The Certainty of the Existence, Cunning and Power of a Personal Devil

The second great lesson that the year 1917 teaches is the certainty of the existence, cunning and power of a personal Devil. Belief in the existence of a personal Devil such as is pictured, not in Milton or Goethe, but in the Bible, had well-nigh died out among men, but the events of the past year can be explained only by postulating his existence. How can you account for the Kaiser and his infamous generals. Von Bissing and the rest, except by seeing the Devil back of them, just such a Devil as the Bible describes? How can you account for the abominable utterances, not only of such demonized philosophers and political writers as Nietzsche, Treitschke, and Bernhardi, but of such hitherto highly esteemed critics, theologians and philosophers as Harnack, Deissmann and Eucken, except by discerning a very brainy, very astute Devil back of them? It is not hard to believe in a personal Devil today, indeed, it is a mark of a lack of logical acumen and candor not to believe in his existence.