back to notes

Greatest trick of the devil

Charles Baudelaire said, "The greatest trick the devil ever played was convincing the world that he did not exist." But I read somewhere of a greater one still. The greatest trick of the devil is convincing the world that Jesus Christ is his emissary. And, he continues to use *that* trick with great effectiveness every hour of every day.

I think this is a paraphrase of John D. Conley, bishop of Lincoln Nebraska (see below)

[ Sexual and social libertines have little interest in discrediting Christianity. They’re far more interested in refashioning it—in claiming Christ, and his vicar, as their supporters. The secularist social agenda is more palatable to impressionable young people if it complements, rather than competes with, the residual Christianity of their families. The enemy has no interest in eradicating Christianity if he can sublimate it to his own purposes.

The greatest trick of the devil isn’t convincing the world he doesn’t exist—it’s convincing the world that Jesus Christ is the champion of his causes. http://bit.ly/37f4FEM ]