The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1903-04-23

fail.
Effects of Evil IndulEcnces.
Evil indulgences should not be d"rd-
ed They dull the moral S"nSi'Iit!"S.
Their sinful effects cannot b" seen so
much in the wasting away Of the moral
tissues. as Bright's d;scn&" nli-@t
wreck the kidneys or tuberculosis might
eat away the lungs. But evil in!uI-
gcnces have hardening or dUIlln-
effect, as cirrhoSis halN"nS tn" liver o.
as narcSis affects the cell tissues OF tn"
brain. 1t IS said that when a mans
right side is benumb"d through IL" g.
feet of a parAlytic stTOh" IL" H"'t"r
can take pin and driv" It into Ans
limb and the patient IS ObliVinuS to IL"
sense Of pain SO when human heIil~
is suffering under the pIrAly%iNg e.
feet of sin he loses his nr"al >"nSDi'i-
ties, What appeared to hilH one" a.
wrong now appear" to be right, ana
what was once right now does not "D-
pear to have any special Sftsn.tirHnr" IN
his life
tn" gradual dulln.r or IT," palalyHINE
of the moral srnSibi!nirS )5y the tnrrh
Of sin may be seen in the lif" O! cHl!1l-
try boy who has cone to liz" III our
large cities. When that Young Er:n
left home, he was as pure rs his sister
or his mother. He had a delicate, S!'f"
ituaI touch. He could distinguish
right from wrong as readily as n
trained artists eye can tell til" har-
2 =, Ia; W II ~ u
be shocked at the slightest 0iSCOrl
But after awhile that young man al
lows himself to be led into question:
able enjOyments. When he first saw
enchanting sin. fiery blush mantl"d
his cheek But after awhile his per
ceDtions are dulled: evil is no longer re-
pulsive to him; he begins to believe
that the theater may have beneficial
influence. He can argue for it with a
clear eye and a steady heartbeat. Aft
err awhile he can go and with absolute
ly no qualms or upbraidings OF con-
science can sit and listen to the vilest
of talks which are being uttered upon
the stage; sit there with young girl
by his side who is no more ashamed of
what she sees and hears than Is her
masculine escort. The fact that the
young man Is able to argue with you
and that he sees no wrong in watching
a sinful play proves beyond doubt
that he has cirrhosis of the SOUL a
hardening Of the moral sensiblities, an
inability to spiritually distinguish right
from wrong. What colcr blindness Is
to the locomotive engineer who Is I'M
able to distinguish warning signals
alongside the railroad track spiritual
color blindness Is to the sinful soul.
After awhile by the touch of sin the
sinner loses his capacity to distinguish
right from wrong and, like the eyeless
ground mole, is unable to tell the
brightness of midnoon from the dark
ness of midnight.
Hardening the Moral Sensibilities.
have seen, more than once. this
hardening of the moral sensibilities by
sin. Within a few blocks Of my old
Chicago home there was sinful place,
where most of the victims caught were
young boys of fifteen or sixteen years
Of age That evil place, thank God.
has since been closed. In the windows
of that poolroom We're hung up great
number of lewd pictures. Again and
again l have seen young men come up
to that place for the first time. When
they would do it, they would stagger
back as though stunned. Then they
would look around the street as though
they were thieves about to rob house.
Then at those lewd pictures In the
windows they would look again, with
CLASSY eye and flushed face. But aft
erward those same boys. who at first
were ashamed to look. would become
bold faced and vile tongued. They
would stand around that corner. smok.
ing filthy cigarettes and insulting young
girls as they would pass by. Within
the walls of my own church / have
seen this paralyZing of the moral sell
sibilities by sin. l have seen q man
who once led noble woman to the
marriage altar not only sacrifice him
self, but sell his own child into sin, fol
the qualification Of quenching drunk
ards thirst. My brother and sister
with such examples before you Of tho
metamorphosing power Of sin, can yoC
afford to run the risk Of scoffing at sin
Are you not afraid that, as in Circe's
palace. you may be changed into the
form Of a human brute? Are you not
afraid that by the touch of sin your
conscience may become so hardened
that you shall have no moral sensible
| ties left!
Evil temptations should not be de
rided. The depths of human misery
into which they can fling their victims
this side Of the grave are unfathoma
BILE. 1t is upon the dark side Of the re-
| suits of sin I would speak. The trou
BILE with many of our so called Chris
tan teachers is that we put halo ovel
sin. We picture temptation as crea
ture of beauty seated upon a silver
cloud lined with gold. She holds in one
! hand a pack Of cards and in the other
| a goblet of wine The color of hel
cheek, the flowers caught in the folds
of her Garment olfnpinSr abc11t hpr Iithf