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Show CHURCH INTERFERING WITH STATE 1 ft I I . " Peter Radford J yCv7v On Church and State . M fp fl Tne recent action of one of the leading churches ot W W&Zl, f'Jty thiB nation, in annual convention, demanding that the Jm mM$y&$hi laymen vote only for candidates for office whose views J ! Igfij? -Vi coincide with thoso of the clergy on one of the leading: M p&A'S$ political issues, and direct and Indirect efforts of other rS vfeMte&Si church organizations to Interfere with the freedom of f ifjjylK the ballot, make one of the greatest perils of this age, and C Jff&y')L present a problem that should receive thoughtful con- J' A WQ$$ Jn sideration of both laymen and citizens. ;Jj SBJ!' JS! Suckling babes may well squirm in their cradles Ml wKtfi'mf$m "vvuen ministers in convention assembled release the m nKl &m8m hearts f men and Erb them by the throat, for Chris- -i pMafel-i-tlaOg tianity has broken down, religion has become a farce and iB the pulpit a failure. When the church substitutes force m for persuasion, command for conviction and coercion for reason, tho sheriff )E j had as well pass the sacrament, plain-clothes men take charge of the altar , m and policemen bury the dead, for why a church? if! ' It is as dastardly a crime against government for a minister to under- -ijjj take to deliver the votes of his parishioners to a candidate, as it is for a m ward heeler to deliver a block of votes to a political boss, and both ought ll j to be prosecuted, for tho law should bo no respecter of persons. ' jth ( It is as objectionable for a convention of ministers to seek by canonical fjj y law to control the votes of church members as it would be for a convention M J of manufacturers to issue orders for their employees to vote for a certain gjj! I candidate. Such conduct Is offensive to decency, business morals and a crime I against society. Any convention, whether composed of saints or sinners, jfl I rich or poor, white or black, that seeks to prostituto power and coerce con- jffl I science ought to be broken up by the police and Its leaders arrested for W l treason. A crime by any other namo is a crime just tho same. An ecclesiastical :ju I robe cannot sanctify treason, authority to preach does not carry with it Jj license to become a political ringster, or tho right to teach us how to pray j give a permit to tell us how to vote No man in Joining tho church should J) I sacrifice hia citizenship, forfeit his constitutional liberties or subordinate his M tt duty to the state. Tho earth many times has been drenched with tho blood 'ml 1 1 of our forefathers fighting to throw off the ecclesiastical, yoke from tho state. '. n and the suggestion of n return to these medieval conditions with thoir horror 2 Ifl and thoir torture should not bo tolerated for a moment. Km U Laws should be passed prohibiting any preacher, or combination of l I preachers, from delivering or exempting to deliver their membership or . fl congregation to any candidate jH office, and suitable legislation should be i ' I passed preserving the sanctity ofTthe pulpit from political vandalism. It is J V as much a menace to church and state for a politician to occupy the pulpit (I i I as for a minister to preach a political sormon. He has no moro right to i preach his politics from the pulpit than a teacher has to teach his politics -SI jj to his pupils. A preacher cannot make political trickery righteous by usage ft M any niore than he can make profanity respectable by practice. It is one r of the ironies of fato that a preacher may become a scandal as well bb a ' M glory to civilization. ji i 1 I'll fill |
