The Flaw of the Excluded Middle" Andrew Anane

TRINJ 30NS (2009) 189Ί97

PAUL G. HIEBERTS 'THE FLAW OF THE EXCLUDED MIDDLE"

ANDREW ANANE-ASANE, TIMOTHY L. ECKERT, JASON RICHARD TAN, ROBERT J. PRIEST*

/. INTRODUCTION

In the first half of the twentieth century American evangelicals wrote relatively little about the subject of demons or Satan. But in the 1970s through the 1990s literally hundreds of books were published on the subject, many of them achieving high sales figures, such as two of Neil Anderson's spiritual warfare books, both published in 1990: Victory over the darkness which sold over 2 million copies, and The bondage breaker which sold over 1.2 million copies. Frank Peretti's spiritual warfare fiction (1986; 1989) reached an even broader audience. One central influence on spiritual warfare writings was the experiences of American missionaries abroad, with many key spiritual warfare authors being themselves missiologists and former missionaries (such as Timothy Warner, Charles Kraft, or Peter Wagner). Paul Hiebert's influence on spiritual warfare ideas was not through writings that competed at the popular level, say, with Neil Anderson, but through more scholarly writings which influenced those who wrote for broader audiences. Possibly the most influential article written in this era related to spiritual warfare is Paul Hiebert's 1982 'The Flaw of the Excluded Middle/7 an article which clearly influenced a wide variety of missiologists and spiritual warfare authors, including John Wimber (1985,82-90), Neil Anderson (1990a, 30-35), Edward Murphy (1992/2003, 3ff.), Alexander Venter (2009, 35-49), and scores of others. David Hesselgrave viewed the publication of this article as "tremendously significant" and noted that it had "been published, reviewed, and acclaimed in a great variety of contexts" (Hesselgrave 2005, 194). It was recently reprinted in Orbis Books's Landmark essays in mission and world

*Andrew Anane-Asane is an Assemblies of God pastor and theological educator from Ghana. Timothy L. Eckert worked in Niger Africa among the Fulani people. Jason Richard Tan is a theological educator with the C&MA in the Philippines. Anane- Asane, Eckert, and Tan are also Ph.D. students in Intercultural Studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Robert J. Priest is Professor of Mission and Intercultural Studies and Director of the Ph.D. Program in Intercultural Studies at TEDS. 190 TRINITY JOURNAL Christianity (Gallagher and Hertig 2009), and is so well known among missiologists that the Evangelical dictionary of world mission has a separate entry on this article (Moreau 2000,363).

IL ARTICLE SUMMARY

Hiebert began his article by suggesting that Jesus persuaded "not with logical proofs, but by a demonstration of power in the curing of the sick and casting out of evil spirits/' He described his uneasiness with his own way of "presenting Christ on the basis of rational arguments, not by evidences of his power in the lives of people who were sick, possessed, and destitute" (1982,35). Again he described feeling uneasy as a missionary in India when an elder of a church in a nearby village came asking for help. Illness plagued their village, and the village leaders required all villagers, including Christians, to participate in the purchase of a water buffalo to be sacrificed to appease Maisamma, the "Goddess of Smallpox." When Christians refused, the village leaders forbade them "to draw water from the village wells and the merchants refused to sell them food" (36). The issue grew in importance when a Christian girl fell ill and her sickness was attributed to the Christians' "obstinacy." It was in the throes of this crisis that Hiebert was asked to pray for God's intervention and healing (36). Hiebert now entered a crisis of his own. As I knelt, my mind was in turmoil. I had learned to pray as a child, studied prayer in seminary, and preached it as a pastor. But now I was to pray for a sick child as all the village watched to see if the Christian God was able to heal. (36)

