The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1878-01-26
BEECHER ON TEET0TALISM.


no doubt in the estimation OF the total alb
stincncc advocates, Bcechcr is Il, hcteradoX on
the temperance question as he is in regard to
hell In recent number of the Chrj1tdn
Union he delivers himself as follows on the
temperance movement Of the day:
A correspondent in another column explains
accurately the cause Of the paralysis which
has fallen upon the temperance movement
Building upon Doggy ground always makes Il
topping editiCc; the more stone in the super
structure the more dangerous it IS. The time
has come for the Christian Church to lay anew
foundations. The great bulk Of Christian
thoughtful men do not believe in either the
principles or the methods Of the "teetotal wild.
men" 1t is high time to say so, even at the
risk of being both misunderstood and misrcp.
resented; high time for Christian men to lead
instead of following; to put the temperance
movement on those principles and to inaugur-
ate in it those methods which accord both with
the teachings of Christ and Of experience. We
hold the following propositions to be indispcn-
sable, though certain OF them some OF our rad
zeal temperance friends will doubtless dispute
|. The Bible Discriminate between drink.
ng and drunkenness. 1t does not condemn
drinking, neither directly by specific statute
nor indirectly by example Christ came eat
ing and drinking; Paul declared that Touch
not taste not, handle not Is one of the rudi-
ments OF tins world to which the child of God
is not subject lCOl. ii. 20-22J The Psalmst
classes wine that makcth glad the heart of
man with oil and bread among Gods good
gifts to the race O's civ. 49, The theory Of
two kinds of wine, one alcoholic, the other
non-alcoholic, is lndcfcnSibe Against 1t, as u
matter Of cXcgcsis, is the nearly unanimous
testimony Of all independent Biblical schol-
aIs against it as "a matter OF history, Is the
nearly unanimous testimony Of all Evangelical
missionaries in the Holy Land. There was
iermcntcd and non-tcrmemed wine, As there is
now hard and sweet cider; but the unfermcnt
ed became tcrmcntcd before the year had pass
ed
. The Bible doe, condemn drunkenness;
Proverbs dcsi"natcs it as the mother Of woes
Christ classes ii with surtciting and oppression;
Paul with tOrnicatiOn and COycOusncss; Peter
with abominablc idoatrcs. Drunkenness is
not u toiblc to be rldlCuled, nor a misfortune
TO be condemned, but Il sin to be abhorrcd Ii
is a crime against self, society and God. The
drunkard is not a fool to be laughed at, nor
victim to bc pitied, but sinner to he con.
demned. The enormous evils which come
from drunkenness are less than the evil in 1t
3. From this, as from ali other sins Christ
came 10 redeem the world Against this, as
against all other sins, his church is to wage
perpetual warfare. II has no right TO hand
over the campaign to other organizations. In
conducting this campaign it may safely rest
upon, ii cannot safely depart from, the princ-
pies which Christ has embodied in his exam
pie and in the inspired teachings of his word.
1. The church must therefore discriminate
between drinking and drunkenness. The
practice OF Contounding the two is curiously il
Illustrated by our correspondent, who imagincs
that if Christ came drinking he must have
been partial inebriatc. lnempcrance is the
dragon that demands our noblcst sons for his
prey; the Moloch in whose fires thousands of
human sacrifices annually perish. 1t is against
incompetence the Christian temperance move
ment should be directed. 1t should attack the
real dragon with lance OF steel, not a shadow
with theory.
>. The church must put on the whole ar
nor OF God for this campaign. Drunkenness
is one Of the works OF the flesh campaigning
against The works of the flesh in the power OIL
the flesh is doomed to defeat Temperance is
one OF the fruits of the Spirit; spiritual hus-
bandry without the power of the Spirit gath.
ers no fruits. We have done Leviathan fishing
with hook long cnoagh. This monster can
not he drawn out Of the deep either by pledges
or laws.
g. In this campaign total abstinence can
not be put upon the grou0d of law, either re
vealcd or natural. The Bible contains no law
of prohibition; there is no room on the two
tables of stone To add another command to the !
Decalogue, and no Moses authorized to en-
grave it there. The human conscience recog-
nizes no law of prohibition; it does not re
spond to the command Thou shalt not drink
it does not respond To the command Thou
shalt not be drunken Science cXpopnds no
law of prohibition. Alcohol Is always pois-
on, never food; but every article containing
an appreciate quantity of alcohol is not always
= poison and never a food. Yeast bread is |
raised by fermentation and contains an appye.
Ciablc quantity of alcohol; ii is not poison; il |
is food. Whether the fcrmcntcd juice of the
grape is ever a food or only a medicine is an
unsolved problem in physiology The ablcSt |
scientists disagree. II is safe for every man
therefore To use il only rs a medicine, that Is !
on the prescription OF n temperate physician. |
1t is not safe To rest the temperance movement
IN the improved assertion that the products of
ART poison.
:. But in this campaign a duty of total alb
stincnce can be put upon the stronger ground
IF love. The child OF God may well he asked
10 surrender his liberty for the sake of another
10 whom liberty Is dangerous. He may well /
refuse To eat meat if it makes his brother to
offend lie may well cut off even his right
hand, or pluck out his right eve, if it is lead
ing either him or another into heliirc: But d
he liberty must be accorded To him before he
AN be asked 10 give it up. lie cannot surren.
Ter what hc does not possess. Total abSti-
hence proclaimed a. a law dcprivcs love of It's
leverage.
An intelligent German thus expressed his
preference for a quack doctor: Il vCaldn: call
aim nv mine cat vas dead - orfrI,s'yr .J,yrJ