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Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · Apr 4, 1906

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 32, No. 14.

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FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES. No. 8.

From Virginia’s “ACT for Establishing Religious Freedom.” 1785.
To suffer the civil magistrate to intrude his powers into the field of opinion, and to restrain the profession or propagation of principles, on the supposition of their ill tendency, is a dangerous fallacy, which at once destroys all religious liberty, because he being of course judge of that tendency, will make his opinions the rule of judgment, and approve or condemn the sentiments of others only as they shall square with or differ from his own.
It is time enough for the rightful purposes of civil government, for its officers to interfere when principles break out into overt actions against peace and good order.
Truth is great, and will prevail if left to herself; she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict, unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and debate, errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them.