"She shall bruise the
serpent's head." Thus, the reader sees, at the very commencement of
God's Word, and in the very first promise of a Saviour for fallen
men, the eyes of seeking souls are turned by Romanists from the
Creator to the creature.
How these words are understood by Romanists is plainly seen by the
pictures of Mary trampling on the serpent, which are found everywhere
in Romish lands.
Under pictures of the Virgin, circulated everywhere, are the words:
"We have seen the star and are come to adore her." The prayers of
adoration run, "To the holiest birth of Mary, that in death it may
bring about our birth to eternal glory. Ave Maria!" "To the anguish
of Mary, that we may be made predestined children of her sorrows. Ave
Maria!"
The veneration with which the Virgin Mary is regarded, and the power
with which she is invested, are thus told by many a priest: "Once God
was so angry with the world that He determined to destroy it, and was
about to execute His design when Mary said to Him: 'Give me back
first the milk with which I fed you, and then you can do so!' In this
way she averted the impending destruction."
"Millions in Brazil look upon the Virgin Mary as their Saviour. A
book widely circulated throughout northern Brazil says that Mary,
when still a mere child, went bodily to heaven and begged God to send
Christ, through her, into the world. Further on it says that Mary
went again to heaven to plead for sinners; and at the close Mary's
will is given, disposing of the whole world, and God the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit - the Trinity - act as the three witnesses to the will.
How many good Christians at home think Brazil is a Christian
country?" [Footnote: W. C. Porter.]
If the Bible were in circulation throughout South America, the
populace would be enabled to see that Christ is not the remorseless
Judge but the loving Saviour, and that it was He who purchased
redemption for us. Mary, according to Luke 1:47, was herself in need
of a Saviour, and her only recorded command was to do as He, the
Christ, enjoined (See John 2:5). Not only Protestants, but not even
Roman Catholics born in Protestant countries, can understand what
Romanism is in South America.
Christ said: "Search the Scriptures." Rome has done her best to
destroy the sacred volume. Papal bulls, said to have been dictated
by the Holy Ghost, have been issued by several Popes. Rome sometimes
burned the martyrs with a Bible hanging around their necks. Romanists
showed their hatred against Wycliffe, the first translator of the New
Testament into English, by unearthing his crumbling remains and
burning them to ashes. I have often seen the same spirit shown in
South America.
A colporteur, writing of Scripture circulation in the Argentine,
says: "Many of the people are trying to get us ejected from the city.
One, to whom a Bible was offered, became so infuriated that he said:
'If it were not such a public place?
