Dear John:

The devil cannot directly kill someone without God's express permission. We learn that from the book of Job in which Satan went before God to get permission to attack Job. Satan did this twice. Ultimately God had Satan permission to do his best to attack Job, but he could not kill him. The devil made Job sick, killed his cattle, but could not kill him.

Job is a case of a person who was innocent and did not do anything to bring on demonic attack. God allowed the attack as a special case of a test. Satan challenged God saying that he could bring Job to reject Him. God allowed the attack to prove that Job would remain loyal to Him. There are many other lessons to learn from Job but that was the essential issue between Satan and God. Such illnesses as experienced by Job caused by the devil is profoundly rare as it requires the express consent of God for divine purposes.

There are cases in the Bible were illness was associated with illness. Once the person was exorcised the illness left them along with the demons. These cases involved possessed persons. Possession is relatively rare.

The primary reason we get sick is:

1) effects of a fallen world
2) personal choices made by ourselves
3) personal choices made by others that effect us

AIDS is the result of sinful behavior. It is not God sapping people for sinful behavior, or Satan causing the disease. St. Paul says that those who behave sinfully suffer "in their own persons the due penalty for their error" (Romans 1:26b). If we have sex outside of marriage then we get diseases. This is utterly a matter of personal choice.

For those who innocent of sexual sin but are infected with AIDS or any other sexually transmitted disease are victims of their spouse's sin. Without sexual sin sexually transmitted disease would not exist.

While God does not allow the devil to directly cause illness except in the rare instances such as Job, the devil can indirectly facilitate it by influencing us, or others who may effect us, to sin. But, the choice of someone is involved. We have free will and even with demonic influence, we must still make the choice.

You have no fear at all, I mean no fear at all, of contracting a disease such as AIDS if you remain chaste in and out of marriage (and your wife too), do not inject yourself with illicit drugs, or commit any other risky behavior that make a person vulnerable to such diseases. Those diseases don't "just happen". It is required that someone sin for these diseases to be transmitted.

With that said one can be innocently infected by blood transfusions, medical personnel stabbing themselves with a contaminated needle, and other such things. When this happens we become a victim of someone else's sin.

You ask that if we open ourselves up to things would God allow it to go to the extreme. The answer is "yes." God cannot save us from our own stupidity. We have free will and if we choose to do things that open us up to demonic bondage or to terminal disease we have only ourselves to blame.

We all have to accept responsibility and to accept the consequences of our actions. God does not normally protect us from that. He may cast out demons, but the consequences of our decisions that lead to demonization may remain.

Whatever level of deliverance or healing that God facilitates or does not facilitates He does for our own good. If it is good for us then we need to embrace it.

I am in pain, sometimes doubly over pain, every single day and will likely have this pain for the rest of my life. It was only after becoming disabled that I came to be as close to God has I am now. I would rather remain in pain and close to God than to be healed and take God for granted.

This happened to St. Paul and the thorn in his side. This thorn was harassment from a demon. He asked God three times to cast away this demon. God said no because to remain in this suffering would help St. Paul to remain humble.

The real issue, however, has little to do with demonic caused disease. The primary issue is your fear. Why do you fear?

Fear is a sign of lack of trust in God and a lack of faith.  God says in Romans 8:28:

We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him and called according to his purpose.

All things, good and bad, God brings good from it if we let him. If we are innocently infected from a disease, if others do things that effect our health, if we get sick from the natural order of the world, if we get sick from our own sin, it can all be used for good. That is, God will make lemonade from these lemons if we let him.

Thus, there is nothing to fear. Whatever happens, for whatever reasons, God can make it into something good.

There is no tragedy, no hardship, no terminal illness that exists in the universe that God cannot turn into something good. Either that is true, or God is a liar.

We all need to live the best Christian life we know how to live. As one old Baptist preacher once said, "The best way to keep the devil out is to keep Jesus in."

Avoid sin, avoid the near occasion of sin, avoid the near occasion to the near occasion of sin, live the good and holy and sacramental life, be aware of the devil's tactics, and that will be the best guarantee to avoid the snares of the devil.

When things to happen, from whatever causes, know that God can make lemonade from the lemons of life.

I suggest to all people to read and follow our pamphlet Christian Resignation as a Prerequisite to Freedom.

Be not afraid!

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary