The Return of the Prodigal Demon

I have always been shaken by that passage in Luke 11:24-26 where Jesus talks about the man who had an evil spirit cast out, and the evil spirit wanders through the abyss looking for a resting place, but not finding one. Then, the evil spirit thinks to itself: “I will return to my house from which I came.” When it comes, it finds it swept and put in order, so it invites seven other evil spirits, more evil than itself, and they enter and live there. And, the person ends up in a far worse condition than when he was possessed by the first evil spirit.

This tragic tale expresses something tragically true about human life and human efforts to change for the better. And, it may be that Jesus was telling this story to warn against the false religion of his day or against those who say “yes” to God and then turn away. Religion can be false either because its actual teaching is false, or because even though true, the person’s commitment to those beliefs is false or fraudulent. Either way, it is false religion.

In a psychological sense, there are many therapies that make us better for a time, but may leave us worse off than before. And, in a spiritual sense (which is all mixed up with psychology), there are many spiritual teachings and practices that make us better for a time, but may leave us worse off than before.

If you have been abusing drugs, and suddenly you stop, it may be that your inner house is free of drug induced experience, but it also may be true that you are deeply empty inside, and emptiness attracts powers that tend to subject and rule and manipulate. For instance, instead of being controlled by your drug, you may end up being controlled by another person, which probably leads back to the drug, which leads to loss of control and so on and so on.

But, I really had in mind when I started this post the religious quick fix, the false religion, that tastes sweet at first and then leaves us as empty as empty can be. I think a lot of people have had these experiences of religion, and stay away from it because of that. They got rid of one demon through religion, and then later found their inner house re-infested by many demons. Any therapy, whether it be spiritual or psychological, is temporary and possibly harmful in the long run, unless that therapy is part of a genuine personal commitment that lives within the person. Of course, a genuine personal commitment to a false way of life can be just as or even more disastrously fatal. That’s not a very bright way to start this Monday morning, but it’s not a very bright and happy scripture either. Religion is dangerous. History demonstrates that.