Bible or Bottle?

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Oct 27, 1909

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 36, No. 42.

A little circular comes to us with a striking question illustrated, “Which Shall Rule, the Bible or the Bottle?” The thought is, What will become of our boys and girls? Will the saloon destroy them, or will the Bible build them? And we would say that first of all it depends not on the church or the nation, but on the home, on the fathers and on the mothers; and next the great responsibility rests upon the church. There is a holding, keeping power in the religion of Jesus Christ, and in the home that is ruled by Him. Prohibition is good, and there ought to be prohibition of the liquor traffic. It is a curse everywhere and to all; but prohibition will not prevent the use of intoxicants and narcotics. If rum were absolutely, prohibited to-morrow, there would be some substitute found for it which would in turn have to be prohibited. There is one thing, however, that will keep souls from its snare and destruction, and that is the Gospel of Christ. One of the sad things is that men are losing sight of the great remedy, and are endeavoring to supply it by the use of human agencies; and that will forever prove ineffective.