Licking Valley courier. [volume] (West Liberty, Ky.) 19??-current, 1913-11-27
GUMPTION
~ ssssssss ssssssss sssssessssss
Which is Common Sense with
out Educational Furbelows.
BYL. T. HovERMA1.E,

" BYL. T. HovERMArE. it
S00O0OVO GO O1sS,sSS 600
Snakes and Religion.
A fanatic Of that sect known
as the Holy Rollers allowed q
venomous snake to bite him in
order to show that his faith was
proof against the poison Of ser.
pents and other earthly ills. II
is said that his funeral was one
OF the most largely attended that
Alabama has witnessed recently.
Were / to suggest an epitaph
would write it: Here lies q
darned fool who bit himself with
a snake at a time when his faith
was on a strike" F"
- y -
There is a closer analogy be.
tween snakes and religion thar
we sometimes think. The first
fall from grace was attributed tc
a snake-and a woman. And il
sometimes seems that humanity
has put on a cold, reptilian ma.
ture. Anyway, the idea of the
serpent is deep in our sub-con-
sciousness. The men who "Iook
too long on the wine" always
has visions of creeping things.
This may account for the fact
that the fellow with a rafting
good case of the d. t's. always
sees snakes in preference to the
other beasts of the field. But
they do. With the rare excep.
tion of the fellow who sees pink
elephants the man with the jim
jams always sees snakes. But ]
am DEPRESSING.
The Holy Rollers are one of the
numerous bodies of people who
have let emotional religion lead
them into insanity. The emo
tons can be worked upon until
the person is wholly irresponsible
crazy as King Artiur. Pro.
fessional revivalists understand
this and work wholly upon the
emotions in order to bring about
a successful revival" They
work their hearers up to a state
of frenzy, a state of mental in,
toxication that differs only in
cause from the intoxication OF
the cutters. The emotional ma.
ture responds as readily to the
call of the mob as to the call Of
religion and helps to hang the
victim with as much zeal as il
shouts in church. A politica'
speaker could, by a series Of
closely successive meeting, work
his hearers up to the point ot
shouting: Glory, hallelujah
Hurrah for Woody Wilson," OF
for Teddy. or any one else. JUS
a continual appeal to the emo
tions and the trick is done.
- y
In most cases the mind swings
quickly back to the normal from
these attacks of frenzy as soor
as the direct appeal to the emo
tion is removed, but in some in
stances the insanity becomes per
manent, as in the case of tn,
man mentioned in the beginning
of this article. Some of then
get the idea that it is wrong t,
have a physician when sick
They depend on prayer. Mos
of them die, but that does no
convince the others. The foo
who allowed the snake to bit,
him is no worse than they. H,
who allows his family to die fol
want of proper medical attention
is guilty of murder.
- y
The religion that requires som,
phase of emotiohalism to keep i
up can have little in it to appea
to reasonable, sensible people
Religion, to be respected. mus
be the kind that grows from
character and calm, mature de
liberation, and be the acts of
conscience that works every day
The man who, free from excite
ment or emotional insanity
makes up his mind to follow tn,
Master is apt to stay on the jol
regularly. but the fellow who fill