Monday, January 25, 2010

At Play in the Devil's Quicksandbox

It is just like the devil to set out all those tasty mushrooms while nefariously mixing in some deadly varieties to afflict the possessor of an untrained or unwary eye--and perhaps his loved ones as well. Cruden's Bible Concordance has an informative discussion of "devil" (in maddeningly minuscule type in my copy), which includes this sentence: "The most subtle of these spirits [antecedent unclear] contrived a temptation , which might be most taking and dangerous to man in his excited and happy state: He attempts him with art, by propounding the lure of knowledge and pleasure, to inveigle the spiritual and sensitive appetites at once." "Attempts", which seems like a misprint for tempts, probably is used in a sense I found in The Student's Dictionary: "Attempt; to attack' to make an effort upon".

The excellent commentator on Hebrews in the "One-Volume Commentary on the Bible" has this to say about verses 3: 12-16: "The essence of sin is idolatry, the refusal to worship the true God. This is also the deceitfulness of sin. As long as we avoid the more dramatic sins and crimes we consider ourselves sound. But the subtlety of sin is that it puts something--sometimes something good--in the place of God. Man's 'original' sin is to put his own preferences before the will of God, and as a result all the structures of his life are distorted and misshapen."

This from Phaedrus (Book IV, Fable 10): "Jupiter [read mortal mind, the devil] has loaded us with a couple of wallets: the one, filled with our own vices, he has placed at our backs; the other, heavy with those of others, he has hung before." And some words of our Leader from "Science and Health" which accompany the margin heading of "Diabolism ['The actions of the devil.'] destroyed": "An apostle says that the Son of God [Christ] came to 'destroy the works of the devil.' We should follow our divine Exemplar, and seek the destruction of all evil works, error and disease included. We cannot escape the penalty due for sin. The Scriptures say, that if we deny Christ, 'he also will deny us.'" (p. 5: 29-2)

The insinuating attractions of the serpent's persistent, hornswoggling come-ons snare daily many whose porters of thought have, like the foolish virgins, grown logy and neglectful. Fear may work best when, to change metaphors, the bait has been unwittingly or gullibly taken and the hook formly set. Satan has his own version of big game sport fishing.

19 comments:

Best from the UK said...

Another very fine little essay, blogger. This one requires reading more than once.
Thanks much,

L. R. said...

Do you know what stood out to me in this blog post? That the devil, mortal mind, will try every which way to get us to put something--anyting--in the place where God should be.
With my appreciation,

Nameless (for now) said...

A trifle erudite for me, but I do admire your fine writing ability.
This quite well written

West Coast said...

Fresh, engaging, very helpful. Thanks a lot, Christian!

Dorothy (PA) said...

Love the quotation you chose from our Leader's inspired writings, and really like this entry.
Thanks!

St. Louis regular said...

You do come up with eye-catching titles, that's for sure. You've given your readers another original blog post. Very helpful to me.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for all the good you are doing for the Field. Wish we had more likeyou!

H. W. said...

No doubt in my mind, you're a professor somewhere. You do like to instruct which not everyone takes to. But keep at trying to make CS's think!

Florida CS said...

Dear Writer,
I read your website fairly regulary and find much in it that stimulates thought. Thanks for sharing with us what your study is bringing to you.

Boston suburbs said...

Well-written blog post, I find.
Have a great day (wherever you are.)

Helen said...

Love and blessings to you, blogger, for being such a faithful student of divine Science.

Stephen said...

When we think of how perfectly our great Teacher obeyed God's will, not his own, how can we do less?
A good blog post...

Susan said...

Just love your website. It causes me to really think about metaphysical points, and for this, I thank you.

New England viewer said...

Aren't we grateful to our Leader for giving us all we need to stay alert to the devil's suggestions. Don't know what I would do without Christian Science!

With my thanks said...

Just want to say, God bless you for all you are giving to us. We need your inspiration, not to mention your superior writing.

NYC said...

Do continue writing your wonderful essays. There's just nothing like you I've run across in CS circles. People could read your blog to learn how to write better. And I bet many do.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for keeping us equipped with fine writing on our favorite topic. Look forward to more from your able pen.

Rex said...

I do enjoy getting to read something written as well as your blog posts are. Keep at it, professor!

Anonymous said...

Your excellent latest offering reminds me of where Mrs. Eddy calls for the love that we talk to be actually lived. This is the challenge for us all, is it not?