Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1903-03-21
Gambling"
Sunday Sermon By Rev. Albert }.
Lyman, D. d.
There "a Ne Such Thing as Chanee-Ail
That There Is, Is q Subjective
Uncertainty.

gregational Church, Brooklyn, the pastor.
the Rev. Albert j. Lyman, ID. d., preached
a sermon on Common Ethical Illusions
Concerning the Practice of Gambling" Ht
selected one OF the len Commandments
for his text: Exodus Xxx: 10: Thou shalt
not steal"
a direct pulpit address upon practical
every day morality Is exposed TO one very
obvious embarrassment. 1t is this: Many
persons feel, and with great deal OF rea
son, that a Sunday sermon, and especially
in the morning of the Lords Day, should
be broad setting forth of religious truth
in general terms, clothed III form suffi
GENTLY elaborate and sufficiently artistic
to be intellectually attractive aside from
any particular application. A most striking
illustration, perhaps. of such a sermon
devoted to the exposition OF one great
phase OF religious truth and of the divine
character was that delivered, as l gather,
from his pulpit last Sunday morning, by
our bonored friend, DIR. Herrick, OF Bos.
ton. We come TO church, one might say,
to worship and TO hear the Scripture ex-
planned, and we do not care to hear our
minister made dead set" as i. might
be called, upon a certain foible or vice
which we are almost all entirely against.
My feeling is that there is deep propriety
IN this sentiment. Preaching, like prayer.
should be for all. On the other hand,
Christian minister - Christian pastor
watcher for souls, not in the mass, but
for individual souls. He stands as the
trinity of watchers-teacher, pastor, watch.
er for individual human lives. st. Paul at
Ephesus said he had warned every one
night and day with tears-every one.
l need make no apology for continuing
in the strain of ethical appeal taken ur
two weeks ago, for / have been asked and
urged to do so by some OF our young men.
Within the last fortnight various echoes
have reached me OF the address which this
pulpit ventured to make IN favor OF
high morality and especially moral free
dom. which makes all-round preaching:
the freedom to hold as well as the freedom
to give way. Among those echoes there
have been some references to the practice
of gambling. Young men have said to mt
that most people have no idea of the eX
tent to which certain forms OF gambling
are prevalent in this great city, extend
ing all the way from the boyish practice OF
matching pennies up TO playing Tor mgr
stakes in the gaming house. On the other
hand. others have said they did not see
where the real wrong came in by buying
chances. on the races, for example. anc
stakes at card. All had an equal chance.
In the same spirit, therefore, as that II
which / tried to speak two weeks ago, trust
ing to your sympathy in my effort to rcact
our young people. / wish TO say a word oi
corning gambling. l am most anxious OF
all that whatever ] say shall be said fairly
and not from a prejudiced or bigoted point
of view. l do not wish to confuse thingi
which in themselves differ or produce upor
any young friend an impression OF mert
intolerant antipathy. 1t may occasion sur
prise that so severe text has been chosen
for you will say: Gambling is not steal
ing and vet | cannot help thinking-anc
the more l think about it the more con
WINGED i am-that the text does mt the sub
ject. There are some differences between
gambling and stealing. and they ought tc
be admitted. but. at the heart the two art
very much the same, very alike. Shall we
then look at this matter, not in the way o:
excited and vehement denunciation. but IL
the sober, brothcriy fashion as though We
were talking at homey
Firs., then. the difference between gam
bling and stealing Stealing is without the
knowledge of the person stolen from; gam
bling is with the knowledge of both per
sons. Gambling invokes the presence of
third party, namely, chance. whose pres
snce Is supposed TO change the moral ma
ture OF the transaction. On the other
hand, gambling resembles stealing because
it Is taking something for which no return
IS givvn-no return at ali. In legitimate
speculation the seller receives something
which ut the time he believes to he the
equivalent of what he sells Otherwise the
transaction Is unjust. But in gambling
ninety-ninc men sell out 10 the hundredtt
man and get nothing for what they sell. J
have sometimes fancied that moral paral
el NAV be run between gambling and due
ing. Gambling. like duelinG. is 4 mora
hybrid. That IS a cross between clear
wrong and what may be right. For ex
ample. murder Is wrong: war may he right
Gambling IS = cross between murder and
war. 30 stealing is clear wrong and spec
-. l.. l.
between stealing and speculation. But
both gambling and dueling dwell in 4 mora
twilight and are absolutely immoral and
dangerous 10 society as the very h'ackncs:
Of midnight Itself Now. You will notice
That in both gambling ana dGeling third
factor is supposed 10 enter. which neutral
lies the moral ,srcng In gambling the Gle
ment Is chance: III dueling il is honor. Ii
however. we look Mt the matter we shall.
think. find out that chance in the one case
and honor in the other is not reality hut
a chimera-hut IN illusion. That is what
| mean by the Illusion Of gambling. There
is no such thing a. chance. really. ard that
is where the Illusion comes in. lie, us
look at this.
There is an amount OF mental Juggling. a
haze over men eyes. a wItchs maze, IL
which the idea is that chance j. an oblec
tive fact. Now there is no such thing. Al
that there i. Is a subjective uncertainty
no objective chance at al. There Is H.
such thing as chance Once travc.inr
along the Connco ticut River Valley asked
a German who was with ire to tell me
something abo1t German metaphysics. lie
pointed TO sorle holes III the banks OF the
river. in which the ground swallows had
built heir nests, and said: You see that
bank: Yes. on see these hoes in
which are the swallows Ecsts:'' Yes
said /. Nov. said he. take away ths
bank and leave nothing but the holes and
yen viii have an exact definition OF Ger
man metaphysics" And SO il i with TIL.
idea OF chance: there Is no such thing oh
lectively as chance. One hundred men each
have chance. No such thing. The act
ual fact is that Just one nan is certain &c
get a pr!ze-if he Is Certain-and the 9th.
Frs a.e certain not 70 get it. Therefore
they have no chance. One man has 4 Ger
taiIty and the Others have no chance
They all have simply uncertainty as to
which man has certainty. Suppose that
some Judge who Is distributing fhe prizes
had sufficient foresight 20 know cXactl,
which way the ball would roll. He know.
that and the corresponding number in
every mans hand. Science has chased
chance out of the universe. To the eyes
OF the intelligent chance has ceased 10 be
There is no such thing in all this world
There is what we call law, but there il
no ems nee in the case; it is all law.
Beside. taking your own ground. even
there is such thing. there is only one
chance out OF a whole hundred which vii
is a good chance Yes, that is coot
chance. AS chance is good, them
Yes. but Is chance Is poor In othei
words, oGc mans chance Reutraiizes an
other; therefore. there arc no hundred
chances. Ii YOU have bought one gooc
chance. then nnelynine have paid for
poor chance What equality is there II