Mike Johnson claims to hate the devil. Maybe he should look in the mirror

Where is that devil and what is he up to? First of all, like in any good horror movie, the devil is always right here in the house. In the case of the current evangelical political machine, the devil is all too often wearing pastoral robes and expensive tailored suits. For many years, the evangelical church has pointed to the devil outside in the world, but the devil is the one doing the pointing. Secondly, the devil is always up to the same thing: creating division through fear. 

Believing in the devil certainly has its disadvantages. It’s an odd thing. Essentially there’s almost nothing I am afraid of, except the dark basement in the triple-decker apartment where I live. It’s difficult to admit this, I can often be spotted running upstairs from that basement just in case the devil, or some demon or Freddy Krueger, is going to get me. It’s embarrassing. I understand, intellectually, how stupid this fear is. I’m 47 years old, reasonably well educated and a big, strong guy. But if I head down to get my laundry at night, suddenly all 6’2” and 225 pounds of me is running up my back stairs — because devils are typically slow and won’t be able to get through the door to my apartment once I make it there. Plus, my apartment lights will be on. The devil can’t survive in the light — which is helpful advice for confronting evil, by the way.  

This unnatural fear also prevents me from being able to enjoy a good horror movie. I’ve tried, a lot. It always ends with terrible results. Especially if there is a demon involved, or some possessed kid. Then I can’t even go to the bathroom at night and have to hold it until morning. It’s brutal. And all of this comes from when I was told that the devil was trying to hurt me — that the devil hates me and wants to keep me from God. This thinking can mess up a kid badly, even when he’s a 47-year-old man.

The devil is causing problems in current American political culture, in so many ways and for so many reasons. In the minds of too many evangelical Christians, those who do not hold to your faith are not simply against your ideas but are being manipulated by the devil himself to destroy everything you love. All who do not believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ and accept him as their savior are potentially, or very likely, under the control of the “Enemy.”  

I was recently watching “90 Day Fiancé,” an amazing source of human understanding and wisdom, and I was struck by one of the show’s obnoxious couples. I hate this show and all the people on it, I promise — I just need to find out which couple makes it before I stop watching it forever. Or until next season, at least. Anyway, one couple on the show are mega-Christians and making sure they don’t have sex before they get married.  At one point…