“Topic #107:
According to a Gallup Poll, nearly 70% of Americans believe in the Devil. Do you? Why or why not? Why do you think 70% of Americans believe as they do on this issue? Do you think this number is higher or lower than other countries in the world? Why? Do you think the devil is behind the choice of this topic?”
Interesting choice for a topic on Easter Sunday WordPress. I thought for sure the topic suggestion would be something about the origins of the Easter Bunny or the credibility of a human resurrection but no. Ok, Satan it is. First of all, I don’t trust polls. No one came knocking on the doors of anyone I know asking if they believed in the devil so it can’t be entirely accurate. Polling the general public doesn’t necessarily represent all Americans’ beliefs but this is all beside the point. That point being Lucifer. I, sure as hell, believe. Although my belief lies not in a Ruler of All That is Dark but more in the idea of evil. I’ve experienced intensely deep penetrating fear that I feel can only come from devilry. For a period in my life I was overly interested in books of the non-fiction horror genre-The Amityville Horror, Devil in Connecticut, and Jay’s Journal to name a few. Jesus, just writing out their names has given me a twinge of apprehension. I truly believe that seriously scary stuff has happened to people. Stuff they couldn’t explain by any other means but to call it evil. My acceptance of a dark side is why I’d NEVER touch a Ouija board. Never…ever….ever. Who knows what’s just lurking around us waiting to come through the first door that’s opened, usually by some stupid highschool kid.
As far as what I think about how many Americans believe in the devil versus other countries, I really don’t know. I think 70% is pretty high actually. I think it’s a lot easier for people to believe in the devil than in God. Evil in the world is much more recognizable, it gets more attention. A vicious murder gets the front page, a miraculous recovery is somewhere near the back. It’s as if we expect things to be good, like that’s the way things SHOULD be. For me, things just are. There is no should or shouldn’t. That’s why you should be grateful when things are running smoothly. It’s a gift. Things get ugly real quick and we get so upset and talk about what’s fair. Well life’s not fair and there’s a struggle going on and whether it’s between God and Satan or simply good and evil, I don’t know. The cartoons with a devil one shoulder and an angel on the other aren’t so far from the truth of what we go through on a daily basis.
Do I think the devil is behind the choice of this topic? Unless Scott Berkun of The Daily Post at WordPress has started this whole post-a-day challenge for the sole reason of positioning this topic 107 topics into it just to get everyone to write about the devil in an attempt to give it power, no, I don’t think the devil is behind the choice of this topic. The devil’s internet connection probably isn’t strong enough to keep up with what’s going on at WordPress everyday anyway.
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