Belly,
You might be surprised to learn that I agree with your view. Christians are free from the belief in demons as beings. However persons from former pagan cultures are deeply influeced in spirit beings inflicting diseases and mental diseases and death hense the witch doctor has the power to exorcise. Today many of these pagan cultures have moved into our Western society so the practise of exorcising for those people is a believeable practice.

We educated Westerners recognise no such beings exist, we can control bacteria, understand mental disorders etc.

Philo:

"We educated Westerners recognise no such beings exist, we can control bacteria, understand mental disorders etc."

Yet you claim to believe in 'intelligent' design - interesting conflict of belief versus raionalism you have going there Philo.

Johnny Rotten,
Because design is consitent we can know by intelligence. Design reflects logic we can observe. For sactter brains no design exists just random events.

Philo

"Christians are free from the belief in demons as beings", so where does that leave the Vicar of God and the billion Micks in the world?

And the fruitcakes in the Baptists/fundie/AOG corners?

'Christians' is too loose a phrase.

Some may not, but hundreds of millions do.

Considering all the Christian celebrations were stolen from Pagans, I wouldn't be quite so smug about the purity of anyone professing to be 'a Christian', and the Bible is built on non-Christian lives, practices and peoples as I understand it.

Even Jesus wasn't a Christian.

The Blue Cross,
So now you are saying the founder of the Christian faith did not follow his own teachings? Christ was exorcising people of pagan influences because they believed in demons. That was also a practise engaged in by monotheistic Jews at the time, to eradicate the pagan influences that controlled their thinking and lives. The scripture states after exorcism He left them in their right mind. The people formerly believed demons controlled their behaviour - afterwards they controlled their behaviour.

No Philo, you said "Christians are free from the belief in demons as beings".

That is clearly not correct, millions do.

You laid it at the feet of Pagans and exempted Christians from it.

I have no doubt Pagans are full of demon thinking, but so are Christians.

Why else would 'yer man' bother to cast them out?

And what about this, "We educated Westerners recognise no such beings exist", also not true, unless you are admitting that the hordes of Christians are in fact 'not educated', or at least, not well enough to tell what Mumbo is.

As I read history, Jesus did not 'found' Christianity at all, others did that after he was gone, using him as a hook.

Compared to L. Ron Hubbub, of course, who did 'found' his magnificent religion while still alive and raking it in.

"The people formerly believed demons controlled their behaviour - afterwards they controlled their behaviour", so what is that Vatican soldier doing today, running around training his flatfoots to keep this Mumbo going here in Australia?

Expect the Vicar of God to re-approve witch burning as part of his joyous Xmas message.

I can see Pell lighting the blue touch paper and standing back. Maybe he'll go for Gillard first?