Demon Valley lies deep beneath the mountains of human awareness, concerns and interests. Yet, demons convene there to decide approaches, deceptive tactics and battle strategies against humanity.

"Let’s just everybody bombard the human consciousness with flashing lights and the jingle of good times, "Brilliant Dose suggested with laughter. "Pleasure tickles the fancy and fills the heart with empty thrills that promise much but create a new low after a season."

"What you say," Chief Lucifer pointed out, "has had limited success. But now we need something more. Not everyone swallows the ecstasy pill. Many have discovered that such pursuits bring the same end as the little boy with a sweet tooth discovered when he stole a big box of candy and slipped away to consume it all for himself, only to find a stomachache and a craving for something more substantial."

"I have it!" shouted Pious. "We’ll approach religious people and lull them into a sense of safety and comfort. They can withdraw into their churches or temples or synagogues or whatever and live the good life for themselves. Their own group will be their family, only reduced to a kind of exclusive social club. That way, they will feel no compassion to reach out to others. That will certainly make our work more successful."

"Pious," Chief Lucifer responded, "that is great. We have had much success in nullifying religion with such a strategy. But we need something much more if we really hope to devastate the whole world."

"I’ve been thinking," Subterfuge mumbled thoughtfully. "Just suppose we give everybody what they all really want, except place the evil under a good-sounding title or name."

"Hmm," Chief Lucifer pondered. "You may be on to something, Subterfuge. Expand."

"Well, we all remember original temptation and original sin," Subterfuge recalled. "Each person becomes his own god, declaring for himself to be his own sufficient judge as to what is good and what is evil. There can be no absolute truth. He himself becomes the sole frame of reference by which he validates his own little world."

"I like your thinking," Chief Lucifer agreed. "But how do we apply this concept across the board?"

"Tolerance," Subterfuge continued. "That’s a good-sounding term and can hide a multitude of devilment."

"Oh, yes," Chief Lucifer chuckled. "And those who are exclusive in their views would automatically be classified as intolerant! I like that. It knocks down Christianity as bigoted and aloof!"

"Oh, indeed, "emphasized Subterfuge. "And furthermore, since authentic Christianity places a thorn in the side of those who want their liberty, Christianity will really be the sole target. Everybody else who hates Christianity, even if they themselves claim exclusivity, will get a free ride with the tolerance bandwagon."

"And we can inspire all sorts of terms to connote hatred of Christians," Chief Lucifer bubbled sordidly. "How about intolerant, radical religious right, politically incorrect, inspirers of hate crimes, social misfits, dangerous influence and on and on we can go. Wow, our imagination can become very inventive."

"Not only that," Subterfuge reflected with a distinct sparkle in his eye, "we can build on that attitude by inspiring the extensive use of the counterfeit to discredit the authentic!"

"Got you!" Chief Lucifer exploded with his finger waving in the air. "Christianity will be discredited by all the charlatans and preachers falling into sexual misconduct and those abusing others in the name of Christianity."

"Absolutely," Subterfuge agreed. "The true Christians will be shunned with great suspicion and become the scapegoat for all sorts of evil. Politicians will have a hay day pigeonholing them into the hate messengers or bigoted fundamentalists not unlike terrorists."

"Oh," Chief Lucifer mumbled. "I’m beginning to see some real significant ramifications to this. The liberals will use this assessment to grant the terrorists a little latitude. Compared to Christians, these terrorists can’t be all that bad. Anyway, the extreme right can be accused as a main factor in agitating the terrorists into an attack posture. The war on terrorism takes on a black note sure enough."

"Ah, Chief Lucifer," Subterfuge gloated, "there’s no end. I see this basically moving toward eradicating all sensitivity to principal differences. I mean, let’s move toward calling war evil, because it kills innocent people, because it seeks to impose our exclusive views on others, because the whole world doesn’t agree on procedures. Man, we can create instability galore!"