As he attempted to understand his own uneasiness, Hiebert explored the contrasts between his own two-tiered worldview and the three-tiered worldview of Indian villagers. Indian villagers, with reference to the upper tier, focused on high religion and cosmic forces such a kismet or karma, and on the bottom tier they were attentive to everyday human and material realities. But a great deal of their focus concerned magical and spiritual realities that are mid- tier, that focus on witches, ghosts, ancestors, magic, sorcery, local nature spirits, spirit possession, healing, dreams, visions, and portents. By contrast, Hiebert felt that he had learned a Western worldview which was two-tiered, not three. This Western two-tiered approach allowed for high religion, for God and the addressing of "ultimate questions," questions involving the origin, purpose, and destiny of people. And on the bottom tier it also focused on human and material realities, largely through science, and largely divorced from spiritual realities. But mid-tier efforts to address the ad hoc crises and misfortunes of present life, or to consider the present involvement of demons or angels in people's lives, was completely missing from the Western worldview. There was no effort in the ASANE, ECKERT, TAN, PRIEST: EXCLUDED MIDDLE 191 West to bring religious answers to bear on these mid-tier questions or realities—to cultivate a theology of ancestors, local spirits, curses, and misfortunes of various sorts. Hiebert concluded, "I had excluded the middle level of supernatural but this-worldly beings and forces from my own world view" (43). "Many missionaries trained in the west," he argued, "had no answers to the problems of the middle level" and consequently Western Christian missions have become, in the words of Lesslie Newbigin "one of the greatest secularizing forces in history" (44). Alternatively missionaries that "have provided some form of Christian answer to middle level questions" have often been "the most successful" (46). Hiebert thus called for holistic theologies not reflective of Platonic dualism, and which included on

the middle level, a holistic theology ... of God in human history: in the affairs of nations, of peoples and of individuals. This must include a theology of divine guidance, provision and healing; of ancestors, spirits and invisible powers of this world; of suffering, misfortune and death. (46)

But Hiebert also stressed that God must be brought back into the bottom level, with God related to the physical material world, where we understand the order in this arena as God-given and sustained, rather than assuming in secularist terms that such order reflects "autonomous scientific laws" (46). Hiebert warned that "the church and mission must guard against Christianity itself becoming a new form of magic" (46), a mechanistic or formulaic approach where we attempt to control our destiny and assume that wisdom and power resides with us. "In religion, we want the will of God for we trust in his omniscience. In magic we seek our own wills, confident that we know what is best for ourselves" (46). Hiebert ended his article by returning to the story of him praying for healing for the sick village child. The child died, and Hiebert felt "thoroughly defeated. Who was I to be a missionary if I could not pray for healing and receive a positive answer?" (47). But a few days later village Christians announced with joy and triumph that non-Christians had seen their hope of the resurrection in the midst of death, and were turning to Christ. In this instance, victory came through death, not by avoiding it. Hiebert concluded that his insistence on healing, in this instance, would have been "to make Christianity a new magic in which we as gods can make God do our bidding" (47). The "true answers to prayer are those that bring the greatest glory to God."

