The Labor enquirer., 1885-05-16

t(Lev. XIV: ~. ~ dlQ euoW poor m6i
| to sell the time of their children that i
to hire them out, shut provided inst ths
contract could not last more than sia
years at most, and it made special pro
vision for the welfare Of the Jenol'
ahelp.n as set forth in Exodua XXI and
cognate passagea
sPaul took mot contemplate view
Of marriage, and advised it only Is 81
escape from prostitution. Read the sew
enth chapter of First Corinthians"
a. This does gross injustice to the
Apostle Of the Gantiles, for he expressly
taught that marriage is honorable in
all, and the bed undeHled."
90 Paul did think and say that il
made little difference (in his opinion)
whether man was married or single,
bond or free, because he land other apos1
ties also) did believe that the Lord was
about to come again in glory even dur
ing his own lifetime. and that IS "the
time is short" and as "the fashion Of
this world vanisheth away" it was
hardly worth while for man to change
his condition in any respect. But Paul
was mistaken in that matter. -
(3.) But why quote PaulP Does IN,
G. w." really suppose that the consci-
ence of an intelligent Christian is bound
by Paul's opinions any more than by the
opinions of other wise and earnest
hearted Christians2 Does he not know
that up to the date of the Nicine Coun-
cil Christians did not consider them
selves bound in conscience" by anything
except the Five Gospels and the Acts of
the Apostles, and by them only because
they professed to have been written by
those who knew Jesus Christ and were
eye witnesses of what he said and did.
The Ebonites, who were the largest
and most influential body of Jewish con-
Yerts, rejected all the Pauline epistles.
'"Please tell US where we may find one
word written jor dictated by Christ"
1 never hea ard of if Christ "wrote" or
dictated" any writing whatever, except
one sentence written with his fingers in
the sand John viii: g. but what he
wrote, no man knoweth. The fact was
that SO long as the common church re-
NAMED organized on the basis of "com-
munion of Saints Community of prop
erty and rights among all that believed)
there was very little need of any writ
ten creed ,or constitution in the churches.
They had an infallible teacher and
guide, and the church made no mistakes,
and committed no crimes, until the COM
munal organization ordained by Jesus
and the Twelve was subverted by Con-
stantine, and ecclesiasticism was left to
accomplish human undertakings by hui
man instrnmentalities alone. True
Mathew, Marx, Luke and John, and the
unknown writer Of "The Gospel of the
Hebrews" had committed to writing
what they had seen and remembered of
the sayings and doings of Jesus before
the close of the first century land the
proofs of the fact are so overwhelming
and so well known that he who denies it
simply advertises his own ignorance or
his mullshness j but it is, also, true that
the church had higher authority on
every important, or disputed question
that any written parchment could fur
nish.
If the International Workingmen's as
sociation could only by induced to found
their organization upon the divine basis
of faith and community of property and
rights on which the primitive church
was builded, they might unquestionably
secure the direction of the same unerr-
ing guide, and so regenerate mankind.
"Other foundation can no man lay" for
true liberty and true religion for the
masses of mankind for those who labor
and are heavy-laden )" because Jesus
Christ Is the o-martyr of their cause,
and is yet their truest friend and wisest
counsellor. In other words, it can never
be sufficient to teach social and political
unless scientific Socialism is taught as
religion, as our Lord ordained. The re-
ligious sentiment is the most potent
weapon in the armory which the plum
derers have subsidized for tile oppres-
sion of the multitudes; why not enlist
this undving sentiment in aid of the
emanci patton of labor?
The citations made by IN. G. W."
from the prophecies foretelllng the woes
that should come UPON Babylon have no
possible bearing on the matter under dis
cussion. His reference to the fact that
the law of Moses did allow the the Isra-
lite to make slaves of the heathen Lev.
XIV: Az has such bearing and he
might, also, have added with perfect
truth and propriety that the same law
permitted the Jews to exact "usury" of
the heather, and that nothing in the
law prohibited the heather from having
kings and mobiles, or from following the
competitive system" to its net result in
the tyranny of the few and the servitude
of the many; because God designed to
train up Israel to be nation Of freemen
in order that from this estate Of liberty.
they might be capable of Holiness tc
the Lord" The ecclesiastics and philos.
ophers who do not know this truth are
ignorant of the very alphabet of Israeli