Compare how the New Testament speaks of unseen forces that oppress and harass people. One is called evil spirits, and another is called idol. One has statues built to it, and babies sacrificed to it, while the other is allowed to victimize people's minds and bodies.
Look at one of the Hebrew words for idol:
"of
nought, good for nothing, worthless "
Strong's Definition
"From an unused root perhaps meaning properly to
pant (hence to
exert oneself, usually in vain; to
come to naught); strictly
nothingness; also
trouble,
vanity,
wickedness; specifically an
idol: - affliction, evil, false, idol, iniquity, mischief, mourners (-ing), naught, sorrow, unjust, unrighteous, vain, vanity, wicked (-ness.) Compare
H369. "
And another:
"from an unused root perhaps meaning properly, to pant (hence, to exert oneself, usually in vain"
Strong's Definition
"Apparently from
H408; good for
nothing, by analogy
vain or
vanity; specifically an
idol: - idol, no value, thing of nought. "
Brown-Driver-Briggs' Definition
trouble, wickedness, sorrow
- trouble, sorrow
- idolatry
- trouble of iniquity, wickedness
These do not sound like static or imaginary names. People through history have reported of being harassed by voices. They do things to appease these voices, out of fear or a desire to gain power.
Now look at what other religions throughout the world consider deities. There are thousands. They are not all the same personality, and have different histories. People have believed and feared and shaped their lives around an insistence on their existence. If these forces or personalities do not exist, then for practical purposes they still carry an impact on people as though they did. People allow themselves to be controlled by them.
It is clear in the Bible that our God Jehovah is not in competition with lesser beings. He created all. Free choice opened the possibility for fallen angels, so free choice would open the possibility for all sorts of things that chose a darker path.
