Notes on Religious Liberty.
THE only true religious liberty is the liberty which Christianity bestows in response to faith. That boon is freedom from sin and sinning. The greatest, most bitter, most prolific slavery which the world knows is the bondage of sin. It is evil and only evil. Yet its character is so deceptive that it often makes its thrall believe that he is enjoying liberty, when he is in reality the worst of slaves. From this awful bondage, resulting, if not broken, in eternal death, Jesus Christ sets free all who believe in Him. Blessed boon which breaks the chains of the devil, the bonds of habit, the thralldom of vice and iniquity! Civil liberty to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience is not vouchsafed by Christianity, but it is clearly taught that religious duties should be rendered to God, and civil duties to our fellow men. There are certain inalienable rights belonging to all men. Man can not rightly be deprived of these by any human tribunal, by any man or combination of men. These rights are to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Of course, that "pursuit of happiness" must not interfere with the equal rights of his fellows. Neither does a man surrender these rights to society or to government, for it is the very object of the institution of government to protect men in these rights. These rights include the right to choose religion or refuse it so far as man is concerned. As respects duty to God, it is always right to do right, and it is wrong to do otherwise; and God will hold every man responsible for his conduct. Yet notwithstanding this, He gives to every man the privilege of choosing to do wrong. As God grants this to all men, surely man has no right to refuse what the infinite God grants. He who holds to the true principles of religious liberty, holds them for the other man, be that other man his most bitter opponent. To demand liberty for ourselves alone is unmitigated tyranny. The only true rule to guide us in the matter of religious liberty is the Golden Rule, "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." This does not refer merely to men believing as we do, but to all men. Whatsoever ye would that the heathen Chinese should do to you, do ye even so to him. Whatsoever ye would that the Roman Catholic should do to you, do ye even so to him. Surely, we would want any of these to give us the privilege of worshiping or not worshiping according as our conscience dictated; could we in reason deny them? If we believe that we are right, can we not afford to be more than fair? Does God demand of us, not only what He would not do thru Christ, but what Christ forbade His disciples to do?