The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1908-05-14
'cREENVILLE, OHIO, THURSDAY MAY IA. 1908.
That Matter Of Conscience.

L
privilege to write a few lines to
find a place in your paper.
l think the actions of the New
York M. E. Conference is a great
compliment on the conscience of
her membership, but am of the
opinion that it is not exactly the
thing to do. | believe that there
is yet plenty of time to legislate
in church matters; ] do not think
that the conscience of the masses
of the people is educated and en-
lightened enough yet to be al
lowed all the sway that legisla-
ton is able to give it. It is a
matter not of some ones mere
opinion on the matter, but a
broad view of the whole popula-
ton of our nation. There are
several things to be taken into
consideration in this matter.
First, We might say that if we
are going to give a broader field
for the conscience to exercise in,
why not give the whole field at
once? If my conscience is a safe
guide in the matter of card play
ing and dancing, is it not, then,
a safe guide in other matters? /
am aware of the fact that many
of the members of the M. E.
church, and other churches, are
playing cards. Of course, this
is done in disobedience to the
dictates of the pulpit law and
conscience for good measure.
Take away the restraint Of law
and you take away great source
of education. If, for instance,
one of the members of a congre-
cation of five hundred should
play cards or dance in direct dis
obedience to the laws of the
church, and was arraigned be-
fore the local class foftrial would
it not be a rebuke of bad con-
science?
I think it would be one of the
greatest object lessons that the
better conscience could exhibit
to the rebuke of that brothers.
degenerated state of mind.
While our great national legis-
lators, jurists and leaders are do
ing all they can to make string
ent laws and enforce them in the
proper way and deal with all
classes alike, the church is cas-
ing up on the matter of wise leg
.islation. Trying to do away with
the laws that were passed upon
by the founders of our great
church, which, in the wisdom of
such men as John Wesley and
others Of his type, were pro-
nounced good for the people.
While the matter is, of course,
one that belongs to the M. E.
church, / feel that we are all a.
like concerned in the great in
fuence that it will have. The
M. E. church is no small thing
when thought of as a great body
of Christian believers, and if we
are going to leave card playing
and dancing to the matter of the
conscience deciding on the right
or wrong, why not leave the
matter of all other great evils to
the individual conscience? / do
| not know, of course, what is in
the minds of the promulgators Of
the move in the M. E. church,
but / do know that there are
some of our leading churchmen
who are wanting to make the
church SO near like some other
organizations, that very soon it
will be a matter of brain and
material qualification, instead of
heart and soul culture and puri-
ty. It is well known that there
are ministers in the church who
don't want any impediment to
them playing cards and, dancing
if they want to, and there is no
doubt that there are more of
them in the east than there are
lin the west. 1t is no wonder to
me that the New York M. E.