The Detroit times., 1914-03-13
LIE IS NEVER
UNSUITABLE,
SAYS PASTOR
Can't ~ Defended Even II II
. Would Save Life, Declares
Rev. M. 8. Rice
DECLARES DEVIL
COINED MAN MUST LIVE
"We've Been Cheated Out Of Too
Much by Magniiied Fear
Of Death"

THE liar" was the theme OF the
MONDAY Lsntsn sermon Of the Rev.
g. Rice in the Detroit opera house.
Friday.
Il win not take any passage Of scrip
ture for : text now, for want your
attention concentrated on the liar him
self" he said. '.Ths Bible - ful! Of
apt condsmnations OF lying. but shall
talk Of the liar ~ we know him to-
day. A man said to me the other day:
oh, well. Mr.. Rice. We are more or
less liars. More or less liars. that's
. judgment Of tension, and carries the
Idea that Il. man II not too big
liar, It In not really serious. ! was In
terested In that angle Of judgment.
because have IN account Of . suit
brought for action In IN English court
against q man for calling the com.
plsining witness = blank liar. The
court threw the case out and said II
the man had called him liar there
would have been cause for action. but
when he made II such an extravagant
MEASURE he didn't mean Il a. any more
than mere scolding.
It's searching test OF life for .
man to question seriously his own It
titude toward countenancing any false
hood. Ruskin puts truth a. the frst
basal judgment IN architecture. if
untruth II fatal TO q cathedral, how
much more % 10 It fatal to mans
soul? Liie'S deadly and despicable
enemy II falsehood. The Bible will
not tolerate Il anywhere. While I be-
lieve In God, / must believe 10 tmpos-
siblo for any liz TO succeed. but the
trouble with IN II 20 often cowardice.
Men lie often simply because they fear
the conSeQuehces Of the truth. / am
Q thousand times more fearful OF the
consequences or Z lie. A liar fears
his fell0wmen more than God. The
worlds breakdown In mor1is lies
largely around the fact that men lack
q real sense OF God. God II not real
to you! Would that might make that
fact bold and plain here now. We are
% prone to resort to falsehood be-
cause we fear what truth will ret 40
from men I'm judgment. and forget to
reckon on what lie win get ~ In
the presence Of our God. Men are
real. God ID not real to our ago. We
need the shock OF real conviction Of
God.
zone Of the common grounds for ar
gument among men II about the Ques-
ton - to the possible Justification Of
. He. II Il ever justinable 70 Her
The cneoo propooeG apo many, and for
Z mo1e manly and convincing handling
Of them would refer you 70. the nrst
chapter In = book by Robert e. Spetr |
ON The Marks of = Man Like Rus
kins work on the sLamps Of Architec. |
ture.' 6peer places truth % the nrst
mark Of q man. and refuses to nnd 8
lie ever justi6able. Mem say lightly
anything 10 justifable to save life
here. But that II an ancient argu-
ment Of the devil, and has been long
since destroyed by the flne tragedy OF
Job. Life n not the treasure OF this
world. The story Of the world has
always been worth reading. because
there have always been souls among |
us who were willing 70 die. We have
been fooled out Of too much by mag
nined fearfulness Of death. "A man
must live II among the poorest and
meaneSt measures ever offered our |
race. and It was coined by the devil.
and he II not our maker Of ethics. II |
that ancient argument has bothered
you. let me say - bluntly as know
how to say It, that when you look
square ct the issue Of man. you will
80 that he doesn't need to live on
th1s earth q an ultimate matter Of |
humanity. There are times when q I
man should die. May God help 10 al |
TO speak the truth and live the truth |
- true men and women In . world |
whore the shaping Of the eternal ele- |
msnts OF destiny II our chief busi-
ness" -
Saturday Dr.. Rice speaks on Tho