The Conflict of Good and Evil in Our Day Author:Frederick Denison Maurice Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: LETTER HI. THE SALVATION OF THE SOUL. My Dear Friend, -- Startling as the assertion of the Bishop of Oxford was, that we in Christian England have reac... more »hed such a state of theological confusion, that we may at last come to worship the Evil Spirit instead of God, I contended that his language was not exaggerated; that every one of us had need to reflect deeply and earnestly upon it, and to ask himself where the danger lies, how he may escape it, how he may help his brethren to escape it. You, I thought, were reminded directly of that conflict which we are wont to forget, or to describe by specious names very unfaithfully representing its nature. You know that you are failing altogether, unless you can raise men from the worship of dark powers, unless you can bring them to believe in a God of light in whom is no darkness at all. You, therefore, may be our best instructors at this time. . If we can in any degree strengthen your hands, you may much more effectually clear our minds respecting the meaning of the message with which we are entrusted, of the foe which we must encounter. I have given you one instance of our perplexities, and of the way in which you may show us the way out of them. The question of bodily health and disease, which is forcing itself upon us practically at every moment, demands a theological, as well as a medical treatment. What is that treatment ? How are we to speak of the plagues which come near our dwellings ? Are we to use them as arguments of terror, or as arguments for trust ? You would answer, " If we are to bear witness for the faith of Christendom against the devil-worship of the heathen world, we dare not use them as arguments for fear, we are bound to use them as arguments for trust. We must declare that the God whom we serve is the G...« less