October 27, 1898

“Fourth Century and Nineteenth Century Parallels” American Sentinel 13, 42, pp. 662, 663.

ATJ

THE early Christian Church, when it went forth to fulfill the divine commission to “preach the gospel to every creature,” met with severe persecution at the hands of Rome. Rome was then pagan, and the measures employed against the Christians were taken in the name of paganism, in the name of the pagan principle which compelled worship of the gods of Rome.AMS October 27, 1898, page 662.1

But in spite of persecution, Christianity spread throughout the empire, carrying with it the divine principle of brotherly love and regard for the rights of beings created in the image of God; teaching men to render to Cesar the things that were Cesar’s, and to God the things that were God’s. Toleration came in the place of persecution, and a final acknowledgment of the right of the Christians, and of all men, to worship only the God of their own choice.AMS October 27, 1898, page 662.2

But ere long, a professor of the Christian religion sat on the throne of the empire, and the church which held the name and practiced the forms of Christianity became the dominant power in the land. Church and state were united, and the state did the bidding of the church. And then persecution was again waged, more severely than ever, against those who maintained allegiance to the principles of the divine government. The realm of conscience was invaded, religious freedom was swept away, individual rights were denied, on a wider scale than had been done before. But this time it was done in the name of Christianity. In the name of that which had before proclaimed the right of every man to think for himself and to worship as his own conscience might dictate,—in the very name of that which had de- [sic.] demanded this for all men, all this was denied to men. And that produced the worst persecution, the worst state of things in politics and society, that the world ever knew. The very light that was in men became darkness, and how great was that darkness was made known by the long night of the Dark Ages.AMS October 27, 1898, page 662.3

And now, in this country, is to be seen a parallel to this retrograde movement which brought darkness and ruin upon the world then, and which can only have a similar result to-day. The United States Government arose to proclaim to the world the principles of civil freedom, the right of men to self-government. Its separation from the monarchy of Great Britain was justified by the Declaration of Independence, which proclaimed all men to be created equal and possessed of inalienable rights, to preserve which is the only legitimate object of civil government. Situated in a territory which had become a refuge for the oppressed of other lands, the principles of civil and religious freedom found in this Government the soil for vigorous growth, and the opportunity for a world-wide influence upon man. The right of men to self-government was asserted not only for the citizens of this Government, but for those of all governments on the earth.AMS October 27, 1898, page 662.4

But now, the United States Government itself is departing from the principles for which it has hitherto stood. When it arose as a power among the nations, it protested against despotism in the name of the inalienable right of all men to civil and religious freedom. Its policy was that of “government of the people, by the people, and for the people.” But a new policy is coming to the front; territory is now held under the authority of the United States in which the majority of the people have no voice in the Government. This is the case in Hawaii, which is now under military rule, than which a more despotic form of government does not exist. Porto Rico is another district under the like rule, and Cuba and the Philippines are almost certain to be incorporated into the national domain on a similar footing. The dream of American statesmen is of empire, rather than of “Liberty enlightening the World” with the glory of free government.AMS October 27, 1898, page 662.5

And all this is done in the name of liberty,—in the name of the Constitution which is the great charter of free government and of the Declaration of Independence by which the national policy professes to be guided. In the name of liberty a government is set up over a people which holds them in unwilling subjection to a foreign power. Under such a policy the light of free republican government, founded upon the recognition of inalienable rights, must be turned into darkness, and only despotism worse than that against which our forefathers protested can be the final result.AMS October 27, 1898, page 663.1

And this is a real and a terrible menace to America to-day and to the world; for the effect of it will be worldwide. As Ex-Secretary Carlisle has said, “Better a thousand times that monarchical Spain should continue to rule a people against their will than that the United States should usurp her place and hold them in subjection in the name of liberty and humanity.”AMS October 27, 1898, page 663.2

“Reform by Law in the Roman Republic” American Sentinel 13, 42, p. 663.