A. Influence of the Article

As already noted, this article has been widely cited to justify spiritual warfare approaches which are said to focus on the formerly excluded middle range. Even before the article was published 192 TRINITY JOURNAL Hiebert's lectures on the subject as a professor at Fuller's School of World Mission were influencing one student, John Wimber, in a way that would be consequential. John Wimber (1985) notably picked up on 1) Hiebert's argument (1982, 35) that Jesus commended his message "not with logical proofs, but by a demonstration of power in the curing of the sick and casting out of evil spirits"; 2) Hiebert's observation (46) that "the most successful" missions have been those providing answers to "middle level questions"; and 3) Hiebert's articulation of a critique of prior Western approaches in favor of one focused on the middle range. Hiebert lectured on the topic in Peter Wagner's class, and Wagner himself was becoming interested in signs and wonders. At Wagner's invitation, John Wimber was invited to teach a course at Fuller, "MC510 Signs and Wonders and Church Growth" in 1982 which featured healings and exorcisms and quickly became popular and controversial (Smedes 1987, 14). Disturbing to Hiebert was the fact that Wimber extensively and selectively quoted Hiebert in his course materials (Coggins and Hiebert 1989, 20) while arguing for quite different conclusions than those affirmed by Hiebert. That is, Hiebert's cautions about becoming animistic or magical, about limits on human understanding, and about the idea that God may well work his will in and through suffering, were not embraced by Wimber. With Wagner and Charles Kraft also participating in the course, and growing controversy over the course, controversy especially from the theology faculty, the controversy threatened to divide the seminary. In 1985 the course was put on hold, and a study commission was appointed to evaluate the course. When the commission results were published, the course was restructured with Wimber no longer teaching, and with classes themselves no longer featuring exorcisms or healings—although visits were scheduled to churches where these occurred. During this same period both Charles Kraft and C. Peter Wagner reoriented their missiology to make this "middle range" the center of their work, and celebrated this "third wave" of the Holy Spirit. Wagner portrayed Satan as delegating control of a specific geographical area, ethnic group, or human social network to a particular demon or evil spirit (Wagner 1992, 76-77; Wagner and Pennoyer 1990, 77). These "attach themselves to objects, to houses or other buildings, to animals and to people" (Wagner 1992, 77), and can influence people's response to the gospel (Wagner 1992, 77) Wagner and Pennoyer 1990, 77). They can be countered by specifically naming the evil entity and casting it out in the name, power, and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. Wagner explains,

A common practice ... is to discover the names of specific demons and deal with them on a personal basis. As He was ministering to the demonized Gadarene, Jesus asked the spirit's name and discovered it was Legion (see Mark 5:9). If this is frequently done with demons afflicting individuals, it might be reasonable to ASANE, ECKERT, TAN, PRIEST: EXCLUDED MIDDLE 193 postulate that it could also be done with territorial spirits. (1992, 83-84)

Charles Kraft (1994) and Wagner (1996) both called for the development of a "science" of the demonic, which would explore the names and functions of demons, how they are related to other demons, how they are territorially distributed, and how they are able to gain power over people through curses, territory, or objects (see Priest, Campbell, and Mullen 1995). Wimber himself carried out a wide speaking ministry influencing many churches to his ideas, laying the foundations for the Vineyard Movement, all while continuing to cite Hiebert in support.

B. Hiebert's Response to Those He Influenced

When even Mennonite churches began to divide over the issues, Hiebert provided a formal response and critique in his book Wonders and the Word: An examination of issues raised by John Wimber and the Vineyard Movement (Coggins and Hiebert 1989), but continued in subsequent writings to clarify his understandings as correctives to those of others. While Hiebert affirmed the ontological reality not only of God, but of supernatural healing and of angelic or demonic realities connected with the contemporary world (Hiebert 2000, 44; Hiebert, Shaw, Tienou 1999,17,171-74), he did not think folk religious beliefs could reliably be equated with ontological truth (Hiebert, Shaw, Tienou 1999, 35-36, 169), something which some of his Fuller colleagues seemingly assumed (see Priest, Campbell, and Mullen 1995). Furthermore he stressed that animistic worldviews are different from the biblical worldview in important respects. Within the framework of animistic thinking, the world is a place in which God is distant and in which humans are at the mercy of good and evil and must defend themselves by prayer and chants, charms, medicines, and incantations. Power, not truth, is the central human concern. (Hiebert 1994a, 224)

