Engaging Evil with Open Eyes, Part One: No Pitchforks

Cartoons have given us the picture of a horned, pitchfork-toting, cloven-hooved, red-jumpsuited devil, who almost seems laughably obvious in his attempts to get us to steal cookies from the cookie jar or take money from the till at work.  And plenty of other pop culture voices paint a picture of two equal and opposite forces (or, popularly, a "Light side" and a "Dark side" of the same "Force," nudge nudge) out there, contending to win the day in an uncertain final battle.  But the Bible itself has a more nuanced picture.  The Hebrew Scriptures talk about "the Accuser," (the Hebrew word "Satan" is a title, not a first name) not as an equal and opposite force to God, but a created being who serves the role of something like a heavenly prosecuting attorney, and then we get a handful of descriptions through the Bible about "the devil," but no prequel-like "origin story" to answer all of our questions.  So how do Christians make sense of their own Scriptures to understand what, or who, evil is like?  And once we are honestly aware of the reality of this Satan figure as a real, clever, insidious, and subtle presence in the world, where do we put our focus?  Should we be looking for demons and the smell of sulfur around every corner?  Blaming the devil for a lack of good parking spaces?  Letting ourselves off the hook for our own choices and actions?  And should we focus more on watching out for devils or keeping our eyes on Jesus?  In a new series, pastors Erica and Steve begin to take a look at these issues, and we invite you into the conversation too!