Satan casting out Satan

Great Debates
1

What does “Satan casting out Satan” mean to you? Personally, I think it means that the real Satan causes divisions in the Church by concentrating very heavily on casting out myriad imagined Satans, such as:

–Watching television
–Dancing
–Swimming
–Makeup
–Not using the KJV
–Playing video games
–Not being in “church” (“church” as in a building); that, or not being in it at all services

The reason why I call these things “imagined” Satans is that a lot of Baptist/fundamentalist places use them to control their congregations. For example, WRT the KJV, they say that you can’t really know God unless you know Him in the 1611 Elizabethan fashion, and they insist as fact that He actually spoke after that manner (personally, I cannot get behind that). Consequently, they say that unless you say in prayer “We thank Thee for what Thou hast done for us,” you are not saved (IOW, to hear them say it, “We thank You for what You did/have done for us” is a Satanic form of prayer). Another way in which this is used is that if your Bible says “walks” instead of “walketh,” “does” instead of “doeth,” or any other similar thing, it is, according to them, a “per-version” and must be thrown out (this applies to all other Bibles that are not their beloved ‘inerrant, infallible, inspired 1611 King James Version,’ including the NASB, NIV, the Message, the NCV, etc.).

What my opinion on this is is that if you think that the 1611 manner is the best kind for your congregation, well and good, as long as you keep it at that. Going beyond this into saying that it’s the only Bible for your congregation, or for the Church in general, is very much a form of unChristian uniformity that God did not call for.

What I would suggest with this and other imagined Satans is to ask for chapter and verse. For example, with the KJV, ask something like, “Where in the Good Book does God say to exclusively use the KJV and no others?” One likely verse that these pastors will use is that one in 1 Thessalonians where it says, “Avoid all appearance of evil,” which is of course how it’s translated in their ‘inerrant, infallible, inspired 1611 King James Version’; to them, the difference in writing styles between 1611 and now represents the work of Satan, and is therefore an ‘appearance of evil.’

I also think that the constant calls from some pastors to ‘restore the landmarks’ are nothing more than saying “restore the old patterns of when we exclusively used the 1611 KJV and hymns in church”; personally, I believe that this is a mark of a very unhealthy church.

2

Nitpick: The King James Version is a Jacobean-era document, not Elizabethan…it’s right there in the name.

And do they really do this? I know they prefer the KJV and consider newer translations and Catholic versions to be corrupted and possibly Satanic, but I"ve never heard that using vernacular English in prayer was Satanic in itself.

3

And where does the phrase “Satan casting out Satan” come from? Is that your invention or are the SBC using it in some other context than you suggest in the OP?

4

It appears to come from Matthew 12:26.

“And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?”

5

I just thought that it was, based on what some legalistic churches say; if I’m mistaken, I’m open to correction. There’s a lot I yet do not know.

6

I’ve read Jack Chick tracts about how every Bible translation save the KJV is literally the work of Satan; but he’s never particular about the form of prayers.

7

How does that work?
When the bible was composed it was done in greek, right?
Are the greek translations of the old testament considered satanic?

8

oops double

9

They believe that the translators of the KJV were directly inspired by God–that God revealed what the original Greek (and Hebrew and Aramaic) meant. All other translations are by man, and with his imperfect understanding. And Satan uses that imperfect understanding to twist what God meant.

Well, at least, those who are consistent at all with their beliefs say that. Most I know just never considered that before. Seriously.

10

There are two versions- one is technically, “Textus Receptus-Masoretic” Only-ism. That the Greek NT Textus Recepticus & the Hebrew Masoretic Text are the fullest & most perfect of the Greek & Hebrew texts & thus all translations should be built on them. Other Greek & Hebrew texts are at best inferior & at worst corrupt.
“Modern KJV” & “Interlinear Bible” translator Jay P. Green is one of these.

But yeah, there really are KJV-Onlyists who think that, as far as English translations go, the KJV is Divinely ordained.

11

Jesus says this, but in the context, Jesus has just cast out demons and the people see it as proof that he is the Messiah and the Pharisees say he is doing it by the power of Satan not by the power of God. It seems to me that Jesus is saying that Satan wouldn’t fight against himself, and goes on a bit more to clarify his point that he had cast out the possession by subduing Satan.

So, I don’t really see the OP’s interpretation in it using that turn of phrase that way.

12

Yeah, the whole point of “Satan casting out Satan” is that it’s something that doesn’t happen.

13

You’re absolutely right. I just thought that it could be used after that fashion, especially with the huge amount of legalistic churches, and so I thought that it would make a good proof text.

14

I’ve been in church since birth and I’ve never heard this expression.

15

Bush Killing Sadam Hussein is an example of Satan casting out Satan

16

[been here too long]

I thought TubaDiva cast out Satan. He wasn’t even a moderator so he couldn’t cast his own self out.

[/been here too long]

17

What you are talking about in the OP is commonly called legalism. Since God looks at the heart, the intention of your action, legalism only served to condem a person (you didn’t pray right because you didn’t use thou), and cause doubt and confusion on a matter that doesn’t matter a hill of beans to God. It is a distraction and makes one feel like they failed to please God. It is IMHO Satanic in it’s nature.

The verses in Matthew, Mark, Luke are interesting. It appears more like Jesus trying to trap the Pharisees in their own form of legalism, which Jesus is a master at trapping them.

We already know that Satan’s house/kingdom can not stand, that does not mean necessarily it is divided. Yes a divided house will fall, but that doesn’t mean that all fallen houses are divided.

Besides trapping the pharisees in their own legalism, I got nothing on to what it actually means, and if there are any circumstances that Satan casts out Satan, it seems like it’s possible to happen since Satan’s house has fallen.

18

I believe it was paraphrased in Blazing Saddles (first quote)

19

I recall a Jack Chick comic where a Catholic priest performs a successful exorcism, while his cassock is being ripped to shreds by an unknown force and stuff like that – but Chick’s interpretation is that this is all a play by the Devil to deceive people into respecting the power of Satan’s own Catholic priests. He must not know the Bible as well as he claims.