Many places they went, Jesus and the apostles encountered demonic activity, often manifested in bizarre behavior and physical diseases. In Philippi, Paul cast out a demon that had enslaved a servant girl. Many other incidents of demon possession are recorded in the New Testament. Why isn’t this happening today? Or is it?

Today, missionaries working in animist, Hindu, and Buddhist cultures, as well as other societies where voodoo and witchcraft are widespread, do often see things that may reflect the demonic activity described in the Bible. The West has its share of Satan worshippers, too, who overtly practice occult rituals.