Interpreting the Demonic Powers in Pauline Thought

Abstract

GERALD HERALD once said, Newton banished God from nature, Darwin banished Him from life, and now Freud banished Him from his last stronghold, the soul 1). If they banished God, they had more affirmatively banished the demonic powers. However, the question is whether we can completely dismiss from our New Testament study Paul's conception of the cosmic powers as merely apocalyptic imagination, which has no relevance to our modern life. Some significant studies have indicated that to dismiss the content of what Paul wrote about Christ's struggle with the Satanic powers is to cut out basic part of the New Testament message2). Therefore, we cannot simply neglect the so-called a neglected emphasis in New Testament theology 3). First of all, let us look at some descriptive words which Paul uses of the cosmic powers. He uses an ordinary word ?yy?Xov in relation to the worship of angels (Col. ii 8) and in relation to other creatures (Romans viii 38) as feature of dangerous heresy. Paul's common usage of both apZcc and ~ouLal, which have been ordinarily translated as principalities and powers, appear in the plural (Romans viii 38; Eph. iii Io, vi I2; Col. i I6, ii I5) and in the singular (I Cor. xv 24; Eph. i 2I; Col. ii Io). Also, some other names such as auvoatqs (Romans viii 38; I Cor. xv 24; Eph. i 2I), xupL6TT,-rez (Col. i i6; Eph. i 2I), Op6voi (Col. i i6)

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