Hiebert felt that he was seeing a resurgence of the animistic worldview in the West (224), and that this was influencing many Christians (including some of his colleagues at Fuller) to assign too much power to capricious and unseen spirits and forces, rather than trusting the presence and power of God in everyday affairs. Such Christians failed to recognize that the Bible itself teaches that "the real focus ... is the story of humans and their response to God" and that we live within God's created order which is a "divinely ordained and maintained natural order" (Coggins and Hiebert 1989, 119). Under the influence of an animistic worldview, Christians were also in danger of rejecting science, itself reflective of careful study of 194 TRINITY JOURNAL God's creation. In his view Christians were forging new and animistic spiritual warfare methods which were substituted for Christian truth, holiness, love, and power to deal with spiritual issues. While by no means the only factor, it was tension within The School of World Mission at Fuller Theological Seminary over disagreements on how to approach "spiritual warfare" which contributed to Hiebert's decision to accept an offer to move to Trinity Evangelical Divinity School where controversy could be left behind (Priest 2007). Hiebert's article had provided a charter for missiologists to develop a missiology focused on the "excluded middle," but the article did not provide detailed guidance on how this should be done. There is a sense in which Wimber and other missiologists that Hiebert later disagreed with could have rightfully seen themselves as doing what Hiebert had called for in this article. That is, his article can plausibly be read as critical of Western missionaries because of their failure to stress supernatural power, because of their tendency to dismiss indigenous ideas about witchcraft and spirits or ancestors as superstition, and because they were not attempting to develop specific ideas about how demons operate in the phenomenological world. And of course each of these was core to what Wimber, Kraft, and Wagner were attempting to correct. And since Hiebert's initial essay did not spell out a full and positive approach to spiritual warfare, it should not be surprising that other missiologists developed models which differed from the model Hiebert would later articulate. Hiebert did subsequently attempt to spell out in positive terms essential elements in a biblical understanding of spiritual warfare. The focus should be on God the Creator who is sovereign over his creation, sustaining it according to his good will (Hiebert 1994a, 219). Satan and his demons, although active in the world, are understood not as equal foes but merely rebellious creatures that influence "human structures and systems," "human individuals," and the "human spirit" (209), but only under the sovereign control of God. Human beings are understood as free agents, responsible for their collective and individual actions, while also under God's sovereign control (209). The events and elements of the seen and unseen dimensions of the cosmos are not subject to fate, chance, or "good" or "evil" detached from the will of God. Instead, God is working out the central features of his divine will and plan in and through the beings and elements of the cosmos: working to win the love and allegiance of each human heart, while advancing Christ's kingdom. While Wimber argued that "it is God's nature to heal not to teach us through sickness" (cited in Benn and Burkill 1987), Hiebert stressed that "God is the God of our lives: of sickness, pain, failure, oppression and death as well as healing, joy and success" (Coggins and Hiebert 1989, 124), and he uses even the most painful and ASANE, ECKERT, TAN, PRIEST: EXCLUDED MIDDLE 195 darkest moments of believers' lives to complete his purposes and will (123). Hiebert's model incorporated six central principles (Hiebert 1992,45-46): 1) Spiritual warfare is real yet the battle is not to control territories but the human heart and soul; 2) Satan's power is limited to what God permits him to do; 3) Satan can demonize people but,

The real danger is people who coolly and rationally reject Christ and his rule m their lives, lead others astray, and build human societies and cultures that oppress people and keep them from coming to Christ. Idolatry and self possession, not spirit possession, is still at the heart of human rebellion (1992,45);

(4) Christians must focus more on "love, reconciliation, peace and justice" instead of focusing on the war metaphor (45-46); (5) the locus of spiritual warfare must be understood in terms of the cross; (6) there are two dangers m spiritual warfare: the denial of the reality of Satan and the undue fascination with and fear of Satan.

