes being in a right relationship with God; and it is at the point of being in a right relationship with God that the two realms—the ultimate and the immediate—meet. How? As our ultimate needs are met by being brought into a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ, then God provides for our immediate needs. God is not moved by charms, rituals, or fetishes. Instead, He is moved by a heart that is humbled before Him (Prov. 21:3; Ps. 51:16-17; Isa. 66:1-2; Heb. 10:19-22).
Address Their Fears
Animists live in a state of fear. They are afraid of the retribution of the spirits because of an offense, or they fear the harm an enemy can inflict on them through some form of spiritual power. But God is greater than the spirits and the powers, and He will protect us (Col. 2:15; 1 John 4:4).
Also, the good news is that, as believers in Jesus Christ, we no longer need to relate to God—or the spiritual realm—out of a fear of judgment or punishment, for, through Jesus Christ, God has removed that reason to fear Him (Rom. 8:1). The Bible says, “perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment” (1 John 4:18). God demonstrated that perfect love in that “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Based on our faith in Christ, we can now “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16)— a relevant verse for the animist.
Be Clear about Who Christ Is and Who We Are in Him
Jesus Christ is the Creator of all things (John 1:1; 1 Cor. 8:6; Col 1:16-17; Heb. 1:2,10). As such, He is infinitely greater than Satan and his demons, for they are created beings.
The power of Jesus Christ over the demons is most clearly seen in the Gospel of Mark, for there are more cases of Jesus demonstrating His power over demons (1:24-27; 1:34, 39; 3:11- 12; 5:1-13; 7:25-30; 9:17-29) in the Gospel of Mark than in any other Gospel. Mark, moreover, gives examples of Jesus demonstrating His power not only over the demons, but also over disease (1:30-34, 40-42; 5:25-34; 6:56), physical handicaps and deformities (2:1-12; 3:1-5; 7:33-35; 8:22-25; 10:46-52), death (5:41-42), and nature (4:35-41; 6:30-44; 6:48; 8:1-8; 11:13-14, 20-21).
Invite your international friend to read through the Gospel of Mark with you so you can discuss with him or her the instances of Jesus’ power. Also, consider together the passages in which are described the victory that Jesus has won over Satan (Mark 3:27; Col. 1:13-14; 2:15; Heb. 2:14-15; 1 John 3:8).
Moreover, when a person places his or her trust in Jesus, then the following becomes true of him or her. “We know that anyone born of God [the believer] does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God [Jesus Christ] keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him” (1 John 5:18).
This verse points out two things that are true of the believer. First, having believed in Christ, we are secure in Him, knowing that “the evil one cannot harm him.” What this means, as Paul explains in a similar passage, is that nothing, including “demons,” can “separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38). Through faith in Jesus Christ, we are now...
• “children of God”(John 1:12; Gal. 3:26; Eph. 1:5),
• “justified freely by his grace” (Rom. 3:24),
• freed from condemnation (Rom. 8:1),
• secure in the “love of God” (Rom. 8:39),
• “holy and blameless” (Eph. 1:4),
• freed from slavery to sin (Eph. 1:7),
Satan cannot touch such truths!
The second truth about the believer is that since we are “born of God,” meaning the Holy Spirit has given us new life, we now have the power to “not continue to sin.” Because we live in a fallen world, we are still subject to the attacks and the temptations of the evil one (Eph. 6:16). Through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, however, we have the power to resist Satan (Eph. 6:13; James 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:9).
Point Out the Deceptive Nature of the Spirits
Satan, the “prince of this world” (John 12:31) and the “god of this age” (2 Cor. 4:4), is a natural-born liar. His evil nature, however, is not obvious. Instead, his deception is cloaked in apparent beauty and in the promise of power.
Satan’s act of deceiving humanity with the lure of power began in the Garden of Eden when the serpent promised that “you will be like God” (Gen. 3:5). And the deception continues today. Notice, for example, the message of the human and “angelic” authors in Ask Your Angels. “Slowly, surely, we are collectively emerging from this illusion of evil. To do this means to hold firmly to the understanding of God as One Power, as One Ultimate Life Principle, from which all else emanates” (Daniel, 29).
Such a message is appealing in its optimism, but it is fundamentally opposed to the Christian Gospel. The message of these “angels” is that evil is an illusion (thus dismissing the necessity of Christ’s atoning death) and that we are emanations from the “One Power” (thus denying that our sin has separated us from God).
Satan’s plans, moreover, are not for our good, but for our destruction (John 8:44; 10:10; Heb. 2:14); and he will use the appearance of beauty and the promise of power to lure us into that destruction (Gen. 3:6; 2 Cor. 11:14). If we think we can see through the deception of Satan and his spirits through our own natural abilities, then one of two things are true. First, if we can see through the deception of the spirits, then we shouldn’t bother following them, because, since we can see through their schemes, they would be lesser beings than us. Or, second, if we can’t see through their deception, then we would be well-advised to stay away from them.
Satan will not let go of those in his Kingdom without a struggle. So, be prepared in your own life to do spiritual battle when witnessing to an animist. Have others pray for you and with you. But also be encouraged that many animists are ripe for accepting the Gospel. Diligently seek the guidance and the power of the Holy Spirit as you share the love of Christ with your animist friend.
Bibliography and Resources
Cimino, Richard (ed.). “Japan’s New Religions Stress Technique, Search for Authority.” Religion Watch. North Bellmore, N.Y.: Richard Cimino, April 1993, vol. 8, no. 6.
Daniel, Alma, Timothy Wyllie, and Andrew Ramer. Ask Your Angels. New York: Ballantine Books, 1992.
Gehman, Richard. African Traditional Religion in Biblical Perspective. Kijabe, Kenya: Kesho Publications, 1989.
Gonzalez-Wippler, Migene. Santeria: The Religion. New York: Harmony Books, 1989.
Gross, Edward. Miracles, Demons, & Spiritual Warfare. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1990.
Henry, Rodney L. Filipino Spirit World: A Challenge to the Church. Manila: OMF Publishers, 1986.
Ifa. “In the news...” Chicago, IL: Ifa Foundation of North America, Inc., August 1993.
Konya, Alex. Demons: A Biblically Based Perspective. Schaumburg, Ill.: Regular Baptist Press, 1990.
Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. “Press Release: Lausanne Committee Issues Statement on Spiritual Warfare.” Wheaton, Ill.: LCWE, August 27, 1993.
McCaffrey, Ray. “Commentary: Woman parted from locket that protected her.” Gazette-Telegraph. Freedom Communications Inc.: Colorado Springs, Colo., August 7, 1995.
Montgomery, John (ed.). Demon Possession. Minneapolis, Minn.: Bethany Fellowship, Inc., 1976.
Musk, Bill. The Unseen Face of Islam. Eastbourne, E. Sussex, UK: MARC, 1989.
Myers, Bryant. “What’s going on.” MARC Newsletter. Monrovia, Calif.: MARC Publications, September 1994, No. 94-3.
Quicksall, Brad. “Not Always What They Appear to Be.” The Quiet Miracle. Columbus, Ohio: Bible Literature International, Spring 1992, vol. 70, no. 1.
Shetler, Joanne, with Patricia Purvis. And the Word Came with Power. Portland, Ore.: Multnomah, 1992.
Steyne, Philip. Gods of Power: A Study of the Beliefs and Practices of Animists. Houston, Tex.: Touch Publications, 1992.
Tippett, Alan. “The Evangelization of Animists.” Let the Earth Hear His Voice. J.D. Douglas (ed.). Minneapolis, Minn.: World Wide Publications, 1975.
“Possessing the Philosophy of Animism for Christ.” Crucial Issues in Missions Tomorrow. Donald McGavran (ed.). Chicago: Moody Press, 1972.
Van Rheenen, Gailyn. Communicating Christ in Animistic Contexts. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1991.
Weldon, John. “Dowsing: Divine Gift, Human Ability, or Occult Powers?” Christian Research Journal. Elliot Miller (ed.). San Juan Capistrano, Calif.: Christian Research Institute. Spring 1992. vol. 14, no. 4.
Written by Dean Halverson, Director of Apologetics for International Students, Inc. Copyright © 1992, 2004 International Students, Inc.