"Exactly!" Chief Lucifer acknowledged, snapping his fingers.

"And the extreme right wing can clamor all they want," Subterfuge allowed, "but they’re the right wing or the extreme religious right. Those labels can often automatically discredit them and make them appear to be fools."

"Absolutely," agreed Chief Lucifer. "It also helps many to reduce the 911 terrorists’ attacks into relative irrelevance in the total scope."

"Ah, if I may," Pious interjected, "I just might have a piece of the total picture here. As a second prong, we could create the perfect dichotomy in the minds of some vulnerable religious traditionalists at the same time."

"Yes, say on," Chief Lucifer encouraged. "Every bit of ammo we can muster helps assure success, you know."

"Well," Pious declared with a wily smile, "we can fortify the notion that religion is the answer, but separate from the world at large. Religion is available, but divorced from all the evil and sin in the world. Politics and religion must eternally be separated. Religion should have nothing to do with politics."

"Definitely," agreed Chief Lucifer. "That works favorably toward the privatization of religion. Keep it contained in its own little compartment of society. It’s an individual matter and should not interfere with politics or business or the public. The church should not be allowed to speak out on anything political in nature. When that principle is totally implemented, then there can be much less interference with our battle to destroy the world."

"And we have already met with a degree of success concerning biblical skepticism among the general public," Pious added. "But it would be advantageous to reinforce that trend. You know, inspire many more to speak of the Bible as a fantasy, similar to fairy tales and the like. This effort could counter the revival of interest among certain churches and the influence of radio and television ministers who try to promote respect for the Word."

"Of course," Chief Lucifer agreed. "While much of the news media has been instrumental in discrediting the validity of biblical claims, we should continue to inspire more people to join the bandwagon."

"You know," Pious mused, "we really had a hay day with Search for the Historic Jesus and similar assaults on the historicity of biblical accounts."

"And," Brilliant Dose thoughtfully started, "it still bounces back in the end toward hedonism, doesn’t it? I mean, what gives pleasure does speak to this modern society. I can see where the effort to discredit Christianity helps one move toward what he calls liberty to enjoy his sin with impunity. People then can be free to engage in abortion, homosexuality, same sex marriage and a host of other demeaning practices and beliefs. The terrorists can feel proud to create wars and throw themselves away through suicide bombings to enter into the delusional world of eternal pleasures to fulfill every imaginable lust. Everyone will confuse liberty with license!"

"Hmm," Chief Lucifer mumbled, his fingers scratching under his chin as though deeply focused. "Brilliant Dose, you keep bouncing back to the pleasure aspect. But your argument does have some merit. Since pleasure is your cup of tea, I would expect to hear that coming from you. However, your point is well taken. Fitting your contribution into the total scope does add a certain degree of fuel to boost the effectiveness of the total picture, you know. Just keep up your brand of conniving as we all work together."

And thus the conference and its aftermath afflicting humanity continue a infinitum from the abyss of the deep, shadowy valley. Evil surges, but just what does this parable say by way of answering the question up for discussion?

Please allow us to preface what we intend to point out with this assertion. Perhaps we can glean some of the presumptions of the questions. Such effort to scrutinize the questions should not disparage the questioner in the least. Quite the contrary, he should be commended for his apparent honesty to seek answers. Yet, by the same coin, we can not hesitate to establish the truth from our perspective, while at the same moment, seeking to keep an open and eager desire to see more light and learn those factors and elements we may unwittingly fail to account for. After all, the discussion should remain a two-way street.

Having thus clarified our goal and our hope to bring to light the truth, may we proceed to uncover avenues some may have never even considered.

Demon Valley does not represent more than a kind of parable. Every true parable has but one principle meaning symbolized.  To a certain degree, this parable retains that character. Then what is the precise central meaning of the parable? The whole parable would fall apart were it divorced from the centrality of original sin and the consequential fall. Restated in the context of societies since the fall, every person reserves the right to himself; that is, every person becomes his own god to declare what is good and what is evil for himself alone. Many of the ramifications of this original sin and the original fall have been dealt with in the convening of the demons in Demon Valley, which fairly well sizes up much of the ills within our societies.

