“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe. and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them” (The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis ).
For many years the devil’s best joke was to tell everybody that he didn’t exist. For years, modernist theologians have maintained that there was no such being as a personal devil. This concept belonged to the Middle Ages, but not to the age of reason. After years of being ignored by many theologians the devil is making a dramatic comeback. He is no longer ignored or considered an oddity only evangelicals believed in. What is happening now? Occultist and mystical books are the unacknowledged best sellers of our day. Just take a look in the bookshops and see the mass of literature on these subjects. Millions dabble in astrology, witchcraft, the black mass and fortune telling. Dr. Kurt Koch lists forty-seven such movements in his book The Devil’s Alphabet. There are now “churches” dedicated to the worship of Satan. In some places the Satanic Bible written by the Church-of-Satan founder, Anton La Vey, is outselling the Holy Bible. Why this alarming development?
Many can no longer see meaning in life. Materialism does not satisfy. Liberal Christianity has left the church and the soul empty. There is an open cynicism in our culture. And when meaning is gone, then the exploration of sensation takes place.
Do you still wonder whether or not the Devil exists? The terrible chapters in the history of mankind offer ample proof of his existence. The Bible teaches that there are personal evil spirits, who are under the leadership of Satan. He is the supreme ruler of his evil armies. There is in this world an enemy we dare not snub. He has been present at the beginning of human history and will be with us until the last of days. Christians must never underestimate the strength of the foe. He is a skillful strategist. He knows the weakest spots in us. His sole aim is to deceive, to entice, and to make people doubt the Bible. We must be aware of the father of lies, the devil. We should learn the truth about our enemy. To live as if the devil is not so dangerous is to turn the world into a paradise for fools. But to let the devil and all the evil around us throw a permanent shadow across our lives is not right either. The devil is powerful. But Christ has overcome Satan on the cross of Calvary. The battle is won. The victory is His. With this knowledge we dare to face all the onslaughts of the defeated foe. Christ is Victor! God’s Word abideth forever.
“Christ has disarmed the principalities and powers . . . He has triumphed over them in His cross.”
Johan D. Tangelder is pastor of the Riverside Christian Reformed Church of Wellandport, Ontario, in Canada.
For many years the devil’s best joke was to tell everybody that he didn’t exist. For years, modernist theologians have maintained that there was no such being as a personal devil. This concept belonged to the Middle Ages, but not to the age of reason. After years of being ignored by many theologians the devil is making a dramatic comeback. He is no longer ignored or considered an oddity only evangelicals believed in. What is happening now? Occultist and mystical books are the unacknowledged best sellers of our day. Just take a look in the bookshops and see the mass of literature on these subjects. Millions dabble in astrology, witchcraft, the black mass and fortune telling. Dr. Kurt Koch lists forty-seven such movements in his book The Devil’s Alphabet. There are now “churches” dedicated to the worship of Satan. In some places the Satanic Bible written by the Church-of-Satan founder, Anton La Vey, is outselling the Holy Bible. Why this alarming development?
Many can no longer see meaning in life. Materialism does not satisfy. Liberal Christianity has left the church and the soul empty. There is an open cynicism in our culture. And when meaning is gone, then the exploration of sensation takes place.
Do you still wonder whether or not the Devil exists? The terrible chapters in the history of mankind offer ample proof of his existence. The Bible teaches that there are personal evil spirits, who are under the leadership of Satan. He is the supreme ruler of his evil armies. There is in this world an enemy we dare not snub. He has been present at the beginning of human history and will be with us until the last of days. Christians must never underestimate the strength of the foe. He is a skillful strategist. He knows the weakest spots in us. His sole aim is to deceive, to entice, and to make people doubt the Bible. We must be aware of the father of lies, the devil. We should learn the truth about our enemy. To live as if the devil is not so dangerous is to turn the world into a paradise for fools. But to let the devil and all the evil around us throw a permanent shadow across our lives is not right either. The devil is powerful. But Christ has overcome Satan on the cross of Calvary. The battle is won. The victory is His. With this knowledge we dare to face all the onslaughts of the defeated foe. Christ is Victor! God’s Word abideth forever.
“Christ has disarmed the principalities and powers . . . He has triumphed over them in His cross.”
Johan D. Tangelder is pastor of the Riverside Christian Reformed Church of Wellandport, Ontario, in Canada.