The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1913-03-20
g to the
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should refuse to be-

HeVe 1t.
Canon Farrar says: THE case of the
king who would not believe in ice be-
cause he Rad never seen it, was not
more foolish than the man who refused
to believe IN satanic possession because
he never saw case himself and cannot
understand it. But the Devil is not only
a personal being but he is powerful, ma
lgnant, malicious. He has not improved
one whit since he tortured the man OF
Gadara and sent him to live among the
tombs without clothing and led him to
carve himself with stones. If he had
the power he would bring all of us into
such state now. He would infiict upon
US the utmost misery of body and mind.
An unseen spirit, with his demons, are
near US and they are of mighty power
and full Of endless malice against our
souls. He has labored to injure man
from the beginning of creation, nor will
he cease to tempt man and work mis-
chief until our Lord comes again and
binds him and casts him into the pit. In
the days of Christ on the earth he had
peculiar power over the bodies of peo-
pie as well as their souls. Even now
there is more of this bodily possession
than some suppose, though perhaps in
less degree, than when Christ was here
in the flesh. But his power is limited.
He works by permission, as is evident
from the incident of the Gergesene
swine. They could not enter a hog until
they had permission of the Son of God.
He makes men spiteful and malicious
one to another.
Where he rules in men spiritually by
those lusts that war in the members
pride, envy, malice, revenge-they make
him as unfit for human society, as I'M
worthy of it and as much an enemy to
the comfort Of it as these poor possess
ed creatures were. "
This is the testimony of one of the
best informed men in the world on the
subject. But how should they know 1t
was Jesus the Son of God? All, demons,
not only know and believe. but they con-
fess Christ to be the Son of God, vet
they are demons still.
Then it was word of defiance what
have we to DO with thee? depart from
US, They recognized in Christ their
Judge to whose Judgment thew are
bound over in chains Of darkness which
they would fain shake off if they could.
The devil hurries people into sin.
hastens them to that against which they
resolve and which they know will be
shame to them, even their ruin if not
resisted.
DR.. Austin Phelps says: If the Bib
iical demonologv is fact in the divine
organization Of the universe, and if de-
moniac craft is a fact in the divinely
permitted economy of probation, what
else would seem more natural than these
marvels over which science dispalrs?"
What else is the demoniac world like
ly to engage in? If it may be that sin
materially tends to reduce the grade of
guilty intellect, what else is more prob
able than these frivolties and possi6ih-
ties which make up much of the So
called spiutuahstic revelations?
On the other hand, what else than the
marvels bordering on miracle. which
tins modern theory of spiritualism Of
fers to gaping curiosity that these
marvels, | say, are more likely to be
signs and wonders which in the last
times are, if possible, to deceive even
the elect. This thing called sbiyiHsm
is a delusion and fraud, with its lying
wonders and marvellous claims, its awful
pretensions and claims, has shown itself
by its works to be a creature of the
dark. a snare Of satan. and one of the
devils honored means to turn aside
souls from the light of Christ, to grope
in the darkness Of satan, Divine in its
origin! Sanctioned by the Biblel.!
What would you think, reader, of a
man who claims to be a preacher of
righteousness, of one who claims to
have the right way of life, who tries to
secure adherents to his faith which Of
course he claims is Bibiical-hence has
the divine approval; of such an one
practicing his arts in darkness, and
refusing to subject himself and his
schemes to the te t of honest seekers of
truth; who would refuse to allow a
woman to attend one of his meetings
unless she submitted to being tied; who
would call his meeting off and refuse to
perform because too closely questioned
or too closely watched; who would
tramp about the country with a woman
not his wife well, you would naturally
ask, where is his wife and why is she
not with him? Would you think such
man good exponent of pure and ele-
waiting religion? And if the religion he
presents tolerates or sanctions such
loose practices, which. to say the least,
reflect on good morals, Would you feel
like commencing it? No, not for mo-
ment. You would condemn it, and feel
like giving such fakirs an urgent lnvi-
tation to move on. HASN'T every com.
munity right, nay more, isn't it its
duty, to protect its morals, to allow
nothing which will degrade the virtue,
and to guard the rights of home and the
sacred teachings of the only religion
which elevates wemanhood, and save it,
and fits mankind for the purity and no.