To this Origen
answers:
"The one God ([Greek: Hena oun ton epi pasi theon haemin
exenmenisteon])--the God who is over all, is to be propitiated by us,
and to be appeased by prayer; the God who is rendered favourable by
piety and all virtue. But if he (Celsus) is desirous, after the supreme
God, to propitiate some others also, let him bear in mind, that just as
a body in motion is accompanied by the motion of its shadow, so also by
rendering the supreme God favourable, it follows that the person has all
his (God's) friends, angels, souls, spirits, favourable also; for they
sympathize with those who are worthy of God's favour; and not only do
they become kindly affected towards the worthy, but they also join in
their work with those who desire to worship the supreme God; and they
propitiate him, and they pray with us, and supplicate with us; so that
we boldly say, that together with men who on principle prefer the better
part, and pray to God, ten thousands of holy powers join in prayer
UNASKED ([Greek: aklaetoi])," [UNBIDDEN, UNCALLED upon.] [Cont. Cels.
lib. viii. Sec. 64. vol. i. p. 789.]
What an opportunity was here for Origen to have stated, that though
Christians do not call upon demons and the subordinate divinities of
heathenism to aid {141} them, yet that they do call upon the ministering
spirits, the true holy angels, messengers and servants of the most High
God! But whilst speaking of them, and magnifying the blessings derived
to man through their ministry, so far from encouraging us to ask them
for their good offices, his testimony on the contrary is not merely
negative; he positively asserts that when they assist mankind, it is
without any request or prayer from man.
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