Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-09-23
OLD-TIlNE RELIGION
BY BISHOP w. A. GAMBLER

college their self-centered souls speedily
Embraced the self-deifying philosophy of
Netzsche, without advice of parents or the
counsel of instructors. Upon this point the
attorney for the defendants spoke as follows:
"Here is a boy Of 16 or II becoming OBJ
sessed of these books idolizing the superman
which was the center Of the idolatry of
Netzsche. Babe believed that superman
might become an actualty. The philosophy
which was never intended to be applied in
life. He and Dickie Loeb were the supermen
"And here We have an adolescent boy
swallowing whole a system Of philosophy
which is itself species of insanity.
"His doctrine made Nietzsche ma
MAC.
and now here is a 16-yearrold boy, who
takes that philosophy; it becomes his life.
And then, surrounded by everything that this
world had to offer, facing the prospect Of
every promise that the world could hold out
for him, wealth and position; intellect, yes,
genius; he went out to commit this weird,
wild, mad act.
81 have said, as to Loeb, that if any one is
/ to blame, it is back Of him. l know that all
| life is an infinite series Of chances which
sometimes turn out one way and sometimes
another. 1 know thatin the infinite universe
everything has place, and that the smallest
particle of life affects all other life.
"Is any one to blame that Leopold took
Nietzsche seriously and fastened his life on
| it? The university is more to blame than he
is. The scholars of the world and the pub
fishers of the world are more responsible
| than he"
Here is an awful wreckage of young life
! largely because neither the parents nor the
teachers of these boys took any care for what
was read and studied by them. This ruinous
course of carelessness was followed probably
out of regard for freedom of thought and
academic liberty" Those phrases are the
cant of the scholastic paganism of our times.
They feed the conceit of the young and pro-
mote the boosted "revolt of youth.
An immature boy is less capable of choos-
ing proper food for his mind than he is quail
flied to prescribe suitable diet for his body.
He might as we'll enter a drug store and take
any drugs that might appeal to his eye or
his palate as to enter school and select the
subjects for his study. The unlimited elective
system is unreasonable folly.
In the course Of the court proceedings in
the case Of Loeb and Leopold their lawyer
contended that their intellects were normal,
but their emotions were deranged and that
! thus they were the victims of mind sick
ness, and experts supported with testimony
this contention. Perhaps there is much in
this view.
But what deranged their emotions?
The emotions which respond to moral and
religious truth were never given particle Of
nourishment or a moment Of exercises The
sensibilities which were fed detective
stories and Nietzsche's philosophy were bound
| These boys did not lack strong feeling,
but they constantly INDUCED vicious feeling.
Thus every good emotion was drugged into
somnolence and every bad emotion was slim
ulated into the most reckless and criminal
activity.
The lesson of this is as plain as it is i'm
portant.
The sensibilties must receive proper cuI-
ture and direction as well as the intellect.
LaWless feelings easily run riotously over
both reason and conscience. Every day brings
before us examples Of wanton sensibilities,
given full rein and running their victims to
ruin.
Solomon, who is reputed to have been the
wisest man that ever lived, said: "Keep thy
heart with all diligence; for out of it are the
issues of life" proverbs iY:23.)
But he did not obey his own wise exhorta-
ton. His licentious sensibilities sought and
secured every sort Of qualification, and all his
wisdom of mind was unable to save him from
the tragic consequences which followed his
disOrdered heart.
Wealthy and wise, he brought up in self
Indulgence son, Rehoboam by name who
went further from God and deeper into sin
in the indulgence of lawIess desires and wan
ton emotions.
Sad as is the case Of Loeb and LeopOld It
will be worth much if both parents and chill
dren in our country learn and lay to heart
the easy lessons taught by these two hard
young lives.