The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1913-01-28

great is the power of the press-and
there are still publishers who have not
sold their moral sense for sordid gain
In times past, when chattel slavery
prevailed, the master found 1t to bis
advantage to educate his slaves and
thus increase their value, but to his
disadvantage to give them ethical cut
tnre along the lines of human rights
The feudatory lords of the past estab-
lished a serfdom and were very willing
that the common people should con
slider them demigods, not amenable to
the same laws as their subjects.
The same principle apparently
prompted the emperors of old Rome
yea, and back to Nebuchadnezzar, the
first world emperor, to proclaim them
selves Pontifer HGginlus and to en-
courage their people to render them
religious as well as secular devotion
The natural selfishness of man has
ever thus prompted him to take as
much advantage of his fellows as cir
cumstances would permit.
! am not here saying that the masses
may not have Jared about as well un
der those letters as If they had beer
free. l am not arguing that all men
are born equal l am merely stating
the facts as all acquainted with his
tory know them. / am putting these
facts as a background. that my tex
may shine out the more LUMINOSITY
THE Truth shall make you Free
Which Is the Torch of Liberty7
/ can imagine many able men identi
fed with the sciences, each claiming
that his science. or truth, has done
more than any other to break the
shackles of ignorance and to set mer
free The artist would tell us of the
power of the picture to influence even
those who cannot read. The publisher
would tell us of the enlightening infiu
ence of the press. The astronomer
would laud his science and tell us OF
it's broadening influence upon the hui
man mind The geologist, historian
and dramatist would each claim for bis
art the honor of setting men free
But admitting all the claims thus sci
before US, l ask you to consider my
plea that the Bible has been the great
Emancipator from human slavery
mental, moral and physical. All other
torches derived their spark from the
Bible, the Torch of liberty lighted by
Divine Providence
The secret of this great power is that
the Bible alone sets forth the relation
ship Of man to man. The Bible alone
tells us that all humanity are of one
blood, all creatures of the same God
all amenable to Him. either for re
wards for well doing, or punishments
for ill-doing. While the Bible in
structs that kings, princes and all in
authority should be recognized, and
that honor should be rendered to whom
honor is due, yet it also tells us that
the king upon his throne is amenable
to exactly the same laws as his most
mental servant. and that If he violates
the law he is as sure to be punished
No other book In the world ever placed
all humanity thus on the same level.
Moreover, the Bible points out that
the present life is merely a schooling
time related to the future life as cause
20 effect 1t shows, as none other book
does. that every act of life, every spo
ken word, yea. every wilful thought
bears upon our acknowledgment
and prepares MS for higher things in
the life to come. if faithful, or, contra
riwise, will give us more steps to re
trace in the upward way, and CORE
spondingly more difficulty in ever
reaching the reward of life everlasting
"Hope Thou In God.'
As we look back into the past, we
see the nations stupid in the hands of
crafty sovereigns. We see the nation
Of Israel, sodden with fear of their
Egyptian taskmasters, not daring OF
themselves to take steps for liberty.
But after they had been, delivered from
Egyptian bondage, after God had en-
tered into a Covenant with them as a
nation at Mount Sinai. they were a
changed people.
The thought that God was for them
and had promised them aid worked
wonders, not only with the leaders
but also with the rank and file True
they were inclined to grayitate toward
the ways of the heather nations. But
70 the extent that they remained loyal
70 their Covenant with God, and trust
ed in Him, they became intelligent
Although one of the smallest of the
nations. they exercised a great inau-
ence throughout the world The prom
Use made to Israel that they should be
come the leading, dominant nation OF
the earth and give laws to all the other
nations for their blessing was conta-
gious suggestion. The Babylonians took
1t up, and put it into effect by conquer
ing the world The Modes and Per
slams followed Next came the Gre
clans, ambitious to be the ruling ma.
ton. Later came the Romans into pow
er as masters of the world, conquerine
other nations and giving them laws
which still very largely prevail, but
which apparently were based upon the
Mosaic code.
In considering the influence of the
Law given at Mount Sinai, we are Il
remember that primarily and properly
it affected very few. Those few were
the faithful ones mentioned by st. Pau
In Hebrews IL But in general way
all the Jewish people were Influenced
by the spirit of that Law Covenant
and were made more courageous, more
liberty than formerly, and more
so than were other peoples. Josephus
felt called upon to defend his people
from the charge of being so independ
emit, so headsrong, as to be continu
ously rebellious.
The Roman emperors seem to have
had the idea that the religion Oh the
Jews should be stamped out because
it was a liberty producing religion UNI
favorable to their designs. We remem
Der st. Pauls declaration that the Cos
pei gathered out of the Jewish nation
all "Israelites indeed"-'the Elect
and that the rest We're blinded. The
blinded ones drew from the ancient
promises of God those conceptions OF
life which. unregulated by the Spirit
Of the Lord, devoured them with pride
and ambition; and such a spirit of in
dependence has made them lawless.
The effect of this, as history shows
was that civil strife destroyed theiI
nationality much more than did the
Roman armies, which merely came II
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