He insisted,
on the authority of the Old Testament, that bodily diseases are
sometimes caused by devils, and, upon the authority of the New
Testament, that the gods of the heathen are demons; he believed
that dreams, while in some cases caused by bodily conditions and
passions, are shown by Scripture to be also caused by occult
powers of evil; he cites a physician to prove that "most lunatics
are really demoniacs." In his great sermon on _Evil Angels_, he
dwells upon this point especially; resists the idea that
"possession" may be epilepsy, even though ordinary symptoms of
epilepsy be present; protests against "giving up to infidels such
proofs of an invisible world as are to be found in diabolic
possession"; and evidently believes that some who have been made
hysterical by his own preaching are "possessed of Satan." On all
this, and much more to the same effect, he insisted with all the
power given to him by his deep religious nature, his wonderful
familiarity with the Scriptures, his natural acumen, and his eloquence.
Pages:
926
927
928
929
930
931
932
933
934
935
936
937
938
939
940
941
942
943
944
945
946
947
948
949
950