AGAINST THE CHURCH

Hokitika Guardian, 29 October 1928, Page 3

AGAINST THE CHURCH

THE EVIL INFLUENCE OF PROHIBITION. r

(Hjy the Rov. Frederick J. Melville.)

The Rev. Mr Melville is the Pastor of St. Matthew’s ' Lutheran Church of White Plains, New York. He wrote an article for the magazine

"Plain Talk” entitled “Prohibition v. The Church,” in, which he expresses the belief that if the Churches continue to sustain prohibition their doors are in grave danger of being banged shut. In the course of an article, which appeared in the May issue of the magazine named,, lie asks, “Why are thousands olf Church pews empty? If the Church wants to make an honest confession it will have to admit that among various causes . » for decreased church attendance and lukewarm interest in church affairs, the preaching of prohibition in the pulpits of the churches takes the lead as the outstanding cause for the condition. It is not only that thousands of church members have been deprived oi what they .consider to be an honourable means of livelihood, nor is it that they resent any sermons that are delivered, against the Demon Rum, but that they, like the majority of American people, are enemies, of what is. the .outstanding sin in our country to-day—-hypocrisy. They are not easily fooled. They have seen Elmer Gantry in t pulpit and his deacons in thei pews. They have heard prohibition espoused by ranting mountebanks in the .pulpits* Honesty and self-respect keep them out. of the church where it is preached that drinking is sinful. Having been (forced out of the church of their fathers, they hesitate to join another, thinking that all churches are alike and all ministers and deacons arc hypocrites. PROHIBITION IS SACRILEGE T

THE NATION. It is injurious to the well-being of the individual and of the nation. It is abnormal in concept as well- as in practice. It is the most unintelligent, un-American. un-Christian, unreasonable thing that has over been injected into the life of this nation. The church—tliat is, the sections of the church that have laboured so long and fanatically to make this counts liquor less—still seems unwilling to ad in it that it lias brought about a condition which is worse than any that existed in pre-Prohibition days. Furthermore, it realises that the cause b not a popular one any more. ; Can i ever be said that the adherents, of. pro liibiticm are ; still enthusiastic about it: If anything, they are gloomy, disap pointed and afraid. Yet they hold on They plead for support. They, condemn in language unbecoming follow ers of Jesus Christ, men and women who give expression to their honest opinions concerning prohibition.

THE MISTAKES OF THE CHURCH. The Christian church lias made many mistakes, as history so clearly tells, us Many of its doctrines have been form ilated by the over-throwing of falsi doctrines. It is possible that some of the fundamental doctrines adhered t by the Christian church in our times bill meet with the same fate. Tim" sunds of our Christian ministers win have given thought to the prohibition question are convinced of the mistake that the church has made in all yin itself, as great sections of it have done, with the political prohibitin'proponents. But the greatest mistake that the church has made is the fact that prohibition has been allowed to usurp the place of the Christian gospe 5 of peace and goodwill toward mt n \nd right here is the answer to the question why the church has lost ground during the past decade. . I’mit <t certainly has, every honest minister, and church-goer will admit.” -1