No, that’s not true. You may not see them if you refuse to see them, but these things still happen. It’s like the Narnia books, however: with the proud conviction that we are too mature and somehow have moved beyond these things, we lose our very capacity to see them even though they still exist. So we are in many ways actually more vulnerable than our forebears.
I have always thought that one of the things few people understand is how Christianity released pagan peoples from fear. Evil exists, and sometimes it takes very visible forms. Christianity was an even more powerful magic, however, and it freed people from witchdoctors, spells, curses and demons.
It is still more powerful. Those people who actually see demons are people who are particularly sensitive or for one reason or another have not lost that capacity to see the Old Evil; and they can also be helped by the old rites and the old prayers that dispell the demons. People who don’t see demons are still under attack, but in a lot of ways, they are more vulnerable because they can’t identify what is attacking them and what is the source of their fear.
Livius, as always, I find your comments to be the most perceptive on the thread.
having lived in Southern Africa, I can attest to the truth of this. Life there is about placating the unseen world, and attributing most incidents of life to their activity, thereby absolving the individual of any responsibility. However, as you have stated, Demons are real, and I state this with real empathy for NoGrayZone.