The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-13

retains in spite of altered circumstances the lovable qualities which enable him iri the end to gain his hearts desire l RELIGION AND DRINK"
 By the Rev. pr. E. A wasson. The
 Burr Printing Company. publisher New York
 That Jehovah and Jesus, that aspostles and prophets, that the primitive church and the church fathers, that the medieval church, that all the fathers of the ref ormation-Luther. Calvin. Knox and the Anglican divines-as well as such pious followers of theirs as John Bunyan and the author of rSwiss Family Robinson" used alcoholic beverages Jehovah de- manding them in the worship offered Him) and approved, commended. and to certain extent commanded their use- all this and more Is deduced by the Rev. Dr. E. A. Wasson, rector of St Stephens Episcopal church, Newark, N. J., in his book just published: Religion and Drink" It purports to be an unbiased examination of the Bible and of church history in this field. Whether his con clusions are justified or not the book has this merit, that all the evidence is clearly set forth. with it's sources plainly indicated so that anyone can see and judge for himself.
 It is startlingl to be told that the
 
 the. making and serving of alcoholic wine and that this last act, on the cross was the drinking of alcoholic wine Again, can it be true that Martin Luther and his wife ran private brew cry and that he declared alcoholic drink to rank next to the Lords prayer and good heart as solace in trouble? :? Equally startling are the drinking habits and drinking principles that the writer fmputes to the fathers of Meth odfsm. If his citations are correct. John Wesley pronounced alcoholic wine "one of the noblest cordials in nature" He gave up its use indeed for two years in his early ministry as an act of self-denia1. But as soon as he found that people mistook his motive. supposing his teetotalism to be a mat ter of principle Wesley promptly re- sumed drink, to prove that it was not a matter of principles "Christianity.' he said, "does not require abstinence." And he continued the use of alcoholic wine and beer (according pr. Was son) to the end of his long life His brother, Charles Wesley. likewise The Rev. George Whitefield, the greatest of Methodist preachers, severely de- nounced the prohibition of rum in Georgia. When starting on a voyage, he gratefully accepted supply of wine and ale. Thomas Coke, the first bishop
 
 that thieving sailors had distracted sundry bottles of excellent old rum" that his friends had given him. Bishop Francis Asbury. the father of American Methodist, is quoted by pr. Wasson as teaching in sermon. 'Tt Is proper to drink. but not to excess" If all this Is correct. the curious result follows that the Wesleys, Coke, Whitefield. and Asbury could not be received to- day in the membership of any church in the denomination that they founded Religion and Drink" quotes plenti- fully from "Pilgrim's Progress to show that the pilgrims were cheered Celestial City by alcoholic wine and spirits
 The Episcopal church is quoted by pr. Wasson as Gin it's communion of- fice) pronouncing wine to be a 'holy gift" and as invoking God to ''bless and sanctify" It. This church is fur ther declared to require of its boys and girls, before coming to confirm ation. to learn and believe that wine strengthens and refreshes the body. He concludes what may be called the evil dence from the texts with this sweep ing and bold request which will no doubt be promptly taken up To name one single leader in the church of God. not a professed ascetic throughout the entire history of Revelation, from the call of Abraham to tue year 1900 after Christ, who refrained from alcoholic drink or counseled others to refrain from it on the ground that 1t was wrong.
 The final pages aim to show that the religion of the Bible relies on character rather than coddling; and that its ideal is a moral sense so trained as freel yto choose theN good and reject the bad.
 It should be noted that in this book the word drink" means the alcoholic beverages spoken of in the Bible and other alcoholic beverages no more haz- ardous.