Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1906-12-27
CHRISTIANITY
And the ImpOssibiIity TO Live
to II.

| Well, comrades and brothers, who
peruse the pages of the News, no doubt
on first thought, when you noted the
above heading you said that fellow is
a lunatic instead of crank.
Be that as it may, have made the
assertion, and believe am right in it.
| am not attacking Christianity but ]
am attacking the cause which prevents
people believing as Jesus taught us to
live. Now, is is necessary before GO
ing farther to give my definition of
Christianity, which is First, right
thinking; Secondly, right actions.
Thirdly, continuing daily in right
thinking and actions My definition
of religion is, Holding sacred the
right in thought and actions; never
deviating from right principles.
Well, Jesus founded his brotherhood
of man on this verse, 'Love the Lord,
thy God, with all thy mind and with
all thy soul and with all thy strength -
Then he added, "This is the law and
the whole law and the fulfilment of the
law" 1t was not any part or parcel
of Christianity, but the whole thing.
He demonstrates that fact in the gold
en- rule: when he said: "Do We unto
Others as ye would so have others to do
unto you.
Now, the question arises: Can we
live by that doctrine today and sur
vivey I say it is impossible. The man
or woman who undertakes it, one and
all whomsoever they be, will find they
make sad failure. We will have to
find the cause for this. Here it is.
We are competitors for life. No doubt
some of the readers will say, well,
mankind was always competitors
therefore conditions which we are un-
| able to control forces us to commit
deeds, aye even crimes, in order to
| preserve life. Take a bedbug and
start to crush it, and it will run yet
we claim it has no sense at all Why
does it runl2 Simply to preserve its
life. Then as dull an insect as the
bedbug running to preserve life shows
that it has a wonderful love of that
life, and runs as means to preserve
it. Nature has implanted the love of
life SO deeply in the human breast that
they will commit any crime, however
great in order to live.
Take the man who Processes Christ
ianity and let himself or his wife and
children come down to the point OF
starving and see how quick he will
scab his fellow man. This is crime
and he knows it, yet he is forced to dc
it. Another illustration is ninety.
eight per cent. of the fallen women of
our land are not in those harlot's bells
because they wish to be and they know
they are committing crime against
pure womanhood and pure manhood,
but conditions they are unable to con,
troll forces them there through that in
herent love of life-hence to preserve
life many of them are there. Then af
ter they have been forced to trade theil
souls, and all that they hold dear fol
a mess of pottage the police forces ot
the country, which we pay millions t.
per annum, swoop down on these fal
len creatures of humanity, and rol
them Of their little which they have
made in the traffic of hell What
makes the police do it? They, like
the fallen ones, are victims of circum
stances they are unable to control
They are also coRpetitors for life, and
if they won't swoop down and rob the
fallen victims once month of this ac
cursed system, others will be found tC
take their places, and they would
rather rob legally than rob illegally
and be thrown in prison for years tC
work for the capitalist class for moth
! ing. They are rewarded for stealing
legally, whereas, if they steal Illegal,
\ they are punished. .
Take the case of any one, or suppos,
the case in this wise Suppose San
Jones and Dick Brown are neighbors
both what are termed perfect Christ
ians. Suppose each has a sick child
Suppose the attending physician tell
Mr.. Jones and Mr.. Brown that thei
children will surely die unless the,
have milk, and they can look into thef
darlings faces and see that the docto
is telling them the truth, and unles
they get milk ere many hours thei,
precious children will be with the an
gels. They have neighbor, a Mr.
johnson, who has good COW FOR sale
He asks $50 for his COW. Neither Mr.
Jones nor Mr.. Brown have one cent
being reduced TO poverty by sickness
yet each one has credit with Mr.
johnson TO the full value of that COW
80 each man will contrive and schem
in order to get the COW for his particu
lar child Mr.. Jones keeps his plan
secret from Mr. Brown; likewise Mr.
Brown will keep his plans secret t
Mr. Jones, lying to each other throug
deception, in order that they may ge
the advantage of the COW. that thei
child might live, yet they are Christ
b ans-perfect types Well. Mr.. Brow