BELIEF IN DEMONS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 225, 23 September 1938, Page 17

BELIEF IN DEMONS.

A BISHOP'S THEORIES. The Bishop of Ely, Dr. B. 0. F. Hevwood, suggests that "discarnate rebellious spirits" may exercise evil influences in the realm of nature. In his. address to the diocesan conference he alluded to the May fronts which did a good deal of harm to fruit trees. "To many people these late frosts present a perplexing problem," 6aid the bishop. "Nature through the untimely frosts appears to be destroying her own handiwork, and in doing so impoverishes a number of people. Out of these circumstances ame a theological difficulty in the minds of those who have been accustomed to think that Nature is another name for God. Why, they ask, does he thus damage his own handiwork and strike a blow at His. servants? Sometimes it seems to me that Nature is wiser than man in what I might call preserving balance in her sphere. It must often happen that the weather which is not beneficial for one crop is the weather which suits another crop, and perhaps on the whole a fair balance is maintained. But it seems clear to me that Nature does not perfectly express the will of God. We have the authority of the Bible for believing that something has happened and continues to happen in sub-human nature which might not unfairly be compared to the Fall in our hnman nature. Those who wish to pursue the subject would do well to" read verses 18 to 23 of the eiarhth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, in which St. Paul seems to suggest that not man only, but the whole creation needs redemption. Discarnate rebellous spirits may have some -temporary and limited power to exercise evil influence in the realm of Nature as they apparently have in the realm of humanity." I