“There is a string of stories in which Jesus casts out unclean spirits. Whenever these spirits see him, they fall down and cry out. As a modern person, what are we to make of these stories? What they mean is this: Jesus engages in battle the things that [people believe] render one unclean and outside the company of God and humanity. Jesus’ ministry means inclusion for the ostracized. In Jesus we have come to know a God who renders impotent the power of dirt to keep anyone outside the human community.”
-Stephen Patterson, The God of Jesus: The Historical Jesus and the Search for Meaning
