Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 179:716 (Oct 2022)
Article: The Table Briefing: Christians Engaging The Spirit World
Author: Darrell L. Bock

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The Table Briefing: Christians Engaging The Spirit World

Darrell L. Bock

and

Kymberli M. Cook

Darrell L. Bock is Senior Research Professor in New Testament Studies and Executive Director for Cultural Engagement at Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas. Kymberli M. Cook is Assistant Director of the Hendricks Center and a PhD student in Theological Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary.

Introduction

Marten: One day I was working with a client of mine . . . and she had come in with a pain in her side. So I said, “Why don’t you just close your eyes and let your mind’s eye go down to that area of your body?” And so she sat there with her eyes closed, and I said, “Go down there and look and tell me what you see.” So she said, “Oh, it’s really dark. It’s really dark.” See, I’m expecting some association with the memory or something like that. So I said, “Well, keep looking.” She said, “Oh, it’s really, really black.” I said, “Okay.” So she sits there quietly for a while, and I’m sitting there quietly for a while. All of a sudden with her eyes closed, she says, “She’s mine.”

Film and literature have always been fascinated with the possibility of more in this world than meets the eye—the lure of something or someone just beyond our five senses. More recently, podcasts like Lore and Unexplained have revived chronicling real-life accounts of sinister and mysterious occurrences that leave more questions than answers. All of this might evoke curiosity and even entertain us until we find ourselves in the middle of it in real life, such as this story shared by one of our Table guests, Linda Marten (retired Professor of Counseling Ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary). We have hosted several podcasts where the spiritual dimension of our world was either at the forefront or came about because of its very real cultural implications. There are many believers all over the globe regularly thinking through how

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Christians should conduct themselves amid this wider dimension in God’s creation. A distillation of these fascinating conversations has surfaced four key things followers of Christ should keep in mind when relating to the supernatural.

Recognize It As Real

In a discussion on spiritual warfare, Michael Pocock (retired Professor of World Missions and Intercultural Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary) pointed out that one’s experiences with supernatural realities often depends on one’s culture:

Pocock: In some cultures where there’s an open belief in the spirit worl...