Evening journal., 1911-12-09
SIN
BY The REV. R. L. JACKSON

Those Of you who are familiar with
the life Of Walt Whitman will recall
his barbaric yawp over the soul
racking ado people made about their
sins. II seemed to him perfectly alb
surd that a man should bother about
his sins. The dumb brutes never
worked themselves up to state of
distress over their misdeeds. Why
should man? Emerson's attitude was,
in many respects. similar to that of
Whiteman. He uses, to be sure less
repellant language, but his thought
is much the same. Why should man
be full of concern and unrest on ac-
count of his sins when the lower or
ders Of creation are untroubled and
undisturbed?
The attitude of these two men is
meeting with a good deal of conscious
and unconscious endorsement at the
hands of men today Many people
are for revising the prayers and
hymns o. the Christian church to
eliminate the numerous changes
WhANH AANN hANn luA6 N1iARAA. MHRM
the thought of the sinfulness of man.
What self-respecting man or woman,
they contend. can honestly confess
themselves to be miserable sinners?
Liturgical celebrations of the ex-
ceeding sinfulness Of sin should be
banished from our services of wOr-
ship in the interest of honesty and
sincerity This is the growing feeling
In many quarters Of society at the
present time. Why Is It? Tn the
first place there are those who make
light OF sin because they love il too
well to regard It in any other way.
They love the pleasures of sin. They
are fond of the profits O. sin. Take
away their sensualities, their selfish
ness. their trickeries and dishones-
ties and you have robbed them of all
that makes life worth living. Is it
any wonder they swear by old Walt
Whitman? In the second place there
are those who view sin lightly be-
cause, they do not realize the deadly
character Of its operations.
We are painting i'm lurid hues the
deadly ravages OF certain bacilli Let
these hues be as lurid. as terrifying
i as the human imagination can paint
them; they are but a pale dubious
intimat'on Of the desolation and de-
struction wrought by sin. Consider
the tragic rnin Of human souls
wrought-by carnal lust. bestial desire
pitiless inhumanity and murderous.
greed Libertinism Is all too common
at the present time. Can you exag-
gerate the awful wreckage with
which its path is strewn? Greed is
rampant masking its malefc machin-
ations as business" 1t is convert
ing the earth into a hell for its vic
tins. Those who can make light Of
sin In the face Of its diaholical de-
vastations are either morally. insen-
sible or the victims of a deadly de-
lus'on. Sin a light. Insignificant
negliRible thing? WHY have men in
all ages struggled and suffered and
sacrificed to he rid of It's mower and
to be absolved from its guilt? Why
have the altars man has erected time
out of mind smoked with sacrifcial
victims? WHY have the ears OF God
been filled with the immemorial ne
titions of humanity for nardOn2 Why
did earth's purest wh'test soul con-
sent to be crucifed? Why? The an
swer is apparent TO the man who
knows the terrible genius Of sin. Sin
Is the souls one deadly enemy. In
thousand forms from murder to
self righteousness. from cruelty to
sensibility Sins DESTROY the souls
OF men. The mower Of such "A deadly
agency must be broken. This is the
explanation of the, cross Of Christ II
is Gods great assault unon and over
| throw of the power Of sin.
The age in WHICH We live. needs
to realize fact in regard TO sin that
is written upon every page of God
word and upon every page q human
tlife. namely that sin smells death un-
less repented Of aud forsaken. To
siu is to die. To turn 20 God is to
live. The soul that sinneth II shall
die He that helieveth in Me hath
eternal life How is it with your
soul?
------- &C