The enemy we fight, St. Paul reminds us, is not just a physical enemy, or an enemy rooted in our flesh, but it also has an immaterial dimension:
For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all (the) flaming arrows of the evil one.
The Devil does not merely tempt us to sin, he also attempts to corrupt our way of thinking, our philosophy. He is a master of cloaking evil in the form of a good -- he did not tell Eve of all the deadly consequences of the apple, but instead he told that the apple could bring knowledge, hiding the apple's poison in the guise of a good -- for surely knowledge is good, and God would not deny us knowledge, right?
The Devil is a philosopher, as well as being a tempter -- and he tries to persuade us of things by cloaking evil in the form of a good. But you can tell when a philosophy or an idea comes from him, by a simple rule -- apply the rule universally. If it is a bad idea, the fallacy of it is usually apparent pretty quickly.
Take, for instance, the latest trend in the environmental movement -- voluntary sterilization. Seems like the woman here is acting out of the noblest of motives -- she's trying to save the planet! Who could be against that?
"Every person who is born uses more food, more water, more land, more fossil fuels, more trees and produces more rubbish, more pollution, more greenhouse gases, and adds to the problem of over-population."While most parents view their children as the ultimate miracle of nature, Toni seems to see them as a sinister threat to the future.
Again, the test -- apply it universally. Good things lead to more questions, but evil is absurd on its face. If everyone followed Toni Vernelli's advice, and practiced what she preaches, the human race would be wiped out in a generation. Good for mankind?
Now ask youself -- does that idea come from God or from somewhere else?
Is it an apple, or is it a poison?