The herald., 1896-06-21
Thoughts About Sin

Editor Herald: From sixteen to
| twenty-five I studied for the ministry,
so 1 hope l will be excused If l indite
few words upon that subject about
Is known.
| In my last I attempted to show that
suicide was not sin. In my present
| letter / shall attempt to show that sin
| Is necessity. and as long as this grim
old earth exists. peopled by men and
women of parts and passions. sin, insan-
| ity and disease will exist as we'll as
| their opposites. That sin Is disease
may be acknowledged at the very be-
ginning; and arguing on the theolo-
| CLANS own ground. 1t is a physical, men,
| tai and spiritual disease.
But sin Is an employer Of labor, and
| looked at in a certain sense. very good
| one, too. OF course, know, the apostle
| states that the wages of sin Is DEATH"
which Is the exact and accurate truth;
| and furthermore it pays its employees and
| slaves in the debased coinage of the in
| fernal world at the rate of 16 to six
| teen agonies to one enjoyment. A vast
| income of suffering and of pain is theirs;
a tremendous salary of Affections and of
| woes, the wages of an eternal death.
Disease and death reside within the
| poison cup, dwell in the gamblers pas
| sion, exist in sporting life and live in ri
| otous madness in the hot blood of
| drunken, swearing, staggering venuses,
| in the passionate breath of the foul
| hearted libertine and the heated kiss
\ OF the American harem queen. Priest
esses of passion live but to betray, to
| curse this world with woe, to make of
heavens glorious beauty a charnel
| house of decay.
| All this and more Is true. But certain
| other consideration arising cause me
| to ask the question. Is sin a necessity?
Now. while I do not believe in nor advo-
no "a hn tGk@ 80 s,s.. sr~x, t,,
| sanity, science and philosophy both an
swer a most emphatic, Yes.
Nothing In this world IS either good
| or evil. Use confers good. Abuse or
| ill-use confers evil. Our passions prop
erly regulated are virtues; while things
| OF Virtue may become, through certain
usage, the most vulgar of vices.
Personally do not believe in the sa-
loon keeper or in the sale of Intoxicating
liquors. But through this industry en-
ployment is not only given to large
number Of people directly, but others
and total abolition.
II disease should suddenly cease ex-
/ istence or through some extraordinary
[ manner cease to be. the vocation of the
doctor. like that of Othello, would be no
more. In fact, at the present day. ply
sicians are committing suicide in Paris
because, owing to the increased healthy
condition of that city within the past
few years, a large number of the NJ DIS
| have been unable to make a living as dis
| ease curers.
| Were sin abolished out of the world the
vocation of the preacher, revivalist and
| salvationist would go with 1t. Were
there no crimes and criminals no disci-
| pies Tor very few, comparatively speak
! ing) OF Blackstone would plead before
the bar; no hired jurymen could listen
! to tales of shame and woe in grim and
| nn ind ~. ,g,~
| from the state a good. fat salary for his
| judicial position; no sheriffs or consta-
bles or vag-arresting marshals would
be around. And SO in the same sense
does the liquor business indirectly cause
| employment to numbers of people who
| are hired to put it down. Hence our
prohibition friends, our preachers. our
| VIC. T. U. women and others obtain
remuneration for antagonizing the sa
loon interest. But If these saloons did
not exist, how could these people live?
In my humble estimation sin will al
ways exist as 1t always has done before.