The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1884-11-27
woMAN's VIEW OF EWES SIN.

Elizabeth A. Merriweather in st. Louis Re
In his sermon reported in your
paper of the 10th, MIR. Talmage holds
Eve responsible for all the sin and
suffering that has afflicted humanity
for 5000 years. To quote his own
high-fown language:
"Eve's disobedIence still smites the
earth until it reels like an OK under
the butchers bludgeon. All the
crimes, all the squalor, all the insane
asylums, all the sepulcres, all the lost
and the damned Gust think of it), all
the plaques, all the shipwrecks, all the
10000 battle-fields, and famines and
unholy passions" all these dreadful
things which have tormented human
ity for 5000 years, Mr.. Talmage says
existed and yet exist, because of our
first mothers sin of disobedience.
Now, L, being one of Ewes female
descendants, deny this awful charge
on the following grounds:
First-There can be no disobedience
where no command has been given.
Second-There is no proof in the
bible, our only authofity on this ques-
ton, on which any jury in this intelli-
gent age would convict Eve of the sin
of disobedience to Gods command in
the matter of the apple.
Third-There is no proof positive
that God ever gave that command to
Eve.
Fourth-There is no positive proof
that anyone except the "old subtle
serpent" ever mentioned the apple
command to Eve until after she had
eaten the apple.
Fifth-It was not likely that Eve
would attach any great Importance to
a command first coming to her ear
through such source.
SiXth-It is quite evident to COM
mon sense that it was not merely the
eating of the apple that constituted
the crime, but the eating it because it
was forbidden.
Seventh Therefore it is equally
plain to common sense that if the
command not to eat was not given to
Eve, she was not guilty of the sin of
disobediance, which Mr.. Talmage says
caused all the horrors humanity has
suffered and yet suffer.
Eighth-It she was not guilty, who
was?
Ninth-Th5 answer is plain and not
to be denied. Adam was guilty, be-
cause to him only was given the COM
mand not to touch the apple.
Let any unprejudiced person read
the second chapter of Genesis and
Judge for himself. We are told in this
chapter that God created Adam some
time before he Greats d Eve, whether
that time was days, or weeks or years,
we are not informed, but it was in
this interval of time that God
made the garden of Eden and
put Adam in it, and gave to
him every tree, and fruit, and flower
thereof with one exception, and that
one exception He expressly forbade
Adam to touch. Now, it was after
this that the Almighty saw proper to
create woman. So far as we know at
that time the Creator had no such in
tention. The probabilities are that
the Creator, very early in the exist
auce of the first man, saw that he
needed ballast to keep him straight,
and so he made woman. There IS
nothing to show that God ever gave
the apple command to Eve. Who can
believe that if so important a COM
mand had been given to the hrst
woman it would not have been re-
corded in the Bible? Mr.. Talmage
may reply that Adam told his wife OF
that command. Mr.. Talmage Is a
man and therefore judges any OF
his sex through the catering
medium of sex-bias. l appeal to
every woman in the world, acqualnt-
ed with the natural forgetful-
ness of the males of our kind; ac-
quainted with their innate proneness
to believe that all matters of high I'M
port are beyond woman's sphere
appeal to every woman to give her
testimony as to the probability that
Adam ever mentioned the matter to
his wife. The chances are that he
either forgot it or considered it alto
gether outside of Ewes sphere.
The only evidence that Mr.. Tai
mage can adduce to support the
theory that Eve had been posted
about the command is to be found in
chapter ill.,, Genesis, which records
the interview between the "old sub
tile serpent" and Eve. In this inter.
view we are told in the very begin
ming that the old serpent, the first
great interviewer, was too much fol
our noble and unsuSpecting first
mother. To this day interviewers are
too much for the unfortunates inter
viewed, as every one knows
They always lead their victims tt
say just what they want said. And IL
this first interview of which we have
any account, the subtle old interviewer
was true to the tricks of the trade-ht
led Ewes thoughts and words. Suave
ly and sweetly the old serpent said K
our unsuspicious first mother:
Yea hath God said ye shall net eat
| of every tree of the garden Their