[2] The term spiritual warfare is used broadly by different Christian movements and in different contexts: "by charismatics, evangelicals, and Calvinists, and applied to missiology, counseling, and women.
[13] Pope John Paul II stated that "'Spiritual combat'... is a secret and interior art, an invisible struggle in which monks engage every day against the temptations".
In a letter addressed to Luther and Melanchthon dated November 1530, Pomeranus recounted his experience of dealing with a young girl who showed signs of demon possession.
Expositors of spiritual warfare include Jessie Penn-Lewis, who published the Pentecostal 1903 book War on the Saints, arising from the Welsh Revival in the early twentieth century.
[3] In 1976, prolific author Pastor Win Worley began the publication of his Hosts of Hell series, containing elements of the concept of spiritual warfare, if not explicitly using the expression.
[citation needed] The third-wave charismatic movement of today—notably C. Peter Wagner and Cindy Jacobs – have been at the forefront of newer conceptions of spiritual warfare.
[20] Laws of Deliverance, From Proverbs (1980, 1983, 1995, 2000, 2003), written by Marilyn A. Ellsworth, is another important work of authority, as is her book ICBM Spiritual Warfare, God's Unbeatable Plan.
Other Pentecostal and charismatic pastors include Don Basham, Derek Prince, Bishop Larry Gaiters, Reverend Miguel Bustillos, Dr. Marcus Haggard, and missionary Norman Parish, who have emphasized using the power of the blood of Christ in the deliverance ministry.
[citation needed] Sean McCloud comments, "In addition to shared supernatural themes, Third Wave spiritual warfare manuals resemble—and even cite—the occult grimoires they attack as demonic".
[21] During the late 20th century, Evangelical writers such as Mark Bubeck and Merrill Unger presented their theological and pastoral response to demonic phenomena.
[citation needed] One of the most significant German writers is the Lutheran Kurt E. Koch whose work, including the 1973 book Occult ABC, has influenced much of both evangelical and charismatic thought in the late twentieth century.
[25][26][27] Jehovah's Witnesses believe they are engaged in a "spiritual, theocratic warfare" against false teachings and wicked spirit forces they say try to impede them in their preaching work.
[citation needed] Robert Guelich of Fuller Theological Seminary has questioned the extent to which spiritual warfare has shifted from its basic moorings from being a metaphor for the Christian life.
Guelich argues that the writings of the Apostle Paul in the Epistle through Ephesians are focused on proclaiming the peace of God and nowhere specify any techniques for battling demons.
[38] Missions specialists such Scott Moreau and Paul Hiebert have detected traces of animist thought encroaching on both evangelical and charismatic discourses about the demonic and spiritual warfare.
American studies scholar S. Jonathan O'Donnell argues that "QAnon has many overlaps with spiritual warfare and its practitioners" and that demons are seen as part of the deep state, which ties in to Christian nationalism.
[3] The excesses of allegations made in the satanic ritual abuse phenomenon of the 1980s and 1990s have prompted critical reviews of spiritual warfare thought and practices.
Some apologists in the Christian countercult movement have expressed concerns that spiritual warfare techniques seem at times to have been based on spurious stories and anecdotes without careful discernment and reflection.
Bill Ellis's work, Raising the Devil, has detected the presence of folkloric stories about the occult and demons circulating in evangelical and charismatic circles, which later become accepted as unquestioned facts.