The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1889-05-22

Mr.. EDIToR:--The following article by
Rov. II. g. Weston, d. Do President of
Grocer Theological Seminary, written in
response to request for his views, just
puts the temperance work in its true
light, and fires hot shot into the camp of
the third party, which does deal of
shouting, but spends no money to secure
the conviction of the volators of the law
PRoHIBITIoNIsTs AND THEIR REASONS.
Let me premise that Prohibitionists are
not all obnoxious 20 the charge of occu.
plying erroneous POSITIONS; the very able
and vigorous paper of Mr.. James had
nothing in it, as far as / remember, in
consistent with the New Testament. Bnt
of five temperance addresses to which |
have recently listened, four took grounds
which seem to me directly contrary to
the teachings of our Lord and to the faith
which has always been held by Baptists.
/. In these addresses, the arguments
and appeals were founded on the asserted
fact that making selling or drinking in
toxicating liquor is sin, and therefore
should be forbidden by law. If l under
stand tho New Testament, it is not the
function of civil law to make, or to at
tempt to make, men righteous. If un-
derstand our Baptist faith, it is funda-
mental with US that the State cannot pun
ish sin as sin, nor enforce Righteousness
as righteousness. IL civil law Furnishes
an action on the ground that it is sin,
then il should punish Christians who re-
fuse to be baptized. The Office OF civil
government is the protection of rights
and the redress of wrongs. Its existence
by divine ordinance gives it also authorl-
ty TO forward its own interests in any way
which does not transcend the limits and
purpose of its creation. Fron the very
nature of Christianity and of civil society,
their spheres do not overlap. The secular
power cannot require a religious duty oS
punish its non performance; the church
cannot call on the civil authorities to en-.
force attendance Oh its ordinances, or to
make men virtuous believe that every
liquor saloon in America ought to be
abolished by law. Whenever and wher-
ever my vote and influence can help to ac-
complish this, give them. But do not
do this on the ground that keeping sa-
loon is q sin; if did, consistency would
require me to punish by civil penalties
every man who is living prayerless life
The saloon is prohibited on the same
ground that bone boiling mills, powder
magazines, and bomb factories are not al
lowed in our cities. Wherever the saloon
is located, it is a nuisance; it diminishes
the value of adjacent property; it in
creases crime; it multiplies criminals
out of 45, 900 criminals arrested in a single
year in Philadelphia, over 40, 600 were ar
rested for crimes Immediately connected
with liquor; it increases the cost Of civil
administration; it increases taxation--it
does all tliis without comforting q single
benefit on the community. Show me that
this ia not so, show me that the solOon
infiicts no wrong on society, show me
that its sinfulness Is the only ground on
which it can be justly opposed, and
abandon, at once and forever the idea OF
calling on the civil law to suppress 1t.
have no more right to use the law to pun
ish the saloon keeper for sin, than to send
him to Jail for rejecting Christ--the great
est of sins. The civil law, with its fines
and imprisonment, is not ordained to pun.
ish sin against God; its only business is
to protect and secure the rights and In
terests of society, and to punish crime
against society. It says to the saloon
keeper, il you can find any place, as the
soap boiler can, where your traffic will be
no infringement on the rights of society,
civil law will not interfere with your bust
ness. AS a Christian, / fight against sin
/ urge on my fellow-men that drunken
ness is incompatible with the presence of
the Holy Spirit; present the awful fact
that no drnnkard shall inherit the king
dom of God; as citizen, l invoke the
aid of law to shut up the breeding places
of crime; but / would not call on the
church to inflict the penalties of the civil
law, nor would summon that law to en-
force holiness. And when my Prohibit
ton friends abandon these primal and
controlling principles of the Testament,
of Christianity, and of our Baptist
Churches, fmust part company with their
reasons, IL not with them.
2. These four temperance leaders to
whom referred announced and elabora-
ted the following principle: The civil law
mas no right to require any thing short of
perfection, nor can it allow anything
which is inconsistent, with the standard