The record-union., 1899-10-29
WHICH SHALL GOVERN US?
LOVE OF RIGHT, OR FEAR OF
PUNISHMENT?
Address Delivered at the Syna-
gogue on Friday Night by
HI. Weinstock.

At the regular evening service at the
synagogue on Friday evening II. Vein
stock spoke on the subject, THE Fear
Of Punishment, or the Love of Right
Which Shall Hold Us To Dur Duty?'
He said:
The other day, while discussing phi
losOphy with a friend, he took the
ground that fear rules the world. The
thought to me was startling, and
endeavored to combat it by expressing
the opinion that love was a more po-
tent factor than fear in ruling the
world. 1 have since thought much on
the matter, and have been forced to
the conclusion that my friend was
right, and that. unfortunately for CIV
ilization, fear is a greater factor with
the mass of humanity than love. My
friend finds a strong supporter in his
position in Goldsmith who says:
Fear guides more to their duty than
gratitude. for one man who is virtuous
from the love of virtue, from the OBJ
legation which he lies under to the
Giver of all, there are ten thousand
who are good only from their apprehen-
sion of punishment"
years since Goldsmith made this state
ment, and marvellous changes have
since taken place in the moral, social
and political world. The proportion of
those influenced by the love of right to
those influenced by fear of punishment
may not, in this era, be one to ten
thousand, the thoughtful inquirer, how
ever, is forced to the conclusion that
performance of duty by fear rather
than by love, still remains unduly
large.
Why is this so?
There are those who hold religion
largely responsible for this condition.
They maintain that it has been brought
about by preaching a future heaven
for the yirtuous and a burning hell for
the wicked, and by instilling into the
hearts and minds of the faithful the
spirit of avoiding wrong doing simply
from fear of future punishment; where
as, they should teach that virtue is
its own reward and that we should
hate sin because it is sin, and love and
practice goodness and virtue because
it is right to love and to practice good
ness and virtue
Interpreting religion as the spirit
which tends to uplift and to ennoble
character to purify man and to bring
him nearer to his Maker, I. for one,
do not hold religion responsible, for
the charge that men and women, as a
rule do their duty only through fear
of punishment. What I do hold re-
sponsible, are the false and erroneous
dogmas of some religions which start
out with the assumption that men and
women are naught but grown up chill
dren that they cannot be restrained
from wrong doing except by holding
up to them the fear of a personal devil,
and that in order to coax them to be
good, harps and wings and sweetmeats
in a future life must be offered as in
ducements. It is gratifying to note that
many of the great teachers and preach
ers, even of the most orthodox Chris
tian and Jewish sects, are beginning to
see how immoral are these doctrines
and how futile their ends. They seep
to realize. more and more that tie man
who is good only from fear Of punish
ment will become wicked as soon as
that fear is removed; that he who is
good only because he expects some re-
ward, will likewise become wicked as
soon as he believes the reward will
not be forthcoming. The modern
preachers are beginning to feel, more
and more, how harmful it is TO teach
men that when they want favors they
should pray TO Jehovah and the favors
viii be granted. They are realizing
more keenly than ever that men who
are taught to pray in this spirit, lose
all faith in God when their prayers,
however absurd and unreasonable, are
not promptly answered
The high minded and broad minded
preachers of every Christian and Jew
ish denomination are teaching their
followers to pray in a very different
spirit They are teaching that prayer
is meant to bring man nearer to God;
not God nearer to man; that prayer is
meant to be an outpouring of the
heart a manifestation of gratitude for
spiritual blessings, an evidence of
gratefulness for benefits bestowed by
an allkind Providence, an expression
of an inward desire to cultivate moral
strength and the power to practice the
virtues of justice, mercy and humility
The big hearted and broad minded
preachers of Christianity and Judaism
are rising above the narrow limits Of
their creeds and are growing beyond
the borders of their ancient dogmas
So that, more and more. are these
great religions, as taught by their
modern preachers, becoming religions
of the heart, rather than beliefs of the
head and day by day are the broad
minded and the liberal minded. wheth-
er born and reared under the influence
Of cathedral. church or synagogue, COM
ing into closer touch and into greater
harmony and fellowship. They are
more and more realizing that theology
keeps men apart religion brings them
together.
What all men should preach and
practice is not creed nor dogma. but
religion; that spirit which, as already
stated, tends to ennoble character, to
purify man and to bring him nearer
10 his Maker.
When the narrow minded and dog
matte preacher holds that man cannot