Faith and Values: In modern times, renouncing evil can take on many forms

“Do you renounce the devil and all the forces that defy God? … Do you renounce the powers of this world that rebel against God? … Do you renounce the ways of sin that draw you from God?”

These three questions are asked in baptism and confirmation services in my Lutheran church and probably in similar services in some other Christian churches. To each question, those assembled are asked to respond, “I renounce them.”

These questions and responses indicate what we consider the sources of evil: the devil, the powers of this world and sin. Everything, that is, that might separate us from the love of God.

The use of the verb “renounce” rather than “denounce” is worth noting. “Renounce” indicates the sources of evil have been integral to us. Thus, we have to actively forswear them and give them up. To do this, we have to consider what they are and how we have been involved in them.

How have I been involved in the devil? How can I as a modern American even believe that such a creature exists? “The devil made me do it” is a comic cop-out. Can anyone now take the devil seriously?

The Bible does. In many cases, though, what the King James Version translates as “devil,” the New Revised Standard translates as “demon.” As demon, the devil makes only a few appearances in Hebrew scripture (e.g. Leviticus 17:7), but many in Christian scripture. In the Gospels, Jesus often casts out the demons that make peoples’ lives miserable (e.g. Mark 1:34).

While in my religious tradition casting out demons is not common practice, I respect the fact that in others it is. My Cameroonian friend says his brother was rid of the demon of drug addiction by a Nigerian faith healer. I have my own addictions I might renounce if I had the faith to do so.

In Mark 5:1-13, Jesus cures a man demonically possessed by many unclean spirits whose name is Legion. This is a none-too-subtle reference to the Roman legion occupying Israel. Even in our supposedly post-colonial era, powerful nations still occupy militarily and exploit, economically, the less powerful. Do I renounce this evil demonic possession, or benefit from it?

The NRSV does retain the KJV “devil” as the translation of the Greek word diabolos. In this guise, the devil is the tempter, the betrayer and can be conflated with Satan (e.g. Matthew 4:10; Revelation 12:9).

In a famous episode in Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13, during Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness, the devil tempts Jesus to take the easy road to serve himself and to become a popular Messiah rather than the rough road to self-sacrifice, to the cross. I myself have many times failed to face down the devilish temptation to take the easy road to self-service.

It has been easier for me to renounce “the powers of the world,” since I understand these to be political forces that work against God’s love for the whole world. I do, however, often feel helpless to oppose these powers, these forces, except through advocacy on behalf of the oppressed and financial support of organizations that work for extending God’s love.

I can also readily renounce “the ways of sin,” since I know I am ensnared in these ways, that I often put my own selfish needs over the needs of others and that I have not done all I can to care for my neighbors, whomever and wherever they are, as Jesus admonishes us to do.

Of course I believe, along with Jesus, that one does not need to adhere to my belief system to help those afflicted by the evils of the world (see Matthew 25:31-40). One can be good, as the saying goes, without God.

Yet my belief system with its archaic-sounding calls for renunciation does help me face the truth about myself and the realities of our world captive to evils of our own making.

Sometimes this leads me to have doubts about our future.

Sometimes this leads me to pray, “Deliver us from evil,” as Jesus suggests we do (Matthew 6:13 KJV).

Note: SpokaneFāVS will host a Coffee Talk discussion “The Evil in this World” at the downtown Spokane Public Library at 10 a.m. Saturday. All are welcome to attend.

Walter Hesford was a professor of English at the University of Idaho, where he taught American Literature, World Literature and the Bible as Literature. He currently coordinates an interfaith discussion group, and is a member of the Latah County Human Rights Task Force and Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Moscow.