I think you might just be assigning the pastor/devil roles to match your political preferences, rather than any actual theological basis....

Sidebar story. I served on two juries in Chicago a cojple of decades ago. Small cases, a trucking business owner accusing a union guy of intimidation, a slip-and-fall case against a small retailer. Both two days of “court’ followed by an hour or two in the jury room. Disagreements, eventual agreement, verdict, go home.

A friend of mine got an invitation in the mail, complained to me, I said, “aw go ahead. It’s not bad. Even a little different. You’ll enjoy it.” His experience was different, but not in a good way. Case, he says, was open and shut. Eleven on thbe jury thought so and voted so on the first ballot. One holdout. Why? “She looked at the defendent and decided he couldn’t have done it, he was just too nice a boy.” Argumentation. “I’m not concerned with what I heard, I just know. I prayed on it, and I’m convinced.”

Two days in the jury room, foreman *(my friend) asked for a hearing with the judge, where he said “We have one juror who will not consider the evidence. She just “‘has a feeling.’” He did not tell the judge which way the jury was going, just that it was an 11-1 hang. The judge brought the jury back in, told them to consider the evidence, back the the jury room, no change.

Hung jury. Time wasted, court resources wasted, endless aggravation amongst the jurors. The case was retried some months later. Instant conviction.

That’s the way it is with some people: “facts don’t matter”. They just “know” somehow, and the world must be shifted to conform to their feelings. Facts bounce off them like a Michael Jordan dribbled basketball.


At first I was surprised. Now I’m not.