Jon, do you dismiss what I say because I am not Christian? There are other types of Christianity, as I said before, that I think you would find very enlightening; things are not translated literally from the Bible, rather symbolically. Sins are your negative thoughts and actions, because ultimately they come back at you and cause harm to you. You have a higher self within you, g-d within, who can answer your questions, but it takes a belief in your own worth, too, to get in touch with that higher self.

I do not want to get preachy here because it has felt too much like an online ministry around here lately. I will just offer, again, more info on metaphysical Christianity, if you are interested.

As for demons, believe this or not, when my brother was drinking, I had a friend who went into other planes of existense to *battle* for him. There are not demons, IMO, but there are entities/lost souls who do like to hang around people who drink and try to influence them. These are usually souls who refuse to accept they have died and need to move on; they are still addicted to their old ways and having a hard time, so they live vicariously through people whose defenses are down.

There, now I have probably thoroughly cemented my rep as a crackpot on the Mudcat.*smile*

kat