The Prologue of John is one of the most vivid and powerful expressions of God’s action in the world, “The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it.” It is a message of strength and power, of the cosmic battle between light and dark. This sort of worldview was not just confined to the early church but is also seen in the Jewish Essene community at Qumran, a worldview explored in the War Scroll which is part of the Dead Sea Scrolls. In this scroll the battle between the Sons of Light versus the Sons of Darkness is described.

While I focus on Christianity or the world of the early church which includes the Jewish community, other faith traditions and worldviews also espouse some form of battle between light and darkness, with the light representing  good and the dark representing evil. It is not difficult to…