The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1874-04-22

I1h L nav minot1ty report VI eue
Whitevsaer Prssbytery, touching tie
total abskinenee question and the wo-
mnn's mevement. / am truly glad
that it is the minority" report, for I
am sure that SO far as have gone
through the Stare-and have visited
. 81 counties-I have found the Pres
! byterian ministers almost unanimous
IL supporting the movement, with the
greatest cordially. Hence. it can only
s be a very small portion of their min
isters that will approve this minority
report. How minister of the Cos
pei, truly and deeply concerned for
the spread of Christianity and the
growth of the church, can be opposed
to any earnest movement to remove
intemperance. il amazing to me; Tor
surely it is the great stumbling block
Of the church.
This minority report says: We ut
terly deny that the Bible commands
total abstinence. The word tenn
peranee' in the Bible means self COM
mand. confluence, moderation as to
all the appetites." I think if these
. protestators will carefully examine
the derivation of the word temper
|, ance, they will find it to mean the
temperate or moderate use of that
which is beneficial, and the total abb
stinence from that which is injurious.
According to the testimony of Sir
Henry Thompson, Drs. W. IS. Car
penter, Mnnroe. Edmonds, Miller, and
Others, alcoholic liquors taken even
in what these minority gentlemen
would call moderation, is injurious 10
the physical organism. Now. if these
protestators believe in the command
of the Scriptures, DO thyser no
HARM" we cannot see how they can
use Intoxicating liquors, in what they
call moderation without vfelating
that comma nd
Because the Bible does nsa in ex
plieit words command total abstinence
from intoxicants, therefore, they inter
we should not Totally abstain Does
the Bible in explicit words command
total abstinence from theatres, race
courses, lotteries, gambling houses?
We rail to find such explicit instrnc-
tions; and yet, We venture to say, that
these minority gentlemen lvise their
conversations stadiorsly to aveid saeh
places Of resort. etc.
In the absence Of direct decree in
the prohibition of alcoholic liquors, it
is not for any one to dogmatize, but 1t
must be kept In mind, that the Scrip
lures are not mere compendium IN
detail Of the duties Of soeiaf FIFE. They
lay down great and important prinei-
pies Of morality and virtue for human
guidance, and leave these to be exem-
plifed in the daily walk and CONVEX
sation Of all who accept them as rule
of faith and practice. Let this mode
Of interpretation be accepted, and
most of the difficulties which bcset the
wine question the Bible and kindred
subjects wifi disappear.
The Rev. DIR. Mott s&ys in reference
to this very Bible wine question, is
the Bible inconsisteat With itsef?'
No, it is not; and its seeming incon-
| sis.ency will vanish, AND the Rible
| will be in harmony with itself, in har-
mony With history, with science, and
with the prvvidence OF God, If sn ex-
| animation it shall be found that the
| kinds of wine were - unli BE in thei1
| natare and effects as were those mer.
cies and judgments Tor which the same
were respectively employed as sym
| bols, OF as we're those terms of praise
or dispraise by which the same were
respectively indicated. No less thar
nine words are employed in the He
brew Bible to exposes the different
/ kinds Of vinons beverage formerly il
use: alb Of which kinds of beve rag.
are expressed in our Eng hsh yerssss
By. the single term wine, or by tha
term in conHecsioa with some Othel
term expressive of quality The tern
| wine, therefore, as used in our English
Bible, is to be regarded as a generic
term, comprehending different kind
Of beverages, and Of very diferen
qualities; some Of which kinds wer'
good, some bad; some to be ased free
ly and frequeDtly. some seldom an
sparingly, and some TO be utterly ant
at all times avoided. By a we're com
parison Of the passages in which tn
term wine occurs, this will be render
ed probable. For it were difficult t
believe that the wine by which Noa'
was dishonored; by which Lot wa
defled; the wine which caused tn
prophets to err In judgment. an
priests to stumble and fall; the win
i which occasions woe and sorrow, an
wounds without cause; wine of whc
he who is deceived thereby is nc
wise; wine which Solomon styles
: mocker, and which is alluded to b
one who is greater than Solomon as
symbol of wrath. It were difficult
believe that this wine-the wine mir
gled by harlo.s and sought by libel
, tines-was the very wine which vi:
dom lningles, to which wisdom invite
wines which priests offered in sacr
fee; evangelists dispensed at eommul
l ion-tables, AMI which, making gla
T tho haart of man Was a fit emblem ,