Episode 75: Engaging Evil with Open Eyes--For Such a Time As This

In the final part of their series on engaging evil with open eyes, pastors Erica and Steve take a look at a case study in dealing with real-life evil even when it doesn't wear a red jumpsuit and hooved feet.  As they have explored already, the powers of evil are often most effective when they are subtle and behind the scenes: not like in scenes out of "The Exorcist," but operating through systems and structures, and getting people to stay silent and grow complacent.  Esther is a helpful, if less well-known, story and hero in the Bible, because she has to wrestle with these questions without an angel showing up or a heavenly vision to give her answers--only the shared discernment of trusted friends and a commnity of faith.  In a book that never mentions God or the devil explicitly, we get a glimpse of how real people living their everyday lives gain the clarity and courage to speak up when others are endangered.  And even though it is often uncomfortable for us to see where we may be in positions of privilege and comfort, Esther's story helps us to see how positions of privilege carry with them the responsbility to speak up, and even risk getting into trouble, for the sake of those whose voices are not heard or whose lives are endangered.  Join us for this conversation that is both rooted in Scripture but also deeply practical, for living in, as the book of Esther puts it "such a time as this."