The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1898-01-26
LYING DENOUNCED
And Done Up by Judge Johnson
in One Of the Ten Talks.
a Big audience Hears the Ninth Com
mandment Discnssed--SuRday after
noon Talks Growing More Popular.

noon Talks 6r0H1ng More fopuiar.
An audience that filed the large
vestry of the VI. Il. church assembled
yesterday afternoon to hear the sec
ond of the Ten Talks on the Reasons
for the Virtues Miss Mary Hayes
sang a pretty solo, with Miss Flora
Hayes at the piano. Then Judge
johnson was introduced and discussed
the ninth commandment in his usual
vigorous fashion. He said in part:
ssAmid that awful display on Mt.
Sinai the voice of God was distinctly
heard by all the assembled multitude.
That voice so alarmed the people
that they begged of Moses that he
would speak to them and not God.
The decalogue was then given
through Moses to the people. AS its
name indicates, it consisted, and now
today consists, of ten several and dis
tinct commands that are just as
necessary for the welfare of mankind
to be implicitly obeyed to-day as
when they were given by God himself
from the holy mountain. -Four Of
them relate to our relations to God
and six to our relations with our fell
low man.
The first two are directed against
idolatry, the third against blasphemy,
the fourth against Sabbath breaking,
the fifth against dishonoring parents;
the sixth is to protect life, the seventh
to protect the purity of the home,
the eighth and the tenth to protect
property, and the ninth to protect rep
utatlon. Reasons are given for the
seventh, third and fourth, and the
fifth has promise attached.
The command "Thou shalt not
bear false witness against thy neigh
bor'' was intended to protect the
neighbor against false testimony of
every kind and from the fearful con-
sequences Of such false testimony;
not only to his life, his liberty and
his property, but his reputation as
well.
No man or woman can destroy the
character of another. Our characters
are what we are; our reputation what
others believe us to be. The drst is
safe from the burning, blasting touch
of false outcrys, but me other may be
ruined by it.
First, this crime is against perjury.
This crime consists in the false swear
ing against another in some material
matter in an Investigation involving
the life, liberty, property or reputa-
tion of another. 1t must be inten-
ttD,oIIx fa1 IN IL pnf paritru IF
the oath is recklessly taken and the
statement candidly made and is false,
it is perjury, and the command is
violated.
Second, the command is against
subornation of perjury, which is just
as vicious as perjury itself. 1t con-
sists of one person inducing or pro-
curing, by bribery or otherwise, an
other to commit perjury.
Third, it forbids all kinds Of false
witness against our neighbor. That
which the command condemns is the
very opposite of charity, which suffer-
eth long and is kind, which thinketh
no evil
God has made US social beings, and
placed us here, not as back-biters and
slanderers of each other, but to be
kind to each other and be mutual
helpers. How then, aside from per-
jury and subornation of perjury may
this holy command be violated?
% BY the blistering tongue Of
SANDER; by words falsely spoken or
written of another.
(2) By derogatory words spoken or
written of neighbor that the speaker
does not know to be true; for it is a
principle of ethics which declares
there is the same moral falsehood in
speaking derogatory words of neigh
Dor that you do not know to be true,
as if you knew them to be false.
(3) BY giving circulation to SLAM
derous reports against neighbor.
(4) BY not giving your neighbor the
benefitof the presumption that he is
innocent but presume him or her
guilty and join in the hue and cry
against them when you do not know
they are guilty.
(5) BY shrug.of the shoulder or a
scornful smile you may help to blast
the reputation of the innocent or the
imprudent. and thus violate the com
mand.
In all these ways the command is
violated and when we think we are
entirely innocent ourselves of tramp
ling under our feet Gods laws, if we
will but examine our conduct and our
words spoken. or omitted to be
spoken, we may find that we have
violated the ninth commandment.