The democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1868-1874, 1874-03-02
[AdvertIIonsnt. ]
THE DEVIL.
Is There such a Being a--Ir
80, IL he a Personal DeYiIs
Reply to Rev. j. II. Mccartney.

GLrsylLLs, Feb. IA.
Rtrefead and Dear Sir
II Is the universal practice in teach
ing the arts and sciences, and every
branch Of knowledge, to lay down some
first principle, some criterion Of truth,
by which all other questions arc 10 be
tried and decided. And well had il
been for the Christian world If the same
wise method had been pursued in the
ology, Had Christians adopted some
well.esta blished truth Of revelation and
Of nature, such as. God is wise, omuip-
Otent and COED, as tho critsrion Of
religious opinions, and yielded to none
but such as harmoniEed with this max
i'm. the speculative questions which
have separated man from bis brother,
and sonvulsed society like the treach-
erous earthquake, would no sooner
have been propounded than decided I;
and 1t would not have remained for US
to inquire at this day. whether God had
created an almost omnipotent evil being
to haruss, distress and tempt creatures
whom be inended for virtue and hap.
pinOss. 1t would long ago have been
observed, that q wise being would no.
do this, and good being could not,
and thus the world wonld have been
spared this unscriptural and irrational
doctrine.
The advocates for the existence Of
the Devil, believe, that there is scrip
tural ground for the opinion, and with
out considerable attention, they seldom
discover their mistake. Men are fire..
quen.ly deceived by terms, and as they
find the terms Devil, and iSdtdn, used
in the Old and New Testamcnts, they
conclude at once without examination,
that they must mean personality, exis-
tence and mallgnancy. They suppose
these terms expressive Of their own
ideas, without inquiring what ideas
were attached to them in the days in
which they were first used.
According to popular opinions, the
Devil has always been, and always will
DO intimately connected with the affairs
Of human kind: indeed the history Of
the Devil is almost identified with the
history Of man, for it is generally be-
lisyed, and as generally asserted, thai
he was the busy agent who effected the
fall Of our first parents, and who made
them and all their posterity tho vic.
tins ofsin, misery and death. A lit
} tic attention, however, to the accoun.
! ofman's fall will suffice To show that
there is no ground whatever for this
assumption; and that however useful
the assistance Of tho Devil may DO 10
! give IN orthodox complexion to the
Mosaic account Of Adams alteration,
there is not the least reason to trace 1t
10 the entrance Of this parsonage upon
the stage. The Mosaic account ofthii
unfortunate event, says that the serpent
was the most subtle beast Of the field,
and that he tempted Eve and she did
eat; but not word occurs to counte-
nance the superstition that any super
natural being was concerned. As fol
tho term Devil, It is not once used il
the narrative, nor indeed, but twice in
tho Mosaic writings, and then in tho
plural number, and. in both instances,
evidently means an idol or Pagan god,
! and the serpent is expressly called q
, beast aud II il DO said, as II common.
ly Is, that the Devil entered or pos.
Gesssd the serpent, and thus seduesd
Eve from her allegiance, it remains to
be observed that In this case it was mol
the serpent, but the Devil which dolu.
ded Rve, and the Devil ought and
doubtless would have been punished
, for his temeri.y; but The story sayl
the serpent was cursed above all The
beasts Of the field because he had
tempted Eve and enticed her to trans
gress the Divine command. Adam
endeavors to palliatc his disobsdienc,
by pleading the allurement Of bis wife
and Eve makes a similar effort by
naming the enticement Of the serpent;
. but tho serpent which might have Of.
fectually excused himself by charging
the whole upon tue Devil, had ho real
, ly been acting undrr his influence. say
: nothing in extenuation Of bis conduct,
thought it is believed ho could speak
but bears the whole weight Of the Di-
: vine indignation, as the original and
only cause Of oil this mischief. The
. narrative ascribcs all The guilt to thu
serpent only, "bcedue thou hast don,
I ibis" aud at the same time ii classoi
the serpent among beasts: hence,thon
: II il be maintained that this serpent wa
the Devil, 1t follows that the Devil, Of
ter oil that has been said about bis clio
ven feet and google eyes, his long tai
aud bis black hide, bis all shapes ant
bis no shapes, Is but q harmless ser
pent, and that whoever has seen q ser
psut has bsheld his black majesty /,
propria p1sona. Serpent and deyi
arc but two names for one creature
the serpent mGaus q devil, and TIL
devil means . serpent.
But on tho current hypothesis, it i
. highly improbable that the fall Of maj
should have been effected in tho man
; ner which is usually supposed BY sucl
a being as the Devil. With his pow
ers he would not have entered aserpon
TO accomplish bis purpose, bu. would a
once have taken possession Of Adam