The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1908-05-06
THE CHURCH MEMBERS VOTE.

Church of Laurens, the Rev. William
+. Thayer preached a sermon on the
subject of church discipline. Rarely
has such u sermon been preached here,
or anywhere else for that matter; a
sermon on such a subject, treated in
such a manner is indeed q rarity. There
vas no tripping up the back" (using
the vernacular of the street) and no
wild, unbecoming, un~warrantable,
attack on any particular form of vice,
either gross or petty; but a firm clear,
comprehensive treatment of the princi-
pies that should govern the conduct of
q church as an organization and the
members as individuals.
Among the many striking features of
the discourse, Mr.. Thayer's remarks
upon the responsibility to the church of
the individual member for the vote cast
by him in public elections are especially
noteworthy and deserving Of considera-
ton. Has the church any supervision
or control over it's members i'm such
matters? And is it not a mans prero-
gative to vote as he pleases? According
to Mr.. Thayer's view of the powers of
church government and its scope, the
church has this right to hold it's mem
bers responsible for the way they vote.
The matter of personal liberty was dis
posed of in this manner: q man has the
personal right to commit any act, pro-
vided that act has no effect upon the
public; otherwise it is not an exercise
of personal liberty and the doer assumes
responsibility to the public for it's COM
initial. Then the church, which is an
organized body of people, has the right
to hold any member responsible for an
act which affects the other members of
that church and the public; such an act
is voting. Mr.. Thayer, applying this
principle to the specific subject Of the
~dispcnsary issue, said that the First
Baptist Church of Laurens would not
tolerate as a member a dispenser or any
man who sold Intoxicating liquors; this
being true, it, as a church should none
the less forbid that any of it's members
vote for the sale of whiskcy in any
form, either by individuals, county or
State. Proceeding, the minister said
that the traffic was wrong, and that
whoever voted for it, thereby became
party to the business, and that the
church had the right and power to dis
cipline any member who should do this.
And it was made clear at the services
Sunday morning that the Baptist church
| of n I1ranc roNopS hon,ofortL 10 80 ESQ.,
its rules of discipline.
While 1T is not incumbent upon a rep
resentative of the secular press to sane
ton the stand taken by this church, we
do wish, of Il own accord, to heartily
endorse it; and as an outsider to COM
mend the course. From the standpoint
of the individual member of that church,
such discipline should be acceptable to
him in that he has voluntarily become Il
party to the organization and should be
amenable to the laws of the compact.
If the majority %inaugurate a form to
which he cannot consistently conform,
he has the privilege of withdrawing.
Viewing the action Of the church, as
a church, we think it entirely Just and
proper. A Baptist church is an indie
pendent organization, with the liberty
and privilege of enacting and enforcing
such rules as the majority of its mem
bers may desire, regardless of the plan
or policy of the church at large. There
fore, since the majority of the members
of the Baptist church Of Laurens have
| nSn1nccnl fhni. ,,in 30, tlN, IA =.
set of resolutions introduced in Novem-
Der of 1901 and re-afirmed Sunday, it
is only just and right that they enforce
the proposed discipline.
Just what the all effects Of this move
will be cannot be accurately determined.
In all likelihood some members of the
church will withdraw, some may be dis
ciplined and some may be requested to
withdraw. This will not destroy the
church, nor will it ruin such members
as are dealt with. Upon proper conduct
and compliance to church regulations
they may be r%einstated. But there is
one result which will surely follow: the
First Baptist church will become an ac-
tive force in the public life of Laurens,
and by its high standard of morality
will materially affect the conduct of
public affairs, instead of being affected
by the nature of the community in
which it is located. 1t will pass from a
state of p~assivity to one of activity: it
will be a fact and power to be reckoned
with.
w 49, IL L