The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1909-06-17
Gadara was a country east of the

Gadara was country east OF tne
! sea of Galilee, where lived mixture
OF Jews and other people, raising
! nogs as a source Of revenue. The
question at once arises, If you Jews
are going to keep the laws of God,
which forbid the use of hogs as food,
how can you consistently engage IN
raising them?" The answer would
be I'VE are living here with these
Gadarene gentlemen; we are not
raising hogs tor ourselves to use, but
for the Romans in the cities, who are
fond of roast pork at their feasts.' y
Then one says to them, 20 l see!
You've set up a business for other
folks, and you get revenue from
it," This is the argument of many
sober men who vote for the dispen-
sary. They do not advocate the dis
pensary because they want the IL
quor, but because others want it,
and by their using it, the town and
county-and so themselves-get a
revenue from it. And so business
is maintained which flies in the face
of all civic righteousness and clean
ness.
There are people-good people too
who say we must not discuss ques-
tions like this in the pulpit, nor yet
too much in the religious press. They
are quick to tell me l am def1ling my
pulpit with politics. This is fearful
admission-that whiskey and politics
are 80 mixed as to make 1t impossl-
BILE to talk against whiskey without
discussing politics. If this be true,
surely politics has gotten itself into
very bad company.
The New Testament religion does
not ignore our civil government. 1t
says we must be obedient to those in
authority, must pay taxes, and pray
for those set over us. But If we pray
for them, we are wasting our breath
unless we first vote for the right
men. There is no use to vote for a
whiskey advocate, and then pray for
Temperance.
But let US get on with our story.
Jesus crossed the sea, and came
into that Gadarene country, and
fthere met a man possessed with
devils. These devil-possessed people
always provoke our sympathy, just
as they did that of our Lord. We
still have many of them all about us
the poor fiends whose systems cry
for cocaine, morphine and whiskey.
In my younger days, my doctrine
was to show no mercy, but forth
with to kick these people out OF the
social and religious world. think l
have lived to acquire better sense.
The habit of taking these drugs be-
, ONES a disease. Men drink whiskey
and eat morphine who yet curse the
Things they use. They have become
Utterly helpless, devil-possessed.
These are they who commit murder
and suicide, or destroy home and
happiness. They sorely need the
tender help and sympathy of all low
ing hearts.
l., Jesus healed the man who had the
devils, or whom the devils had.
After all, grace is the best remedy
for bad habits-much better than a
|Keeley Institute. The devils from
the man, having entered into the
fswine, the whole herd rushed down
a steep place into the sea, and per-
lished. This created CONSERVATION.
1.-The men who were watching the
herds went rushing back to the vii
|lage where the owners lived, and
told the story-that they had seen
Jesus do this thing. AS the news
|spread, the honorable Gadarene citi-
zens came together, saying, "Our
fhogs have perished! let us go down,
and look into this matter. This Jesus
must surely be bad man, to COM
Init so great a depreciation.
Two of the men-I imagine-who
are walking in the rear of the others,
are holding their heads down. The
time had come for them to think. A
man engaged in a bad business is al
ways superstitious and apprehensive
of evil. One says, Il guess this is a
judgment, I've always been doubtful
about this hog raising business here
among US Jews. If hog meat is not
good for us, how can it be good fol
the Romans, to whom we sell it,
That was a sensible argument. A
business not good for the average
man can't well be good for any man
But the Gadarene owners Of the
hogs came on downtown the sides
of the high chalk cliffs to the sea-
side. They had not been in the
habit of going down that way. The
raging demoniac had been making
that whole section disagreeable, run.
ming around naked, cutting himself
with stones until he dripped with
blood, and filing the air with his
screams, day and night.
| When they got down to the sea,
the first thing they saw was the great
Teacher staIding on the shore, and
at His feet, the man once possessed
was sitting clothed, sane and alto
gether himself. To explain the thing
or deny it was a problem. There sat
the healed demoniac to upset every
argument they could adduce. ! i'm
agine they withdrew to one side, and
held a brief consultation. The pres
ence of the healed man non-plussed
them. While they were talking, one
wise man reminded them of the fact
that the work wrought on the
demoniac was marvel indeed; that
no such thing had ever happened in
that country before, and may be this