Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1912-10-29
BY BISHOP
w. A. GAMBLER
SPRINGS OF ANARCHY IN
MODERN CIVILIZATION

lynch-law in the land without the
lawful tribunals being turned into
lynching machines.
without further enumeration or
the manifestation of the subver-
sion of authority by rampant emo
tionalism, IL is evident that our civ
ilization is shot through ana
through with the evil disease Of
perverted sensibilities. The feelings
ought to be called into use to make
the appeals of conscience stronger
and more imperative, but they are
employed 90 override the sense Of
moral obligation. And when they
are thus degraded to the base uses
of self-pleasing they become anarch-
istic in their every impulse.
Close akin to this evil of dethron-
ines conscience and enthroning the
sensi bilities over life is the prev
alent disposition to regard suffer
ing as a worse thing than sin, and
to eliminate from all law any sug-
gestfen of penalty for it's violation.
The rod has been taken out of most
homes and most schools. Many
would have capital punishment
abolished and some milder penalty
visited upon men who have taker
human life. \ Mulutudes run wild
with a mawkish sympathy for Grim
inals, run to the jails with flowers.
and dainties for outlaws, and are
ready to sign petitions for the re-
lease of the vilest violators of law.
In fact, with many people laws are
regarded as good only when penalty
is entirely left out of them; they
desire statutes of an advisory ma
70
-law-breakers that il Is not best to
be very bad.
Not a few wish that Gods laws
even should be of a merely advisory
character: and from wishing that sucn
were the case, they come at last to af-
firming that such is the case. and to
denying that. penal functions have
any place in the divine government.
They would rather have hell of
anarchy on earth than to entertain
the thought of~future punishment
This whole programme of subverslon
of authority is anarchistic: and an
anarchistic world is anf impossible
world A civilization in which all au-
thority human and divine, is set at
nougl1t carries lin itself the elements
of it's own destruction. The home, the
church, the state. and the whole So
cial system must perish when au-
thority is no longer respected; and 1t
is time all concerned laid this fact to
heart Law must be more stern than
mild advice and lawful authority
must be respected if the social sys-
tenn is to survive.
Our schools are concerning them
selves, as President Faunce suggests,
n. Irran Lode
too little with the education of the
will. By consequence disorder spreads
with the increase of knowledge. Edu-
cation and anarchy seem to be run
nick neck and neck in the land, l. e.
a certain type of education and an
archy are growing up together. We
have much of that sort of knowledge
which only "puffeth up,' as St. Paul
says, The more of that kind of
knowledge there is among men the
worse for them and the community.
The intellectual and material forces
of society have grown out of all
pfoportion to the moral and religious
forces These goddess forces have
penetrated sinto the church and the
pulpit even, and we hear clerical
voices proudly prating of their utter
disregard of all authority in matters
of faith and, practice. And this wide
spread decay of respect for authority
is called progress" It is progress.
indeed-progress towards the dark
ages, progress towards eternal night
and amending despair Our civiliza-
ton has progressed already too far
in that direction for safety.
1t is time TO begin to dry up the
springs of anarchy In modern civil
aizatioh. Neither preachers nor lay
men should open more of such
springs. We have enough already.