ATJ

TO REFORM society by law has always been a pleasing vision in the minds of people who have not learned the truth that every true reform in society must begin in the heart of the individual member of it, by the exercise of his own will. This being so, the experiment is one that has been often tried, and the lesson of the results is plainly written in the pages of history.AMS October 27, 1898, page 663.1

The last days of the Roman republic furnish this lesson among many others of value to those concerned in the experiment of republican government to-day. In the last days of the Roman republic society had fallen into moral ruin. The individual no longer held himself in moral restraint; he no longer exercised the power of self-government. And this was what brought the last days of the republic, as it is what must always bring the last days of government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” Yet there was left in the public mind a consciousness of the fact that the crimes from which they no longer held themselves back were worthy of punishment; nor was there lacking a zeal to enact laws against them. The experiment of reform by law was afforded a fair and thorough test. Of this history sets before us the following facts:—AMS October 27, 1898, page 663.2

“Cesar acted directly with the assembly of the people, and passed such laws as he pleased. Yet it must be said that he passed none that were not good enough in themselves, but they were laws which in fact meant nothing. There was no public character to sustain them, and consequently they were made only to be broken. There was a law for the punishment of adultery, when not only Cesar, but nine tenths of the people were ready to commit adultery, at the first opportunity. There were laws for the protection of citizens against violence, when every citizen was ready to commit violence at a moment’s notice. There were laws to punish judges who allowed themselves to be bribed, when almost every man in Rome was ready both to offer and to receive bribes. There were laws against defrauding the revenue, when almost every person only desired an opportunity to do that very thing. There were laws against bribery at elections when every soul in Rome from Cesar to the lowest one of the rabble that shouted in the Forum, was ready to bribe or to be bribed. ‘Morality and family life were treated as antiquated things among all ranks of society. To be poor was not merely the sorest disgrace and the worst crime, but the only disgrace and the only crime; for money the statesman sold the state, and the burgess sold his freedom; the post of the officer and the vote of the juryman were to be had for money; for money the lady of quality surrendered her person, as well as the common courtesan; falsifying of documents, and perjuries had become so common that in a popular poet of this age an oath is called “the plaster for debts.” Men had forgotten what honesty was; a person who refused a bribe was regarded not as an upright man, but as a personal foe. The criminal statistics of all times and countries will hardly furnish a parallel to the dreadful picture of crimes—so varied, so horrible, and so unnatural.’—Mommsen. In this condition of affairs such laws were nothing more nor less than a legal farce.”AMS October 27, 1898, page 663.3

And it cannot be denied that similar conditions furnish many a legal farce in the American republic to-day. Good laws may be looked for as the outcome of moral reform, but it is useless to look for moral reform as the outcome of the laws, however good they may be in themselves.AMS October 27, 1898, page 663.4

“Behind the Times” American Sentinel 13, 42, pp. 663, 664.

ATJ

THE Defender, a New England organ devoted to Sunday and its compulsory observance, devotes several columns to the publication of queries, complaints, etc., from correspondents. One of these expresses his concern over the Sunday situation in his neighborhood as follows:—AMS October 27, 1898, page 663.1

“I wish you would tell me where I can get a copy of the laws in regard to the observance of the Sabbath, that is, something that defines what is in violation of the Sabbath according to the laws of the commonwealth. There has been some work on the Sabbath in this neighborhood lately, and I know it was absolutely unnecessary, but I do not know as I could prove it before the court where the case would be tried if they were prosecuted. I went to the chief of police, to see if I could find out what steps were necessary to stop such work, and he said that ‘I would be unable to sustain any case, as the man would say it was necessary work.’ It makes me sad to think that in good old New England one has got to sit down and let evil reign supreme. There is something wrong somewhere. Either the laws are not what they should be, or else those in positions to execute them are in league with those that break them.”AMS October 27, 1898, page 663.2

This is the view of things to which one is educated by the teaching that Sabbath observance must be preserved by law. Unless the laws against Sunday observance can be enforced, “one has got to sit down and let evil reign supreme”! No hope in the efficacy of gospel preaching to overcome evil, no hope in the power of God to regenerate the heart, or in the softening influence of the message of divine love upon even the hardened sinner—no confidence in any power to overcome evil except that of human statutes executed by the sheriff and the courts! How far from Christianity is such a view!AMS October 27, 1898, page 663.3

