The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-04-07
ernmental virtue. And no man may
dany the cO1lnt

deny the count.
America is hypocritical intellectual
ly. We rejoice in the heritage Of in
'tellectual freedom which is ours. We
give God praise that a man may think
his thoughts after God here without
regard to any man. We regret that
China has reverenced the past, that
the church in ages gone refused to
allow the liberty Of private judgment.
We pride ourselves upon the oppor-
tunity for freedom Of thought that is
guaranteed to every man who
breathes our air. But, what do we do
with the man who dares to exercise
his prerogatives? What do We, the
descendants of the men who mobbed
Garrison, who ridiculed the scientific
geniuses of a scant generation ago?
We are as ~impervious to a new
thought as any nation under heaven.
We prate about progress and we
maintain the status quo. We want
no new thought until it has become
old. With our refnements of cruelty
we attempt to still forever the activ,
tiles of those who would follow the
CLEAN o. the truth Of God, who would
lead US ahead and up. And just so
long as We talk freedom of thought,
and regret the lack of it in other
lands, while we have a scant attention
for the prophets of the living God
whose minds are illumined by the
glory of His truth, we are intellec-
tually hypocrites. And no man may
deny the count.
Then, too, we are moral hypocrites.
How shocked we are at the Moham-
medan system of divorce, and the
curse of opium to the integrity of
Chinese civilization, and the vicious
customs of English barroom, and the
free-love of a certain sort of Social
ism! But how shocked are we over
the consecutive" polygamy and
polyandry that exists under the
loose sanctions of our legal systems?
How shocked are we by the spectacle
of our boys and girls, our men and
women, deadened with drink; forced
to immortality by the social conditions
that we permit? How shocked we are
lest perhaps our children should be
told that which they will learn from
questionable sources if We do not
HUdldItSS IuSu1 llUlCly AZ plSpS1
information! And just so long as
we deplore the moral sins of other
peoples and neglect to attend prop
erly to the conservation Of our W
morals, we are hypocritical. And no
man may deny the count.
America is hypocritical in her con-
ceptions of things religious. We
look with wonder and establishment
upon the inconsistency that is appar-
ent between the noblest books of
Eastern religions and the n Of
life among the devotees of those re-
ligions systems. We do not exalt
God by the sharpened scimitar. We
do not roll under Juggernaut. We
do not provide money and food at the
side of the graves Of the departed.
We do not let our nails grow for &
lifetime in order to glorify Almighty
God. We have more sense than to
do these. But what do we do? Why,
we proclaim Jesus Prince Of Peace
while we proclaim peace a fantasy
and exa!t the doctrine that the way
to ensure peace Is to go well armed.
We magnify the philosophy that says
turn to him thy other cheek" But
we keep u gloves on. We believe
that Righteousness exalteth." But
we acknowledge, as practical men,
that it is impracticable to be strictly
honest and prosper. We acclaim the
eternal necessity for an exact, on.
currence of thought and speech, word
and deed, look and action. But we
send our Bibles to China packed be-
side a hold of beer. We assimilate
the Indians by the efficient force of
arms. We civilize the Philippines by
way of Milwaukee. We sing, Unto
Thee, o God, be liches," but we main
tain a large proportion Of the
churches of the living Christ in this
land by such devious and precarious
methods as would put a heather to
shame. And so long as we scott at
the inconsistencies Of foreign relig-
ious systems and are satisfied, with a
false optimism, to congratulate our
own, with all it's in~congruities, we are
hypocritical. And no man may deny
the count.
And all this is to say that we
should, with no spirit of mere carp
ing criticism, look over this land OF
ours as patriotic Americans. For upon
our candor and sincerity depend
our success, our power, our future.
The American nation illumined and
sanctiied by the truth as it is in Jesus
Christ will be invincible. We must
not deceive ourselves. We must be
honest. Let US be courageous. Let
US cease to be hypocritical. Let us
turn or the light.