The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1894-03-13
CHURCH AND STATE.
BY JOHN F. FoARD, M D.

Mr.. EDTTOR:-ln all age ana cOuu-
tries there has been a manifest disposl-
ton O the part Of many rulers and
teachers to combine Church and State;
or in other words, to use some form OF
religion to promote the temporal inter
ssts of the governments under which
thew lived, We also learn from all
history that God has ordained that all
civil or political powers or governments
should be subordinate to and controlled
by the la ws Of truth and justice, which
ia the best form of religion known to
the world.
All fallen governments (and their
name is legion1 ence taught their re-
spective subjects ERRONEOUS. or false
doctrines for religion in order to more
surely control those subjects and per
petuate their secular power, which
power has always been abused and
made to promote selfish ends to the
great damage of true religion. Our
Divine Master never uttered a greater
truth than when he said I'VE cannot
serve two masters" ETC.. For the love
shown to one will always succumb to
that Of the other, and as it is easier for
Door, fallen man to be tempted to en-
brace error and teach it than to follow
and teach the truth, even after being
converted to God and made a religious
teacher and as there are more teachers
of error than there are of truth, it be-
hooves the best of us to guard well the
avenues of knowledge and see to it that
our religion is not made the hand
maid Of error, especially in this repub-
Iiean government and this age of greed.
The love of anything other than truth
and justice has caused disorder, OPP
preston and utter ruin to come upon
thusands of governments, churches
and corporations, which have been
wrecked by mans eelfishness and the
consequent determination Ito rule or
ruin"
These reflections were produced by
reading an editorial entitled Birth
ThrOes," in one Of our most prominent
North Carolina church ''OrgGns" Of
January 18th, 1894, in which the editor
accounts for the great financial panic
now upon us, using the simile Of a
mother in parturition, and from which
the following quotation is made: No
body is to blame for this, no political
party has done it, no party could do it,
no party could prevent it. 1t has come
by processes natural under the cOndi-
tons Of the time. Our Congress did
all that was in their judgment wise to
do without materially affecting the
situation. 1t was not a problem Of a
few, even of u wisest LEI 1t was
the time of the parturitiono of a c%iviliza
ton whose periods come by the fat of
the Almighty God. Congress was but
the inefficient family physician Of this
parturient parent"
This was written doubtless to counter
act the almost universal opinion that
somebody was responsible for the I'M
precedsnted financial condition of our
country and is enough to make the
angels weep. If our present Difficult
ties are not attributable to bad legisla-
ton and unequal and unwholesome
laws, where is the political economist
to be found to prove the contrary9 Is
it possible or remotely probable that
God is the author of all the sins that
have created this great evil, as said
editorial very plainly asserts3 God is
not responsible for the condition of
under which we are living. For
He eve does an evil act. The devil
does and may be responsible for 1t, but
avarisious man was the instrument,
and selfshness the ruling power. To
say nc one is responsible for the condi-
ton of things around US or that no man
or party could have prevented said
condition is about as true as to say no
one was responsible for the sin of our
first parents or that no one could have
prevented it. Adam tried to put the
responsibility upon Eve, and she upon
the serpent. But God cursed all three
for it, and the fall of the entire race
was the result.
We would like to enquire, who was
responsible for the oppressive acts of
our mother country prior to the revo-
luton of 1776 which. caused u fore
to resist them and expend so
many thousands of valuable lives and
hundreds of millions of dollars worth
Of p~ropertyG Could no political party
IN existence then in England have pre-
those acts and the consequences
Were there o two political
parties then in England, one formulat-