The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1901-07-13
THE DEVIL IDEA AND CHRISTIANITY.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE FouR.)

bovah Himself And, after their return from captiv-
their ancient glory departed, threatened by lions
a powerful than their own, likely at any time to be
cked and overcomeand forced under the yoke of
bondage-what more natural than that they should
become more and more certain of the existence of
Rerful invisible enemy, evil spirit, Devil, who was
the time being triumphing upon earth, and thwarting
GOOD purposes of Jehovahs At the advent of Christ
Jewish belief in the Devil had reached its height; and
aspread and most intense was the popular eXpecta
that the Messiah about to appear to conquer the
IN destroy his power over the chosen people OF God,
exat Israel to the place Of sovereignty among the ma
BIS OF the EARTH
tament,-the story Of Satans meeting and conflict
the Master in the Wilderness the stress laid by the
tiers of the Gospels the ability of Jesus to heal those
are possessed of demons, the emssaries OF Satan.
Now If be said that compelled to believe In
existence of the Devil because he was undoubtedly
eyed in by the writer's of the New Testament it should
be said that we are compelled to believe in the exs
e of swarms of invisible demons who may take pos,
bon of men or beasts and need to be driven on-lke
legion who who we're driven out OF the two luDatlcs
entered into the swine, and hurled them over the
cpce into the sea. For more certain that the
tiers Of the New Testament believed in the Devil than
that they believed in swarms OF invisible demons,
b power to enter into a man, rob HIM OF his reason
outcast him from the hauAts OF men to seek shelter
b the beasts in caves and tombs.
Ne have not ot more OF scrlptura authority Tor
ievng in the existence of the Devil than for believing
the reality of diabOlical possesslon and fancy that
BODY here, today, that intelligent man or woman IN
town. believes in diabolic possession Nay, we are
Ter greater obligation to hold to the belief IN the
tence of Satan because find that belief IN the New
ament than we are to believe In the tiatness OF the
th because find that belief in the New Testament.
Of course the Church of which most OF us here are
mbers does not require anybody to believe ID the Dey
The two great Catholic creeds the Apostles and the
De say nothing at all about him. Ii the trainers OF
creeds believed in him. they nevertheless dld not
slider belief In him of sufficient Importance to lncor
ate it into any article of the Christian tallh!
or my part, the existence of the Devil is unhlnkaDie
Connection with the fundamental postuates OF Christi
~. cannot reconcile it with belief in the sovereign
yer and goodness of God. For, suppose tnat the
is Gods enemy, that he presides with absolute sway
portion of the universe that he fights against God
is occasionally or frequently successful g., occa-
aly or frequently DEFEATS God;-and what nave
dones Why, you have supposed, you have asserteo
God is not absolute Sovereign OF the unlveT rS;
He exercises only partial sovereignty; that Ills
Impotence is negatived, His will conditioned, MS sway
ted, by another being supernatural and deafness:
at this but to declare belief in the existence OF
Gods, -however strongly you might lhsiSV In"' on0
eessed more power than the other!
on the other hand the Devil is not really Coo en-
is not really striving against the Divine VIII, nut
seeming to; is not really successful IN o1leaSg
s purposes, but only seems to be; never reay uG liz:
thing what God wishes him to do why u ol.s
he ceases to be daboc; he is Invested OF ms nadhes
is but the agent of the Most High to 40 his Will anu
do wlckedness, unless the will of the Most High
licked
say the existence of the Devil is unthnkaoe aohs
the fundamental Yostnlates of the Christian faith
Tod is Sovereign In and over the whole eartn, ene
universe land Christians are supposed 10
He isl we can conceive of no portion OF the %
lded over, governed, by being hostile 10 0ou' ~
long conflict with Him.
God is all good land Christians are supposed 70 cUo
IN Ie Deums and halIeuahs that he ~ we Gan 1VS
I 4 Of Him employing any being to cast can not
Of Him as having created and commissioned any y
Ri more powerful than man, to tempt men 70 S nho"t
up the feet of their souls, to breathe mls and
spiritual vision wherein they should Wanue[' an
pe and stumbie and fall and lay hold on the eyli
deeming Il good, and turn away from the gS OOda
deemng it evil We can not conceive OF ~ oO9 ;s ad
forth powerful agent to be, or seem 70 10 dsfeat
ary in the paths of men; defeat or seem 70
purposes before the eyes of for tnat M ~
himself land the God who denied hlmseil ~ol'
at ALI