2.62: Demons: Is It Absurd to Believe in Them?

A discussion with Alan Padgett on the demonic as found in the Bible (Old and New Testament) and approaches to evil in Christian history and in contemporary life. 

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In this episode, Prof. Kathryn Schifferdecker and Katie Langston talk with Alan Padgett, Professor of Systematic Theology at Luther Seminary, about the demons: Is it absurd to believe in them?

Show notes

Biblical books and passages mentioned

  • Exodus 1
  • 2 Chronicles 21
  • Job 1
  • Isaiah 14
  • Ezekiel 28
  • Daniel 10

Topics and themes mentioned

  • Evil
  • Pharaoh
  • Jesus tempted by Satan
  • King of Tyre
  • King of Babylon
  • Jesus cast out demons and unclean spirits
  • Lucifer: Light Bearer
  • Structural and social evil
  • Baptismal exorcism

Full Transcript

Today's Episode Hosted By

Kathryn Schifferdecker

Kathryn Schifferdecker

Katie Langston

Katie Langston

Joined by

Alan-Padgett

Alan Padgett

Hosted By:

Picture of Kathryn M. Schifferdecker

Kathryn M. Schifferdecker

Kathryn M Schifferdecker came to Luther Seminary as an assistant professor of Old Testament in 2006. Ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 2001, Schifferdecker was associate pastor for five years at Trinity Lutheran Church, Arkdale, Wisc., before coming to Luther. Schifferdecker is a frequent contributor to workingpreacher.org, Word & World and the author of Out of the Whirlwind: Creation Theology in the Book of Job (Harvard University Press, 2008). She is currently writing a commentary on the book of Esther.

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Picture of Katie Langston

Katie Langston

Katie Langston is a doubter by nature and a believer by grace. She grew up Mormon in a small Utah town and still isn't sure she fits in anywhere sophisticated enough to have a Target. She's the author of Sealed: An Unexpected Journey into the Heart of Grace, an acclaimed spiritual memoir about her conversion to orthodox Christianity. Katie works as the director of digital strategy for Luther Seminary's innovation team, where she oversees digital projects aimed at cultivating vibrant Christian spirituality in a post-modern, post-Christian cultural context.

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