The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-03-15
AN EVIL ATTACKED.
Perversion Of Marriage the
Growing Sin Of the Age.
REV. Mr.. s.NcLAlR's WARMING.
A 0Ofnon which Made . Great sense
tion IN the East-Work Of the
Evangelists.

i
stirred to its depths by the Briggs heresy
controversy. . new subject of discussion
has been opened by the publication of q
book on 1.-THE Growing Sin of the Age
the Perversion of Marriage" by Rev. Bre-
ward D. Sinclair. now pastor Of the Calvary
church in this city. Mr.. Sinclair first
raised the question by sermon preached
from the pulpit standing over the remains
of Rev. George Whitfield at Newburyport,
Mass, in which he depicted the sin in the
following powerful language:
New England 10 lifting her hands today with
horror at the thought of Catholic domination.
We are told that the Roman Catholics are going
to possess New England. Through your sin
they may do 20. and If you persist in sin they
ought TO- In Gods providence and in the strug-
gle for existence the fttest survive and the
weakest and wickedsst become extinct. And
the criterion of the fttest of the human race Is
tho standard that those who best subserve the
end of God in creating them shall survive.
When We fiEd the native New Englanders de-
feating the end OF marriage by the prevention
OF offspring and the Catholic populations obey
ing Gods law In rearing families, We are
simply seeing the working Of Gods natural law
1t makes no difference to God whether your
ancestors came over che sea In the Mayhower or
In the steerage of . Cunarder: whether your
emigrant from Cork; whether you are de-
scended from the proud Huguenots of Navarro
or the Catholic French Cauadians; but one
thing II OF paramount importance to God. He
does intend TO fill this world with righteous
ness. and In the progress of divine evolution He
will see to 1t that the people who violate His
laws shall perish from the earth, and that those
who obey His precepts shall Nil the places Of ..
disobedient people
In - Ia <hn nhop
proceeded to denounce this sin, saying:
1t IL secret in Its nature and one OF such deli
cacy that people affect to be shocked when II Is
publicly alluded to, and yet . sin which 10 prac-
ticed. applauded and commended 20 widelv in
private that even the children are not ignorant
of its prevalence among their elders Indeed .
sin In which In many cases daughters are deliber.
atsly nurtured and trained 20 that when oppor-
tunity II presented for its practice the con-
science 10 so stulti6ed and suborned by long
training and familiarity with it, hellish and
poisonous consequences that 1t IL committed
without conjunction.
He arraigned the nineteenth century
Pharisaism which is much concerned
about the "tithe of mint and cumin" of
other minor requirements, and yet does
not scruple to omit the weightier matters
of the law of God in regard to marriage.
He boldly declared:
ANY marriage which deliberately sets about
the violation of Gods Law ~ to the end OF its
institution IL the product not of righteousness
or of righteous natural laws. but 10 the product
Of lust pure and simple The only difference
between . marriage of such . character and
prostitution 10 that society. rotten to its heart.
pulpits afraid to cry aloud against the crime
and vice. and the church conformed to the
world, have made such PROCLAMATION Of mar.
rage respectable. To put it in other words,
when two people determine to live together 40
husband and wife and evade the consequences
and responsibilities OF marriage. they are sim.
ply engaged in prostitution without the infamy
which attaches to that vice and crime.
The preacher declared that the proven.
ton of offspring is prominently the sin
OF New England. and is fast becoming the
national sin of America. It is performed
by those who affect the best society, a.
we'll as those surrounded by the worst. It
is commended and practiced so univer-
sally that it has crept into the church Of
God. and men and women who perhaps
with great pretensions pray for a revival
in the church and for the outporing of
Gods Holy Spirit, are often the guilty
parties. Women who denounce drunken
ness and other sins of much more trivial
importance are often more UNANIMOUSLY
guilty before God. With burning sarcasm
he alluded to the women of America who
weep tears over the deluded mothers of
India and China throwing their infants to
the crocodiles of the Gauges or into the
infant towers of Canton, and who send
their contributions to convert them, and
yet are the causes of timeiess deaths
among their own offspring.
These startling words created q pro-
found sensation throughout the Eastern
states, and evoked a storm of criticism as
we'll as tide of praise for the author.
The subject attracted SO much attention
that Mr.. Sinclair was persuaded to pub
fish book about it, which has been issued
from the press of H. L. Hastings, Boston,
and whose title is the subject of the SER
mon. 1t is reproduction Of the sermon
and an elaboration thereof by compare
tive statistics. comments by medical writ
ers, theologians and publicists, and the
deliverances Of the churches on the sub
ject. 1t is book which every Christian
thinker should peruse. and the fact that
its author is now a resident of this city
will give it q greater interest to every one
living here.
CONNOLLY AND STRUBLE.