The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1917-08-11

Motel has come to our notice
that some persons write to this de-
partment and use the name and adj
dress of some other persons. This IS
a very serious matter, and may lead
to unpleasant results if repeated.
How was it that the devil In the
form of a snake could tempt Adam
and Eve when there was no hell then
and hence could be no devil? How DO
we know that there is hell?
Hell came into existence when the
angels fell, and not, as you seem TO
presume, with the disobedience OF our
first parents. The angels who kept
not their principally, but forsook
their own habitation, he hath re-
served under darkness in everlasting
chains. unto the judgment of the great
day" dude |, g.. Our Lord says, Il
saw Satan like lightning falling from
heaven" duke X, 49,. The devil is
fallen angel; and as the angels fell
ages before the creation of man, 1t Is
possible that the devil was present at
the temptation of Adam and Eve. The
historical account of the temptation is
given i'll the Bible with the sanction
of Gods inspiration. THE serpent
did deceive me, and l did eat (Gen.
III, 49,. That this serpent was the
devil in disguise is amply attested by
Scripture and by the teaching of the
Fathers of the Church. The sa9acity
of the serpent and the punishment in
tiicted by God clearly manifest that
this animal was not an ordinary
serpent, but was the instrument OF
the devil. The Bible moreover does
not speak of "a" serpent, but of the
serpent. Not only do the inspired
authors frequently speak of the devil
as a serpent, but the Book of Wis
dom teaches: God created man in
corruptible, and to the image of his
own likeness He made him. By the
envy of the devil death came into
the world" (11-23, 2p. How do we
know that hell exists? An anonymous
critic recently accused me of giving
the people too much hell" l will
abide by his decision and just men,
ton a few of the texts of Holy Writ
that teach the existence of place Of
eternal punishment. Jude, 10; 2
Thess. l, 8: | Cor VI, 8, 10; Mark
!, 1929; Mark TX, "A, As; Matt. XIV,
Al, and a score of other texts.
Why is every person not Catholic?
Why are there so many different re-
ligions?
Because men have disobeyed God,
have abandoned the truth and en-
braced error. Gods religion is one.
1t was one in the Old Testament-the
Jewish religion; it is one in the new
Dispensation-the Catholic religion.
This was and is Gods intention. But
God saw fit to bestow upon man free
will, and this gives man the physical
freedom TO abandon God. Men for
sock the true religion before Christ
came, and they have abandoned His
teaching since His life and death. He
Himself was not able to convert
or at least, did not convertible
multitude of the Jews He preached
a wonderful gospel; He gave sight to
the blind, speech to the dumb, hear
ing to the deaf = He raised the dead to
life and walked upon the waters OF
the lake; He fed thousands with a
few loaves of bread; He triumphed
over the grave and rose from the
dead. And yet He won but a few
hundred disciples during His lifetime
If Jesus Christ did not convert the
whole world is it any wonder that
His Church has not been able to EN-
brace all peoples? Our Lord Himself
foretold the advent of heresies anG
false teachers who would deceive il
possible even the elect" Faith is {
free gift of God and many have rem
dered themselves unworthy of it by
sinful lives, others are excluded
through the neglect of their fore
fathers who abandoned the faith.
great number are blinded by pref
udice, which has been imbibed from
dozen sources for many generations
Not q few could easily be persuaded
of the truth of Catholicity, but ar,
deferred from studying it's claims
through human respect or from fea
of the social consequences their con
version might entail. Nevertheless
thousands of converts are received
annually, and their number is con
stantly increasing.
Kindly give some of the texts tina
prove the Bible to be the Word o
God.
This answer must be read in con
junction with the preceding. TIL,
query was divided so as to bring tn
answer within reasonable limits. Il
the New Testament, both Christ an,
the apostles frequently refer to, an,
quote from, the Old Testament in sucl
a way as to show they considered
Gods Word. They use the Old Tesla
ment to confirm their own divine teach
ing: and concerning the resurrection
of the dead, have you not read tina
which was spoken by God, saying t
you, | am the God of Abraham, an,
the God of Isaac and the God O
Jacob? eek. III, g.. He is not tn
God of the dead. but of the living