We live in a marketing world. Satanic evil is a far more cool idea to buy into than that this guy may have been in need of serious help which he didn't get (which doesn't excuse what he did, but still). If it's evil, there's nothing anyone could have done, and no one is to blame for not doing anything. Convenient logic, isn't it?

Oh, yeah. Chickenshit thinking. How can I make this not my fault in any way, form or fashion? Oh! I know! It's the Devil! That's the ticket! It's not underfunding of mental health resources or lack of adequate health care or the insistence that pot hunters need semi-automatic handguns to keep from starving! No! It's a supernatural force that only another supernatural force can combat.

It's the coward's way out.

Cowardly, yes. And lazy, too. Which in this case I feel is worse. I can respect healthy fear. I can't respect someone who just can't be bothered.

I can respect fear. I can't respect cowardice. Cowardice is a response to fear... just like courage is.

Definitely Schrizophrenic, ideation paranoia symptoms, hyper-unsociability traits, abuse ideation maybe. etc.

I'm not a shrink and I don't play one on tv, but yeah, I'd say he definitely had a serious screw loose. ;-)

OTOH, the debil made me buy a muffin this morning, so it makes sense to me.

Anyway, don't they keep conducting surveys that show that something like two thirds of Americans believe in angels?

Baked goods purchases are an *entirely* different matter. Of course the Imp of Desire forced you into that one.

I wonder, though, how many of those 2/3 who believe in angels believe in angels who take an active role in people's lives to the point of possessing them and making them do terrible things? Or good things?

Good question, fewer surely. But the concept of guardian angels seems anecdotaly commmon. It doesn't seem like a huge leap to propose the opposite.

But I've always thought it was hilarious that many people who do believe in angels seem to think they're these new agey fairy beings that fly around blessing kittens or something. I've haven't read the entire Bible but a lot of the bits that mention angels are generally on the scary side. Of course, fairies have gone through a similar change. I blame the Victorians :)

The Victorians do have a lot to answer for. And if angels are blessing kittens, I'm *very* pissed because they aren't keeping much of an eye on the four little monsters currently living in my bedroom.

To be honest, the only interesting angels I can think of are of the slightly bumbling Guardian type (think Clarance or that Carol Burnett episode of Twilight Zone) or the Warrior of God types.

Have you read Preacher? It kinda contains both those types ;)

My favorite angel movie is the first of the Prophecy series, mainly because of Christopher Walken... but It's a Wonderful Life is probably a close second.

Those were actually the two I was thinking of. Oh, and Dogma. :-) But I *loved* the way the Prophesy angels perched on things in their long coats. ;-)

Not familiar with The Preacher, though.

Hmmm... that makes me think-I need some icons from that movie. Dogma was great, too. I wish Constantine had lived up to it's potential, Tilda Swinton wasm

Preacher was a comic by Garth Ennis, who also wrote for the Constantine comic (Hellblazer) for a while, it's graphically violent and very obscene, but also hilarious and very smart. Plus it's available in trades.

http://preacher.alwaysmad.com/

Sounds like it might not be work safe, so I'll wait and look at it at home. ;-)

I suppose that's one theory. I'm still not completely convinced he was schizophrenic either. Possible. Certainly more possible than any demonic control. There were clips of the video he submitted to NBC available online. I didn't catch everything, but he did mention something about faith in Jesus. Not being Christian I may need clarification on this, but would a devil-possessed individual be capable of declaring faith in Jesus?

Given that the concept of demonic possession by Satan is a Christian tenant (just as Satanism is an offshoot of Christianity), I'd be shocked he weren't. After all, if I were a mythical evil entity, why would I bother possessing people who didn't believe in me or fear me? Where's the sport in that?

*pigsnorts*

Maybe we should send them a copy of Penn and Teller's Bullshit! episode on Exorcism.

I don't think they'd understand it.

"Why doesn't the little guy talk? Thinks he's better than us!"

Pour olive oil on his head and shout, "Get out!" That'll work. *snort*

LOL!