When Is Victory Desirable?
By Uriah Smith
It depends upon the nature of the contest whether victory is desirable or not. In any work for the promotion of holiness and purity, for the spread of truth, the amelioration of suffering, the good of the race, and the elevation of mankind, a spirit of lawful emulation to surpass all other competitors in the work, is desirable and praiseworthy; and he who can do this, may well congratulate himself upon the success of his efforts. But in any work which tends to evil, in every path where infamy is the reward and destruction the end, he is victor who puts forth the least efforts and takes the fewest steps. Reasons have been given in late numbers of this paper why S. D. Adventists, or any person who has any vestige left of self-respect, cannot come down to hold a personal controversy with any spiritualist respecting the merits of spiritualism. A system, if it can be called a system, which acknowledges no standard of appeal, which takes off from the carnal heart the last thread of restraint, which tears from the human race everything they have heretofore held sacred, which dethrones God and his word, Christ and the Holy Spirit, which opens a bottomless pit of corruption, and leads to the wildest anarchy, and which, were it not for the laws of the land, would speedily bring society into this condition—such a system, and it is time every lover of decency took this position, cannot be allowed within the pale of honorable controversy. Spiritualists are very lavish of their boasts over this matter as though spiritualism was triumphant, and Adventists, by taking this position, were beating a cowardly retreat from the field. This we expected, as this is their only stock in trade, and their courage, after the terrible showing up their system has just received in this city, depends upon the violence with which they are now able to whistle. But what is their ground for boasting? Have they been able to establish any of their controverted claims? Not one. Have any of the positions which we hold been shown to be untenable, or a single point of our faith been disproved? Not one. There has been nothing of this kind. What then have they done? They have failed to induce us to come before the public with an admission either tacit or expressed, that the controversy was between Adventism, as such, and spiritualism, instead of between spiritualism and the great principles of our common Christianity, or that their system had claims to a respectful hearing equal with our own. In this they have failed and are chagrined. The best thing they5can now do is to shout themselves hoarse over a claim of victory. But what in reality is their boast? It is a boast, that they have so succeeded in debauching their moral natures, have indorsed principles so iniquitous and vile, and are attempting to carry forward a movement so dishonoring to God, and so degrading to humanity, that decent people will not come within debating distance of their agglomerated mass of abominations. Whereupon they cry out lustily, Victory! we have the field! our opponents are afraid. They give up the contest. Of such a field, we propose to leave them in undisputed possession. In the directions here indicated we have no ambition for pre-eminence. In these respects, Adventism bears no comparison whatever to spiritualism. We yield them the palm entirely. They can have the whole field. Our preachers have rendered plausible excuses for declining personal controversy with them, to save as far as possible their feelings. These reasons were true so far as they went, but were not the ultimate. As they are disposed to treat these with ridicule alone, they may as well know the real grounds for refusal. We shall expose the work of spiritualism, showing it up in all its hideous deformity before the people. And for this work, the unrebutted corruptions of its own devotees, the admissions of its ablest exponents, and the scathing delineations of God's word, furnish us ample material. Duty requires this, but nothing more. We shall take high ground, giving them the widest possible berth in the filthy pool where they have chosen to wallow.