Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1910-12-23
VERY GOOD AUTHORITY
REV. w. A WASSON TELLS WHAT
HE KNOWS.

REV. w. A WASsON TELLS WHAT
HE KNOWS.
Challenges the World to Show that the Bi.
bic Advocates Prohibition. or Teache:
More than Temperance, or Moderation in
All Things.
Rev. William a, Wasson is the rec
tor of Grace Episcopal Church, at
Riverhead, Long Island, n. Y. He
is on a tour of the Far West and is
preaching a brand new form of tenn
perance ethics. The subjoined re-
marks. taken from the Tacoma Led-
ger, were part of remarkable ad
dress which the reverend gentleman
delivered before a large audience in
the Coliseum, at Everett, Washing
ton, Thursday evening, Nov. Sd.
Rev. Mr. WassOn seems to have the
courage of his own convictions, and
somewhat out of the run of the ordi-
nary for one of his profession, he
dares to line up on the other side.
The advocates of prohibition claim
that they and they alone represent
the church, and that their move
ment is based on the teachings of the
Bible The ministers of the churches
who believe in prohibition not only
preach that doctrine from their pull
pits as if it were part and parcel of
the Christian faith. but they are u.s.
ing all of the machinery of their
church organizations to advance that
cause. These prohibition ministers
have practically abandoned the old
gospel of love and moral suasion and
have adopted the new fad of saliva
tion by legislation.
Now, when these men say that they
represent the church, they say that
which is not true. Just how much
of the church membership they do
represent in Everett and the State of
Washington, l do not know. but one
thing I do know and they know, or
at least they ought to know, and
that is that they do not represent
the Catholic church in this country,
nor the Episcopalian church. nor the
Jewish church, nor the German Lu-
theran church. Taking these four
great religious bodies, as a whole
throughout the country, and it is
safe to say that they are practically
unanimous in their opposition to the
platform and the methods of the An
ti-Saloon League of the prohibition
party.
Now, SO far as the Bible is con-
ccrned. there is no foundation what
ever for the claim. There is not one
single word in the Bible from begin
ming to end that can be particularly
construed into into a condemnation
of or q prohibition of the moderate,
temperate use of alcoholic liquor
not one word. And when we ask
these people to point out q single
passage in the Bible that condemns
the use OF wine, they quote some
text that condemns drunkenness as
if that proved their case. OF course,
the Bible condemns drunkenness al
the way through; it condemns intem
pcrance in everything. in eating as
well as drinking, and nobody but g
fool would advocate intemperance.
We do not stand for intemperance
nor lawlessness. We stand for Law
and order and genuine temperance
and repeat that. there is not word
in the whole Bible that condemns the
moderate use of wine, and wine mark
you, is strong alcoholic beverage,
containing anywhere from 10 to 20
per cent. of alcohol; and this bever.
age has been the national beverage,
you may say the social beverage, Of
of the Jewish people for the last {, 600
or 1000 years. 1t was in use during
the whole of Old Testament period; it
was in use during the lifetime of the
Founder of the Christian religion.
and il there is one author for us
Christians which is supreme and in
fallible and final, that author, it seems
to me, is the Author of Christianity.
Now, when we come to the New
Testament times, we find that wine
was in common use among the people,
just as it is among the people Of
France and Italy to-day, just as beer
is in common use to-day among the
Germans. It was the beverage of
the people, and the people drank wine
in those days as a matter OF course,
ever supposing for moment
that there was anything wrong or
immoral in such use. And l make
this statement tonight, which chal-
lenge any prohibjtionist to deny,
that the Founder of the Christian re-
ligion himself was the user OF this
beverage. He drank wine. and he
probably drank wine daily-regu-
larly.
1t was his custom, and the proof of
this is found in his own words. Je-
sus Christ, like every other great
man who has ever lived and done any
thing in the world worth doing, had
his enemies, and strange to say, and
perhaps not so strange after all, his
r,o.> <ln hor.,