St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-08-17
LAW is WEAK.
Rev. W. G. Rice on Christian Mo
tives and Methods in Moral Re
fonm 4t

Rev. W. @. Rice on Christian Mo-
tives and Methods in Moral Re-
form.
land Jesus, when he came out. saw
much people, and was moved with com
passion towards them, because they
were as sheep not having a shepherd,
and he began teaching them many
things, MARK vi, 81. a.
This was the text chosen by Rev.
William G. Rice, pastor of the Clinton
Avenue NJ. L. church, for his morning
discourse yesterday.
Mr.. Rice explained that the subject
of his sermon was so great that talent,
ability. language-all fail in effect to
make it plain and to enforce it upon
the minds of men. The topic proper
was Christian Motives and Methods in
Moral Reforms"
Referring to his theme of a week ago
he confessed he was scarcely satisfied
with it. He spoke upon the Having
the Mind of Christ" The mind of
Christ was to help men. But the funda-
mental idea of helping men, he urged,
is that man is radically wrong, and that
to help him truly is to set him right so
that he may help himself. Thus, his
will is wrong, his affections are wrong,
his knowledge is wrong, etc. He was
referring in this to the moral man.
Hence the man must be reformed as the
initial step of progress towards wiser
and stronger and better life. Christian
effort, therefore, has always been to re-
form men-to make them different, and
the question is how is this to be done.
This brought the congregation directly
to the theme of the morning, the motive
and the means of true reformation. Mr.
Rice then pursued:
In considering this subject we will
first notice some of the ways by which
men have undertaken this work of re-
form. For ages the aim of governments
has been to make men good by law by
restraint. But the very constitution of
law is a confession that it has in it no
reformatOry power, for by its cOnStitu-
ton it arrays the good, the right. the
proper, as an army with power to EN-
force obedience over against the law
and the evil, and is satisfied with simple
complaint. The law cannot deal very
largely with motives, and is confined to
actions, so that while it may be framed
after the strictesU justice and enforced
with impartial men. it leaves motives
and intentions all untouched. The whole
head may be sick and the whole heart
faint, but there is no balm in the law to
heal and cheer. Law is weak because
it rests upon the flesh.
Another agency relied upOn in this
work is education. But the develop
ment of mind, while il exercises power.
does not of itself furnish a correct
guide for the exercise Of that power.
The higher culture rises without piety.
The ROmanist is right in insisting that
his children shall not be educated
without religion. He is wrong
in sIpposlng that while education i'm
plies the drawing out of the minds
powers that religion consists in repelling
them. And just at this point will
our public school system break down
if at all. Unless practical morality,
that is, religion. can be taught and en-
forced in our system of public institu-
tons two generations more of people
made sharp by education and unre-
strained by religion will introduce dam
gers into our republic such as we have
never dreamed of.
The refOrmer who comes to men say
ing: I'VE are strong and wise; all you
need is direction" mistakes a funda-
mental fact in human experience. 1t is
this: OF ourselves we can do nothing.
This view of society is very affecting,
and in this must be found the motive
for all true religious work for men.