The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1879-02-26
For TIE CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN.
WINTER EVENING CONVERSATIONS
SATAN AND HIS WORKS.

SATAN AND HIS WORKS.
Il is easy to understand Why the Devil has
always given prominent place to religion
in his catalogue of ways aud means to hold
dominion over men. He was obliged to con
form himself to the demands Of the truth
found in mans nature. He sets himself
busily to work to counterfeit the truth; or
rather he admits 80 much truth as he is
obliged to, only withholding the truth of the
serious nature of the first trsnsgressiOn. Or
if compelled to admit its serious nature, yet
to deny that the real consequence was death.
Man fell, but he did not fall far. " If thou
essess thereof said Satan "thou shalt not
surely de-" He denied then, and be has
denied ever since, that man would become
80 separated from God that be could not re
turn of himself, which was in truth the full
consequence of that trsnsgressiOn. =.
Cain tried t6 approach God on this belief.
he brought the fruits of the ground aud of
his lsbor,-the results of his own works, just
as if nothing serious had happened. This
was impudent and insulting Abeps offer
ing, blood, spoke better things 1t was an
humble confession that there was some great
offsnse between him and his Maker; that
death was involved in IL; aud that Saviour
was needed 20 make restitution since msu
could not make il of himself. Do you sup
pose Cain believed in personal DaVil! l
do not He could no more see beneath the
Serpent than beneath Abel's bleeding sacri,
fee. He no more understood the Serpent to
represent the great enemy Of God, than the
Lamb to represent the great friend Of Man.
His mothers gospel was mod.6'd 10 his mind
sgrsesbly to his superior Judgment, and en-
larped views. Some allowance vas made for
her innocent credulousnsss If he had had
his mothers faith that this was not only
serious business, but still more dreadful than
il appeared to be; ; if ne had believed With
her that there was living, intelligent, pow
erful personality beneath that Serpent which
meant utter destruction to her and her pos
terisy. and which had already accomplished
il, he too might have been found tremblngly
kneeliug in the ashes before 6leediOg sac
rifce, instead of complacently wresshiug gar
lands of roses with which to besutify MS
worthless Offering.
The wicked world soon found out, however,
that something serious had occurred. The
swift judgments which befsll them, and the
reign of grim death which they now beheld
with horror convinced them that it required
q better Offering than Gains to satisfy the
Deity. Satan was forced to do better for his
people. Human nature, wrishing under the
sense of impeding wrath, clamored for some
additional article of faith. Sacrifices we're
introduced in imitation of the strict, OrthO'
dox party. Tney we're sacrifices without a
meaning, hollow, without core. Bu> SEN
timsutsl ligion with flowers and fruits and
poetry and art could no more satisfy reli-
giOusly inclined people then, without sac
ri6ce, than it can now.
In our own times, sndin professedly Chris
tian communities this same theology sur
wives, a sacrifice without meaning. How
much better are these than those heather
people? The lives of these are more refined;
their mode of living more convenient and
luxurious. The intellectual man has been
advanced, and less rude barbsrity character
ICES his nature. But when he approaches
his God the same original fslsehood OF
Satan is repes.ed: man is not surely dead;
he can recover himself: BY the Offering of
self denying life now that the way is opened
by sacrifice, and God is rendered placable'
TAis is little better than the religion of Bud
dha, if it does profess foundation 10 the
Bible. The principal Offering is the aelf-de'
nying life; the blood is supplementary.
In propsgating this idea of self sacrifice
for the bloody sacri6oial rites of Brahmsn-
ism, Buddhs insugursted great religious
movement in India. Il was the mind of the
philosophical schools. Perhaps it has always
been. It matters not where Baddhs or the
schools got it; it was ray of light, one Of
those partial truths, always an error, from
the Word of God in the world, which Satan
knew how to work to his advantage. Bud
dhs carried it down to the populscs. But
il was bis life, the model of bis teachings
which carried the argument. Such life
ehimed With their reason as it still does where
men see in the sacrifice only a mode of rem
asring their God more plscsble BY the VIC