Afraid: Demon Possession and Spiritual Warfare in America

Face spiritual warfare with the certainty of Christ’s victory.

In Afraid: Demon Possession and Spiritual Warfare in America, Robert H. Bennett draws from real pastoral encounters to examine how spiritual conflict continues to touch homes, families, and congregations today. These accounts are not left unexplained or sensationalized, but are carefully set within the teaching of Holy Scripture and the confessional, sacramental theology of the Lutheran church. 

Rather than chasing extraordinary experiences, Bennett directs readers to where Christ has promised to be for them: in His Word and Sacraments. Accounts of occult influence, unexplained disturbances, and spiritual oppression are met not with speculation, but with the Church’s sure means of grace—Confession and Absolution, Holy Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. Here, spiritual warfare is not approached with fear, but faced in the confidence of Christ’s finished work.

Bennett also addresses the growing spiritual confusion in American culture—from folk religion to modern animism—showing how these distortions of faith leave people vulnerable to deception. With pastoral care and theological precision, he anchors readers in the truth that silences every accusation: righteousness in Christ alone, given and received by faith.

Readers will learn:

• How to discern spiritual oppression without falling into superstition or fear
• How Christ’s Word, preached and prayed, speaks into real anxiety and affliction
• How pastors and congregations can respond with faithful, steady care
• How life in Word and Sacrament strengthens and preserves believers in spiritual conflict

Written by a parish pastor with firsthand experience, Afraid serves both church leaders and laypeople with a clear, confessional approach to spiritual warfare—keeping the focus where it belongs: on Christ, who has already overcome the devil and claims His people as His own.