Photo by Amr Taha™ on Unsplash

There is a centuries-old war that you won’t read about in textbooks, and you probably witness it almost every day. If you were raised in one camp or the other, you’ve likely engaged in it without realizing it. It’s the war between faith and fact. Radicals in each group fight to eliminate the other as the root of all evil.

I gave this very little thought, though I was deeply entrenched in the Christian faith. It never occurred to me to fight against or go to war with those with other beliefs. There were, of course, lectures on why my way of thinking was more accurate than others. But to take up arms against or even riot against? How foolish that seems. That’s the stuff of medieval or even archaic times. But the wars go on.

I’ve not experienced anything on that scale, but it has made me wonder. When I switched from faith in Judeo-Christianity to faith in no God, I apparently went from good to evil. Like an old sci-fi movie, I had gone to the dark side. If you don’t believe in God, you must believe in human sacrifice and baby killing! But no, my moral compass remains pretty much the same.

When I consider all the rioting and calls for anarchy or socialism or worse, it really comes down to opinions. “My opinion is the right opinion, and if you don’t agree, I’ll beat, conquer, or kill you!” You’re certainly not welcome. It is not religion that causes wars, but opinions. Mixed with huge egos, of course. Is my lack of faith in the existence of a god something to take up arms over? No, not in itself. If you want to take away my beliefs or my freedom to express my beliefs, then we might have a problem. That, however, would be a freedom fight rather than an opinion fight. Certainly, my opinion is that I should have the freedom to believe what I choose, whereas Xi Jinping believes otherwise. Freedom still must yet be considered a major factor in warfare, but with opinion underpinning it.

Perhaps I’m overthinking this. I don’t know. All I’ve experienced is the gasp and looks of dismay from those who figure out I no longer apply my faith to ancient myths. Of course I no longer have the friends I once did since my beliefs no longer match theirs. Relatives tend to be stuck with me as we are few and far between these days. Dismay seems to be their retort. Yes, some anger as well. I’m still invited to the now small family get-togethers, but I never share my opinions, and they’re good with that.

None of my newfound faith is based on petty or frivolous ideas. I don’t blame Christians’ counter-biblical comments or actions. It has nothing to do with Muslim vs. Christian beliefs, or any other religion. It’s fruitless to blame one’s worldview on the actions of other people. Just let me sort through the facts for myself. If my opinion differs from yours, so be it. How interesting our differences make our lives.

Photo by Dineshkumar M on Unsplash

In Ernest Wright’s “God Who Acts: Biblical Theology as Recital,” Wright had declared, “In biblical faith everything depends upon whether the central events happened” (1952, 126–27).

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Of course. This is a fascinating question with a complex answer, as the concept of “demons” evolved significantly over millennia.

The short answer is that the earliest documented accounts of what we would classify as demons come from ancient Mesopotamian religions (Sumerian, Akkadian, and Babylonian), dating back to at least the 3rd millennium BCE.

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