The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1914-08-28

accept the worship of legal automa-
TONS Before your songs and PRAYERS
can be anything but hollow mockerv
they must come through free lins
from willing hearts. God could write
message tonight across the sky in
letters of fire, and the whole human
race would fall on its knees. Thar
would put all the ministers out of
business in a iiffy. 1t is not Gods
way. He might kill the devil, bar He
doesn't
Theologians have been telling ne
for nearly two thousand years thar
God made man able to stand, though
free to fall" Did they tell us the
truth? If not, how can we believe
them now? We know that thev tolG
| the truth, because the doctrine of
personal liberty Is in harmony with
the divine order.
| / now call your attention to the
Bible, accepted by all Christians as
the revealed will of God / shall give
you few passages which will show
the position of the Deity on the cues
ton of using intoxicating liquors.
|. In Genesis, 14th chapter, 18th verse
we read:
"And Melchizedek, King of Salem.
brought forth bread and wine; ano
he was the priest of the Most Higa
God"
Strange that the Most High God
did not inform His priest that it was
wrong to set wine-an intoxicating
drink-before his guests.
In Numbers, 18th chapter, 10th
verse. we read:
oh hr;x Cor IL, l.
ing a hin of wine for an offering MADE
by fire, of a sweet SAVIOR unto the
Lord"
ing wine as an offering was not Only
acceptable, but pleasing to God.
In the 9th chapter of Judges, and
18th verse, we read:
"And the vine said unto them,
should l leave my wine which
cheereth God and man, and go to be
promoted over the tree?"
If the use of wine is wrong how
could an evil thing be pleasing to
God?
In the 9th chapter of Ecclesiastes.
7th verse, we learn that as a reward
for their devotion and loyalty God
gave His people the right to drink
1t says:
go thy way, eat thy bread with
joy, and drink thy wine with merry
} heart, for God now accepteth thy
, works.
, Intead of abolishing personal lib
erty God here grants His people the
: right to drink as a reward for right
: eousness.
In Isaiah, chapter 81, verse 8, Al,
/ self to protect His people in their
right to drink the wine for which
they labor This verse reads:
1.-The Lord hath sworn by His righE
hand, and by the arm of His strength,
: surely 1 will no more give thy corn
to be meat for the enemies and the
: sons of the stranger shall not drink
{ thy wine for which thou hath labor
ed"
: We see by this passage that after
all this conflict is a fight between
, prohibitionists and God.
The prohibitionists swear by Hop
son and Bill Sunday that the use Of
Intoxicating liquors shall be abolish
, ed God has sworn by his right
hand and by the arm of His strength"
that no man nor set of men will &C.
pTlNS Ills poOplc VI pcISOudi y,
/ on the drink question.
| shall now proceed to show by the
example of Christ that prohibition
is is un-Christian in character.
In the 9TH chapter of Luke, SD and
, Gath verses, Jesus contrasts His
!, habits with the habits of John the
} Baptist. He says:
John the Baptist came neither eat.
ing bread nor drinking wine, and ya
say he hath devil.
"The Son of Man is come eating
and drinking and We say behold a
gluttonOuS man, winebibber, q
friend of publicans and sinners"
} The drys may deny that Jesus
meant to say that He drank what
John did not drink But unless this
language means that John was a
teettotalar and that Jesus was TEN
perate drinker of intoxicating wine
it means absolutely nothing. So
much for the example set by the ideal
moral character of all ages.
Every man who holds that it is
morally wrong to use wine discreditS
Christ. 1t never can be Christian TO
prohibit a thing that Jesus did. But
Jesus not only drank wine, but made
it for others to drink.
In the second chapter of st. John
we have the story of Christ's first
miracle. The host at the wedding
feast of Cana provided wine for his
guests, but the supply gave out be-
fore the feast ended. There arose
a demand for more wine. The sainted
Mother of Christ called his attention
to this demand.
There has never been on this earth
a more appropriate opportunity for
making a prohibition speech. Con-
fronted by this demand, had prohibit
ton been a Christian priciple Jesus
would have condemned the host for