Yes; “there is something wrong somewhere,” and not only in that neighborhood, but in every neighborhood the world over. Men are bad, thoroughly bad. The great majority of them are controlled by the carnal mind, and the heart that “is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” And the great majority of the race have been in this condition almost since time began. Adam, the head and beginning of the race, fell from his perfection and became carnal, in the Garden of Eden. That is the something that is wrong somewhere and everywhere; but the Defender’s correspondent seems to be nearly six thousand years behind the times in getting at the fact.AMS October 27, 1898, page 663.4

There is no use trying to reform society by law. Only that which can transform can properly reform the descendants of Adam. Laws are useless without sentiment to support them, and the sentiment cannot be manufactured by the law. The sentiment is the proper source of the law, and not law the source of sentiment. The transforming power that is available in this world is that of divine grace; and that is as powerful to-day as ever. Relying upon that, no one need ever feel that he must sit down in despair.AMS October 27, 1898, page 663.5

“Rome’s Advice to the United States Regarding the Philippines” American Sentinel 13, 42, p. 664.

ATJ

THE Roman Catholic view of the proper solution of the religious problems raised by the coming of the Philippine Islands under the authority of the United States is presented in a late issue of the Catholic World, by “Father” Doyle. This papal spokesman wants Protestant missionaries to keep out of the Philippines, and plainly hints at his regret that he has not the power to give his wishes in the matter the force of a command. He says moreover that the passing away of the old Spanish system is a fortunate thing, because with that out of the way the Philippinos will become more attached to the priests—as if it were not a fact that the Spanish government and the Catholic Church are in close alliance, each one giving its sanction to the principles and deeds of the other. We quote the following:—AMS October 27, 1898, page 664.1

“The coming of the American system at this time is very providential to the native Filipinos. The loves and the religious associations of their childhood, not that they are stripped of all tyrannous exactions from the civil order, will revive, and the devotion they have always had for the padres will assert itself. If in the next few years the administration of affairs is conducted with wisdom, we may hope to win the entire native population to our side. We must learn a lesson from our ‘century of dishonor’ with the American Indians. If we send among the Tagals ‘swaddlers’ and politicians to sow corruption and degradation, we shall reap the whirlwind in dissension and revolution. The possession of the Philippines will become a very costly experiment, and what is worse than mere loss of money, our influence, which has been given to us to uplift and free, will be perverted to debauch and enslave. Were I in authority I would persuade every Protestant minister to stay away from Manila. [Italics ours.] I would select the most thorough Americans among the Catholic priests of the country, and establish an entente cordiale between them and the civil authorities. I would appoint as governor-general a broad-minded military man—one who understands the inner workings of the Catholic religion. He need not be a Catholic, but he should have no antipathies against the church, and should strive to gain the sympathetic adherence of the ecclesiastical authorities. He should proceed in the establishment of courts and tribunals on the American plan, he should look out for the sanitation of the cities, suppression of rampant vice, and, as he is in duty bound, leave religion to its own devices. Proceeding on these lines, we shall not conquer the Philippines so much as we shall win them to our way and methods, and not many years will have passed before we shall have planted among the Orientals the seeds of the freest and best government on the face of the earth.”AMS October 27, 1898, page 664.2

But the “freest and best government on the face of the earth” would not be where all other religions are excluded except the Roman Catholic. Where such exclusion has been maintained, the governments have been at the very opposite extreme of the freest and best, as witness some of the governments in South America. The purposes of Rome are evidently not changing upon this point.AMS October 27, 1898, page 664.3

The statement by “Father” Doyle that a whirlwind of “dissension and revolution” will follow in the Philippines unless care is taken to leave the people under Catholic influence and control, hardly accords with the claim that five-sixths of the people have been converted to Christianity, as is claimed by Catholic authorities. It does not speak very favorably for the Roman Catholic idea of conversion. True Christians are not thus led into raising whirlwinds of violence and crime.AMS October 27, 1898, page 664.4