Amazingly, the crux of utilitarianism grows out of this self-conscious hub inherent within original sin and the consequential original fall. Allow us to illustrate.

Our world grows out of the central consciousness of our beings, who we are and where we find ourselves. We cannot divorce ourselves from our own experiences and impressions which feed our growth and develop a frame of reference within our consciousness.

William Temple, an English theologian and philosopher, declares in so many words that each person from birth finds his physical nature such that his growing awareness starts at point zero, where he is at each moment along life’s way. His horizon depends on his location each particular time along the way. His awareness grows from who he is, his identity emerging from immediate relationships and each circumstance and environment along every step of his growth.

That remains the natural course of every person. However, from the time of the fall this self-consciousness has become the fertile breeding ground for self-centeredness. It provides the incentive to live within the box, to become the god of one’s own self. Hence, there remains but one further device to implement the principle of utilitarianism. "I become the god of my soul and my direction cannot be forestalled. Consequently, my end (goals) justifies the means" echoes through the self-centered human disposition when left to its own natural course (see discussion of character of the end within the means).

While we must acknowledge the value of human life, even among the most radical Islamic fundamentalists, we must at the same moment understand the source of hatred and open hostilities giving rise to wars, suicide bombings, insensitivity to innocent victims and suffering and plight of everyone else. Truly, in their perspective the end justifies the means! These arrogant, bigoted and intransigent human beings have sealed themselves within their own self-centered and impenetrable microcosm. Nothing can ever be open for discussion. Everything has been predetermined by what their view is. Everyone else in the whole world must suffer total annihilation. Only this radical Islamic fundamental and totalitarian world government must be allowed to exist.

Quite the contrary, authentic Christianity thrives from love expressed through grace and forgiveness. Every person must be allowed to receive the liberal focus as potential children of God. The genuine cure rests with Christianity, but Christianity does not express itself through denial of choice. Christ Himself allowed other religions to exist and sought to reach people, even poor, lowly sinners. No one was ever pressed to accept Him and His doctrine (John 3:16-17). The "whosoever" within this frame of reference recognizes unrestrained choice.

Having thus established a basis, we find the following questions may provoke certain avenues of thought with respect to the questions posed for discussion:

• The terrorists declared war against the United States, other democracies and free societies of the world in the 911 attacks. Do we consider that their ends really justify their means?
• As having Christian influence, are we justified to put a halt to their efforts, even in Iraq, to subdue all nations of the world? Or should we allow this force of darkness to take over in the name of peace? If we surrender to this force of darkness, would living under the torment of having either to be tortured and killed or to embrace this radical evil be an end justified by the means of surrendering ourselves completely to this black invasion? 
  In reality, did we enter Iraq with the intent to establish our form of government or to allow the people to choose for themselves how they would be governed?
• If we are in a world war against terrorist, certainly many innocent people will suffer from lateral fallout, but not by intention or design on the part of our country. Is it worse that we allow those thousands of innocent victims to live and sacrifice millions of innocent people over the world to come under threat of total annihilation? Indeed, war is always wrong because such came through the fall, but by choice we can protect the largest number of people possible. We do not choose to kill, but to protect. Sometimes killing becomes necessary in order to protect everyone else.
• Consider the fact that terrorists deliberately resort to using innocent civilians (including women and children) and holy shrines and anything under the sun, no matter how valuable or dear to people and even resorting to a sacrilegious defiance, to provide themselves a haven from which to launch their brutal attacks. Does this philosophy not show that this enemy of humanity has no restrictions whatsoever concerning the means to reach its own lewd end? Then are we as a nation unjustified in measures to halt this cancer upon societies?

These are but a few thoughts we should face before drawing conclusions, do we not agree?