7. Popish Angels And Demons

This chapter talks about a Diabolic Battle, Between a Shepherd, A Catholic Devil and a Popish Angel. The popish angel does not invoke the help of the Devil against a Saxon professor of theology who threatens the 'Catholic garden', but against a 'Westphalian Beelzebub'. Balthasar Bekker, minister of the Reformed Church in Amsterdam, published four volumes of his The World Bewitched, in which he argued that the Devil had no power over humanity. The laudatory publicity for Bekker and his book also used the medium of commemorative medals. Two of the allegories found on these medals contain references to the Amsterdam magistrates who had not withdrawn their protection of Bekker. Irrespective of theological or philosophical leanings, a vast majority of the reading public judged Bekker to have over-stepped the limits in his bold exegeses and his critique of the usual readings of the Bible.Keywords: Balthasar Bekker; Bible; Devil; diabolic battle; popish angel