Beta male and female pastor, so we can conclude they’re not reading their Bibles. And they’re heaping up wrath upon their heads using God’s name. Consequently, they say they don’t believe demons are real today, but I was just reading in Revelation about when the demons are released on the world to harm those still alive who don’t belong to God, so I bet they’ll believe then when they look for death and can’t find it.
Claremont United Church is a progressive church associated with the United Church of Christ, whose mission is to “unite on our spiritual journeys to discern God’s still-speaking voice, embrace all people without exception, celebrate God’s presence in worship, and pursue Christ’s vision of peace, love, grace, and justice.”
Co-pastored by Rev. Jen Strickland and Rev. Jacob Buccholz, we last wrote about them after the former preached a sermon arguing that the Egyptian midwives who saved Moses are an example of protecting bodily autonomy and defending reproductive rights.
In a recent ‘KPOP Demon Hunters’-themed sermon, based on the blockbuster Netflix film and featuring a trio of women singing songs to banish demons from the land, Buchholz reveals that he fell in love with the movie after his trans nephew recommended he watch it: “We were riveted.” It is so good. The characters, the music, the themes, the message, all incredible.”
Yet one aspect of the film that made him feel uncomfortable is the inclusion of demons, leading him to explain:
“Ive always been uncomfortable with the way that modern evangelicals talk about demons and the demonic as if they are some sort of literal externalized force, walking through the world, causing havoc and tempting people away from God.
Because when we imagine demons as real, it allows us to attribute the evil of our world to something outside of ourselves, as if it originates from some sort of non-human source. When in reality, the evil in our world, violence and war, greed, poverty, neglect, genocide, homophobia, they are not caused by Satan or demons, they are caused by humans.
We are the demonic forces in our world when we put politics above human decency, when we privilege religious dogma over compassion, when we choose apathy over action.”