The democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1868-1874, 1874-03-02


make him happy, and this prohibition was
an intimation 70 MIN that his happiness and
obedience, in the very nature Of things, were
inSeparably connected. II Is the same rs II
be had said, HYour obedience TO the laws
which shall enjoin will ensure felicity, but
dlSobedienee will destroy Il, imbitter life and
terminate in death.n The command appears
plerile In the present day, but twas well
adapted TO Adams circumstances and eapae
itJ, the trce would meet bis eye daily and
every time hc beheld IL his mind would re-
vert 10 God, and to the command which he
had received, and thus be would become &C
euItomsd to think Of his Creator, and learn
BY degrees 10 render cheerful and ready
obedience.
This command, most likely, was the fro
quent subject Of conversation between Adam
and Eve, and shepefhapS arst suggested that
the fruit Of this tree possessed peculiar quail
tiles, which wsuld give them new powers
and make them like gods were they TO cat Of
IL and as she thought II possible 10 hide
herSelflromthee eye of God II the garden, she
might think II they cid taste OF this forbidden
tree, God would not knoWit-thuS reasoning
and thus deceiying themselves. In an unior-
tunate moment when, influenced by such
notions, they probably atc Of tho forbidden
tree, and forfeited their claims to innoeency
The train VI reasoning which tempted then
TO tranSgress, and which terminated In their
mutual eriminality, Is perhaps peSonifed in
the Mosaic narrative, and represented as
serpent. Or, It's not less likely that the |
serpent had eaten OF lhisforbidden tree In The |
presence OF Eve, without those fatal eonse- |
quenees ensuing which she expected, and thus |
might DO said 70 speak. Seeing the serpent |
eat with immunity, she probably calculated |
that death was moi the penalty Of transgres-
sioni aud as death was The only thing which |
deferred her from eating of the forbidden |
tree, when her mind was relieved from this |
apprehension, II Is easy 10 conceive that she |
would feel no hesitation In gratifying her |
faney's appetite. lfthis were the eaSe, and Il |
the cause that removed those fears which So
cured her obedience, and In this sense II may
be said, thesatpent begulled the woman aud
she did eat Both these applications Of The
Mosaic narrative are natural, easy and CON
slitent, and such as throw no shade on the
Divine wisdom and goodnessi but 70 aitrih-
ute the fall ofmRn 70 the interference Of the
Devil In the shape ofa serpent Is TO impose
meaning which the aeconntdosi not author.
lie, and 10 place the wisdom and goodness Of
an omnirotent Being, In q very Questionable
view.
The book Of Job Is frequently cited as con.
tanning evidence Of the existence Of the Devil;
but this book, like the account OF mans fall
in Genesis, will be found, fairly examined,
10 Afford no rationa ground for The opinion
The term used In this book Is SATAN, and IN
the large Bibles Il is rendered In the margin
ApvTRsARY. Butifthe notion which Is COM
monty attached 10 the term Satan be rutained
here, we shall End an omniseient and an om-
uiptesent God 1king q finite, evil being
where he cana from, and pleading the right
eousnesg Of Job 10 the enemy or all right
esusneIs aS entiiling him to his forbearanee;
and this surely 10 extremely improbable.
The history represents the Deity and Satan
as converting about The integrity and right
eousness Of Job, and the result Of this con-
ference Is, that God invests Satan with power
to destroy his possessions and injure him in
bis circumstances; but from the sequel Of the
story II plainly appears that the term Satan
| Is only generalization ofmoral and natural
evil; for we fnd Job stripped Of his fiockS,
bereayed Of his children, and deprived OF bis
possessions, NOT by tho agency Of ono evil
being, but by the invasion Of enemies, the
lightning ofGod, and . wind from the will
dernesg. Job traces not his misfortune 10 al
evil being, but ascribes all 10 the Deity him
self: "The Lord gave aud the Lord taketh
away, blessed DO His holy name" And at
the end Of this poem 1t Is expressly said that
all the evils which Job had suffered, the Lord,
and not the Devil, had brought upon him.
SATAN Is q Hebrew word, and merely sig-
mites an adversary, an enemy, an hccuser,
but implies nothing sapernAtura Thus our
Lord says TO Peter, "Get thee behind me,
Satan;n and Paul, who must have known
what was meant BY the term, delivered Al
exander and Hymeneus 10 tho power Of Sa-
tan, In order that they might learn not 10
blaSpheme, which surely would have been q
strange way 10 effect their reformation, had
Satan been real being, and an enemy TO
God aud man. Asfor the term DEVIL, II Is
derived from Greek word, and ID nearly
synonymous with the term Satan. Jesus
says 70 his apostles, hHayo not chosen you
twelve, and one ofyou IL devilfn That's,
an adversary or false aceuSor and when
Jesus caused one who was born blind and
dumb 10 see and speak, the Jews Iaid, Nbe
cast out devils.n II 10 likewise very plain
fronIMatt. xviii. that to be possessed with q
devil, and 10 be insane, was considered the
same thing in those days. for It Is said a
certain man broughthis son 70 our Lord, who
was lunatic, and besought him 70 cure him.
and In yer. is, we End Jesus rebuked the
devil and cast him out that Is, be cured the
child Of lunaey. And in many instances,
too, whore the word devil occurs in the New
Testament itshould have been rendered de
mon, and the idea Of demons, or dsmoniaeal
possessions, which had obtained pretty gen.
eral eredenee at tie time Jesus and the apos-
ties lived, was very different from the doc
trine ofa devil, which now passes current
among the multitude. Demonology, or the
doctrine oft the splits Of dead men possessing
the living, has been long obsolete but 70
this foolish opinion, which every thinking
man would now blush 10 avow, Is 10 be traced
in great measure the universally which 0
belief In the doctrine ola devil has obtained
The terms Satan and the Devil certainly
do occur In many parts Of the Scriptures !
but II, as Is very plain, IN many instances,
they do not mean real being, I. may BE-
fairly inferred that they never do, especially
as the Mosaic account OF mans fall. % which
no apology for dc doctrine; aud ihs book q
Job Is decidedly AID strongly opposed 10 u.
II should not be forgotten, TOO, that u
there be such being as the Devil, in exist.
enee, that oil knowledge OF him Is derived
from revelation only for so far ara the ap-
pSafauees ofnaturo from favoring such ar
pinion, that The closest investigation and
! the minu,est survey can discover nothing but
traces ofdivine love, and the operations Of
unbounded goodness and wisdom. In thu
distant ages Of the world, II Is true, ther,
were nations unskilled in the philosophy o.
nature, and unaidsd by divine communities
ton, which aseribed tho raging Of tho temp
est the eruption Of volcanoes and the blast
Ing Of the lightning's fash, 10 q principle
ofevil; but IN the present Improved ~, tln.s