Dear V-8 Buick owners who feel the call of faith, I have been a long-time fan of the filmaker Timothy Mahoney's Patterns of Evidence project: https://patternsofevidence.com/ From his first film about the Exodus, Timothy has taking the scientific establishment head on and proposed that even with all that archeology has unearthed, there is still reason to believe in the literal story of the Exodus. Here is a link to the film description: https://patternsofevidence.com/exodus-film/ You can subscribe to an email list with weekly commentary with the same goal of looking at how faith could still be consistent with all of our scientific knowledge. This week's commentary is on the ancient practice of exorcism and how it relates to the apparently unrelated topics of mental health and halloween: https://patternsofevidence.com/2021/10/29/exorcism-and-the-bible/ I think it is a very balanced and thoughtful refection on how faith could fit into our very strange world that insists there are no real demons, and yet, sets aside a day to pretend there are some. My feelings about halloween were completely altered after 9/11. I no longer could swallow the idea of make-believe horror after the very real horror of the twin tower bombing having taken so many innocent lives. I have been facing some difficult surgical health challenges this year that make halloween decorations very offensive considering what my body has gone through. Flirting with horror and evil seems like such an insane thing to do considering all the real horror and evil this poor world already suffers from. Are we as rational as we want to believe if we behave like this? At the same time our modern world wants to believe that we have solutions for every possible affection under the label "mental health." As the piece points out, not every mental health condition treats so easy. Are we so sure we have a complete view of reality? Are we "safe" in our halloween celebrations because it is certain that evil is nothing more than a kind of Hollywood fantasy? Timothy Mahoney calls the faithful to nonetheless be seriously thoughtful about our faith. Halloween is an excellent time to do just that. Thoughtfully, . . . .. . Edouard
Ephesians 6:12 New International Version 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
