The menace., 1913-12-06
FREEDOM OF SPEECH
Mt yoHS ~ oruNN

~ ELl0l0us oranimtioaa n ~
liz uuitet et1ira. vith a n.rmbef-
- n1lp q hundr.ts q thonaanta.
have oGcnlly declArod der
dstcrninafioa hat ever voice ery-
ing ouf N protest aeAinsi vhAf they
tern -osr holy roilrioo- shall b. 81.
lsncct Thcse orrAnlnafions have The
riEkt % silspos volces antAgouintic 10
vhat ney candidr bsiieFe 10 b The
only trss usilrinn. tut tbey must sdops
proper ucshoda ArEumeut must b
ne, ~ eounfeuartEnezt and n false
stntsuents are made. tbsitruth must
- made knorn krguDcut. per
suasion. cntrcsty. truth-these and
these oniy are The ChristiAn weapons
of defense. ana vhen used In the fear
OF God and IN the spirit Of Jesus Christ.
vii oonvinoe The EAinhaycr and lead
men 20 the true chnrch. IN which there
is prssent peace and everlasting tal
vation.
However. methods other than these
are proposed. chief among them being
the boycott. and an appeal 10 civil au-
thority. The boycott Il contrary 10 the
teaching Of Christ Who instructed his
disciples 20 feed their enemies. and
thus heap Goals of Gre on the head.
burning away prejudice and bagotry.
Civil authority can never Justly be
used IN a RELIGIOUS controversy. as re-
iigion IL entirely outside the realm Of
eivl government. Each person has a
right 10 freely cypress his conviction
coneernlng any religion. whether Il be
true or whether q be false. and no Law
OF any government should In any way
interfere 10 silence the voice. whether
u be on the platform. In the pulpit, or
In the press. so long as personalities
are avoided. and nothing libelous about
tho character Of the individual pro
Tossing religion is stated. no inter.
ference BY the state In 10 be brooked.
Grant the right Of the state TO In.
terfere with the free and untrammeled
discussion Of religion. and the Bible
itself could no longer be preached. In
the Old Testament repeatedly do We
ind the religion OF the time denounced
by priest and prophet. and the people
who alone profesaed the holy religion"
were censured for their apostasy from
the truth. Baal worship was not spared
and no matter what the position OF the
apostAte. his conscience was goaded
by the spirit OF reform and righteous
ness
10 the New Testament. the story is
the same. The voice OF John the Bap-
list rang out In no uncertain tone de
crying the errors Of the rellgIonists
OF his time. and later the voice OF the
Son OF God was heard IN unison with
that Of the man sent from God. whose
name was John. With tears In his
voice. Jesus Christ made known the
errors OF those who professed TO be
the only true church and urged a re-
turn TO the simplicity Of truth Apostle
after apostle entered the ranks OF pro-
tcstors. and In this way the truth Of
the gospel triumphed. Truth is not
afraid OF investigation; Il invites H.
In the Book Of Revelation terrible
denunciations Of error are 10 be found,
and persistent pleas made to all TO for
sake systems Of religion protesting 20
be Christian. but which are proved to
be false. The wrath Of God is TO be in
nicted upon those who are followers
OF religious system denominated by
the term Babylon. and his people are
urged 10 forsake the wrong way and
worship God. How could this message.
yea. how could the entire Bible be
preached. n the state is granted the
right 10 interfere with free religious
discussion!
Religion. whether Il be true or false
nay be freely proclaimed by Its ad-
herents, and the province OF the state
Ia TO protect each person in his right
20 advocate that which he believes TO
be the truth.
A religion which would use the
sword Of steel to silence the voice OF
an antagonist. = can not be the religion
OF Him who told Peter to put up the
sword OF steel lest he perish with IT,
True religion. like pure gold, will shine
with added luster as Il Is rubbed by
honest investigation or caustic criti-
cism. Truth silenced Is like water
damned by rubbish; Il gathers force
by opposition. and eventually sweeps
away the rubbish. and makes fertile
and fragrant the life into which Il is
permitted 70 Gov. Christianity asks
no favors from the state. and protests
against all interference. no matter
what the source