Judge a tree by its fruit.
Judge a man by his deeds.
I don’t need signs and portents to judge Obama as evil. His deeds speak for themselves.
Perhaps Obama is possessed by a demon perhaps not. I do not see flies as a definitive indicator of demonic presence. I have know plenty of good people that seem to attract flies. I think it may have something to do with lactose intolerance.
I call Obama evil because of his deeds. I need nothing else to judge him evil.
YES!
The expression “judge a tree by its fruit” is perfect here.
In fact, signs and referents - these “symbols” - exist and are trans-historical in many cases, so that we need not “eat the fruit” in order to figure out what we should, or what God wants us to do, about the tree.
Just as some animals come inherently to judge and avoid poison frogs by their bright color, we come to judge and avoid evil and death by its many appearances, accoutrements, etc.
In this case, the canon tells us, flies.