///. CONCLUSION

Hiebert's "The flaw of the excluded middle" has been enormously influential, although not always in ways Hiebert wished. It served as a catalyst for missionaries and other Christians to recognize their biases and blindspots related to mid-tier supernatural realities and helped motivate many to strive for greater awareness of the beliefs and practices concerning supernatural realities operating in animistic contexts. It has led to many and diverse efforts to develop appropriate, contextualized ministries which address every-day experiences, questions, and ideas related to the supernatural. When combined and balanced with his later writings on the subject (1989; 1992; 1994; Hiebert, Shaw, and Tienou 1999), this essay provides the single best starting point for reflection on core "spiritual warfare" issues faced by missionaries. ****************************************

References Cited

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Hesselgrave, David J. 2005. Paradigms in conflict: 10 key questions in Christian missions today. Grand Rapids: Kregel. Hiebert, Paul G. 1982. The flaw of the excluded middle. Misswlogy 10/1: 35- 47. . 1985. Anthropological insights for missionaries. Grand Rapids: Baker. . 1989. Healing and the kingdom. In Wonders and the Word: An examination of issues raised by John Wimber and the Vineyard movement, edited by James Coggins and Paul G. Hiebert, 109-53. Winnipeg, Manitoba: Kindred. . 1992. Spiritual warfare: Biblical perspectives. Mission Focus 20/3: 41-46. . 1994a. Anthropological reflections on missiological issues. Grand Rapids: Baker. . 1994b. The flaw of the excluded middle. In Anthropological reflections on missiological issues, 189-201 Grand Rapids: Baker. . 2000. Spiritual warfare and worldviews. Direction 29/2:114-24. . 2009. The flaw of the excluded middle. In Landmark essays in mission and world Christianity, edited by Robert Gallagher and Paul Hertig, 179-89. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis. Hiebert, Paul, Daniel Shaw, and Tite Tienou. 1999. Understanding folk religion: A Christian response to popular beliefs and practices. Grand Rapids: Baker. Kraft, Charles. 1994. Behind enemy lines· An advanced guide to spiritual warfare. Ann Arbor, Mich.: Vine. Moreau, A. Scott. 2000. Flaw of the excluded middle. In Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions, edited by A. Scott Moreau, 363. Grand Rapids: Baker. Murphy, Edward. 2003 (1992). The handbook for spiritual warfare. Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson. Peretti, Frank. 1986. This present darkness. Westchester, 111.: Crossway. . 1989. Piercing the darkness. Westchester, 111.: Crossway. Priest, Robert J. 2007. Paul Hiebert: A life remembered. Books and Culture September/October: 9. Priest, Robert J., Thomas Campbell, and Bradford Mullen. 1995. Missiological syncretism: The new animistic paradigm. In Spiritual power and missions: Raising the issues, edited by Edward Rommen, 9- 87. Pasadena, Calif.: William Carey Library. Smedes. Lewis B. 1987. Ministry and the miraculous: A case study at Fuller Theological Seminary. Pasadena, Calif.: Fuller Theological Seminary. Venter, Alexander. 2009. Doing healing. Cape Town, South Africa: Vineyard International. Wagner, C. Peter. 1988a. How to have a healing ministry without making your church sick! Ventura, Calif.: Regal. . 1988b. The third wave of the Holy Spirit: Encountering the power of signs and wonders today. Ann Arbor, Mich.: Vine. ASANE, ECKERT, TAN, PRIEST: EXCLUDED MIDDLE 197

. 1990. Territorial spirits. In Wrestling with dark angels: Toward a deeper understanding of the supernatural forces in spiritual warfare, edited by C. Peter Wagner and F. Douglas Pennoyer, 73-99. Ventura, Calif.: Regal. , ed. 1991. Engaging the enemy: How to fight and defeat territorial spirits. Ventura, Calif.: Regal. . 1992. Warfare prayer: how to seek God's power and protection in the battle to build his kingdom. Ventura, Calif.: Regal. . 1996. Confronting the powers. Ventura, Calif.: Regal. Wagner, C. Peter, and F. Douglas Pennoyer, eds. 1990. Wrestling with dark angels: Toward a deeper understanding of the supernatural forces in spiritual warfare. Ventura, Calif.: Regal. Warner, Timothy M. 1992. Spiritual warfare: Victory over the powers of this dark world. Wheaton, 111.: Crossway. Wimber, John. 1985. Power Evangelism. London: Hodder and Stoughton. ^s

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