The Churches and the Devil

SINCE THE BEGINNING of the year, there have been several reports—as yet unconfirmed—that the officials of some Christian denominations are considering issuing a momentous declaration, for the guidance of their members, on a cornerstone tenet of Christianity. According to the reports, these denominations are preparing to deny the existence of the Devil.

This may seem a pointless exercise to those inured to a mechanistic and essentially non-Christian view of the universe. But, at least for believers, it is ominously significant. Any such official denial by a self-styled Christian group will inevitably reduce that group to the pathetic status of those sects that no longer belong to the Church of Jesus, but have arbitrarily chosen what pleased them and omitted what they found uncomfortable or embarrassing in the traditional teachings of Christianity.

SINCE THE BEGINNING of the year, there have been several reports—as yet unconfirmed—that the officials of some Christian denominations are considering issuing a momentous declaration, for the guidance of their members, on a cornerstone tenet of Christianity. According to the reports, these denominations are preparing to deny the existence of the Devil.

This may seem a pointless exercise to those inured to a mechanistic and essentially non-Christian view of the universe. But, at least for believers, it is ominously significant. Any such official denial by a self-styled Christian group will inevitably reduce that group to the pathetic status of those sects that no longer belong to the Church of Jesus, but have arbitrarily chosen what pleased them and omitted what they found uncomfortable or embarrassing in the traditional teachings of Christianity.