The work of the Holy Spirit - pagina 294

;

THE SINNER TO BE WROUGHT UPON

254

each of these centers, Babylon and Athens, there were men of rare mental powers, comprehensive learning, and profound wisdom. Both centers were swayed by a worldly and heathen philosophy altho its character in both

was

And from

different.

these centers

the effort proceeded to drown Christianity in the waters of their

Neo-Platonism tried to accomplish this in the West Manicheism in the East and Gnosticism in the center. Manes was the man who conceived thatmagnificant, fascinating, and seducing system which bears his name. He was a profound He was a genial, pious, and thinker, and died about the year 270. seriously minded man he confessed Christ. It was even the aim and object of his zeal to extend the Lord's Kingdom. But one thing annoyed him the endless conflict between Christianity and his own science and philosophy. He thought there were points of agreement and contact between the two, and their reconciliation was not impossible. To bridge the chasm seemed beautiful to him. One might walk to the heathen world, and in its brilliant philosophies discover many elements of divine origin and returnphilosophy.

;

;

:

;

ing to Christianity lead some serious heathens to the cross of Christ.

The profound glory

enthusiasm

hood

;

of the Christian faith filled

him with

yet he remained almost blind for the inherent false-

of heathen philosophy.

And

as both lay mingled in his soul,

was his aim to devise a system wherein both should be interwoven, and transformed into a brilliant whole. It is impossible here to introduce his system, which shows that Manes had thought out every deep question of vital importance, and with comprehensive eye had measured all the dimensions of his cosmology. All that we can do is to show how this system led so

it

to false ideas of sin.

This was caused by his mistaken notion that the word " flesh " refers only to the body ; while Scripture uses it as referring to sin,

human

signifying the whole

nature,

which does not love the things

that are above, but the things of the flesh.

more

Flesh in this sense refers

directly to the soul than to the body.

are twofold

:

one

class,

fornication and lust

;

its

of invisible things

In the sphere of visible

image with shameless fornication

it

of the flesh

the other, touching the soul, consist of sins

connected with pride, envy, and hatred. things it finishes

The works

touching the body, are the sins related to

;

in the realm

ends with stiffnecked pride.

Scripture teaches that sin does not originate in the flesh, but in

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