You either hate or love Tom Swiftie puns. If you hate them, I am sorry.  If you love them, well, as Tom said right before he flipped the switch, “You will be delighted.” Here are some of the classics: “‘Where are my pants?’ asked Tom briefly.” “‘These lines keep intersecting,’ Tom said crossly.”  “‘I like ragged margins,’ said Tom without justification.” “‘Don’t try to pull the wool over my eyes,’ Tom said sheepishly.” “‘I’ve got a new watch,’ Tom said with abandon.” “‘I’m tired of boat rides,’ Tom said sternly.” “‘I’ve been waiting to see the doctor,’ said Tom patiently.” For the last few weeks, we’ve been trying to ascertain how people in Jesus’ day (and even how Jesus himself) perceived demons. We’ve consulted the “Book of the Watchers” (3rd century BCE), the “Book of Jubilees” (2nd century BCE) and the “Dead Sea Scrolls” (1st century BCE); and all of them

You need to know the context.   Last Sunday, my sermon introduction was a dud. I talked about a question that I had heard years before that had plagued me ever since. The question was: Suppose you’ve been given an elephant. You can’t give it away or sell it.  What would you do with the elephant?” I said that we would go to a store, buy a big umbrella and head to the beach. The response was underwhelming. It was my fault. No one knew the context.  They didn’t know that originally my sermon was too long which necessitated me hacking away at my introduction. There were originally two other questions. They were cut. Originally, I told people these were questions innovative employers used to interview prospective employees. This fact was cut.  All I left in was the question about the elephant. No context. No framework. No understanding. Worse, no Super

It seems that demons are everywhere in the movies. You could even say that they are one of the rare things that occupy both Hollywood and the church equally! Consider these popular movies which “star” demons. We have The Omen, The Reckoning, and The Ring. We have Rosemary’s Baby, Jennifer’s Body and Jacob’s Ladder. Exorcisms are very popular in the movies. We have: The Exorcism, The Last Exorcism, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and My Best Friend’s Exorcism.  And let’s not forget demon movies that have developed into series. Two will have to do. First, we have The Evil Dead (an ancient Sumerian text conjures up seven movies and a TV series) and second, consider The Conjuring (three films in the original series, three more featuring Annabelle, two more featuring the Nun and one that features La Llorona—that’s a lot of conjuring!). Apparently, demon movies like one-word titles: Insidious, Sinister,

I do not like Bible movies. Let me begin by saying, I didn’t watch The Bible: In the Beginning. I also chose not to watch, “The Chosen.” “Veggie Tales” has plenty of Bible stories, but I haven’t munched on any of them. Groucho Marx supposedly said, “I'm not a vegetarian, but I eat animals who are.” Well, I’m not into “Veggie Tales,” but I know people who are; and, in my opinion, they are worse off for it (can anyone be “fine” after watching “Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Samson's Hairbrush”?). The only Bible movie that I could ever watch was The Ten Commandments, but only because Edward G. Robinson used his Little Caesar voice to say, “So, where’s your God, now, Moses?” And the reason I disliked all of these movies is the same reason I disliked Russel Crowe’s Noah—Hollywood feels they have to add things to the

In the preface to C.S. Lewis’ classic book, The Screwtape Letters, there is a warning about how one should think about should demons in our world (or as he calls them, “devils”). Lewis writes: “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.” One a sliding scale, I am closer to the former option than the latter. Don’t misunderstand me. I do believe in demons, but the demons I believe in, resemble more closely those described by Lewis than those portrayed in the gospels. C.S. Lewis’ demons make sense to me because I see people tempted each and every day. When the head-demon, “Screwtape,” tells his apprentice, “Wormwood,” how to use prosperity to tempt people, I listen because this is demonic

When Star Wars first came out, my aunt and uncle saw the movie and fell immediately in love with this great space saga. They even bought the merch to go with it, including sheets for their two sons’ twin beds. All was well in their household and everyone slept soundly dreaming of Luke and Leia and Hans and Chewy. Soon, thereafter, a friend invited my aunt to go to a revival meeting at their church. There she learned about demons and witchcraft and evil spirits and how they can prey on people’s souls today, if those people let them. And how do they let them? They open a doorway to the demonic world by dabbling in the occult and false religions. And these revival leaders said that nothing speaks more about dabbling in the dark side of the occult than Star Wars. My aunt was aghast at what she had