“Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Believe in God, believe also in me.”
(Jesus to his disciples in John 14:1 NRSV)

This morning, my wife answered the doorbell to find two strange men bearing tracts and a briefcase. One asked her if she believes in Satan. She said simply, “No, thank you,” and closed the door. Did they expect to be invited inside?

Door to door evangelists for Satan? Probably not. I suspect they were fundamentalist Christians who have adopted “belief” in Satan as a literal, “personal” being (his Satanic Majesty) as their litmus test for Christian faith. If so, they are heretics (heresy means false teaching) who are setting unnecessary stumbling blocks between people and Christian faith, but on the more everyday level, their question was creepy, and I certainly would not recommend that anyone, especially not a woman alone, let them inside the house or even continue speaking with them. Close the door and lock it. Make sure you have your charged cell phone in hand or are near your home phone.

Were they physically dangerous? Probably they were not, but caution seems the wiser choice.

Now I’m thinking about how I might have answered them had I been home to answer the doorbell. My first inclination would be to reply, “No, I believe in Jesus Christ and the God who sent him. I don’t care to put my trust in Satan.”