OUR ALLEGIANCE TO THE STATE.
By T.
EVERY individual owes allegiance to the country in which he lives. Our own sense of right and wrong should teach us that such is the case. But that we may not be left in any doubt upon the subject the word of God states this fact plainly. "Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle Him in His talk. And they sent out unto Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that Thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest Thou for any man; for Thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest Thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Cæsar, or not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye Me, ye hypocrites? Show me the tribute money. And they brought unto Him a penny. And He saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto Him, Cæsar's. Then saith He unto them, Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar's; and unto God the things that are God's. When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him, and went their way." Matt. 22:15-22. The foregoing scripture is definite in its teaching that there are certain things that are to be "rendered" "unto Cæsar." No place is left for the anarchist, or for any one else who would overthrow the right and the exercise of properly constituted civil authority. There are dealings between man and man that God has left to be regulated by man. God has ordained the civil authority. "The powers that be are ordained of God." Rom. 13:1. It is perfectly clear that civil authority is not only a proper, but also a divine arrangement. Leaving out the few unbalanced anarchists, all the world recognizes this important truth. And hence, we see governments established in all parts of the world and right-minded men are sustaining and supporting these governments. Some of these governments are despotic and even tyrannical. But it is far better to be ruled by a despot than to have no government at all. The foregoing principles are acknowledged, and should be defended and taught, by every lover of order and liberty. There is another and much more vital principle set forth in the text quoted from Matthew. It will be observed that the text says that we are to render "unto God the things that are God's" as well as to render to Cæsar (or the State) the things that are Cæsar's. What we render to God must be given to Him direct. We must not give it thru the State, or because the State demands it. Therefore a State religion is always wrong, or any interference of the State to enforce questions of religion is wrong. It should be borne in mind that duties which we owe to God will not interfere with our fellow men, nor in any sense invade the rights or privileges of another. Let this point be illustrated by taking an extreme case, but one that illustrates the principle clearly. A few years ago a man in one of the Eastern States became possessed with the idea that he should offer one of his children as a human sacrifice. This would be recognized by any right-minded person as a rank piece of fanaticism, yet it was in the field of religion; and altho this is true, nevertheless, the State should interfere to keep such a person from carrying out purposes of this kind, because the right of another is involved. But, you are ready to ask, would not such interference be stepping between this man and God, and keeping him from exercising a religious right. Most certainly not. The State would be simply stepping between that man and his child and preserving the child's right to live. The exercise of religion can not rightfully invade the rights of a fellow being, even tho that being is our own child. And when an attempt is made in that direction, the very purpose for which the State is formed is to step in and protect the rights of the individual. The foregoing is plain enough to be readily seen and understood by any one. Every man has the inalienable right of perfect freedom. And in order for every man to enjoy this right each one must respect the rights of others. One man can not trample upon another, and claim in doing so that he is exercising the principles of freedom. For while he may be free himself, yet he is acting the part of a tyrant in trampling upon a fellow man, and there can be no freedom where there is tyranny. The tyrant of to-day may be overthrown and trampled upon himself to-morrow, thus showing that there is in reality no real freedom in a land where the individual is not taught to be just as careful to respect the rights of another as he is to exercise his own rights. In harmony with the foregoing principles, it is a self-evident truth that so far as the law of the land is concerned, every man has a perfect right to choose his own religion, or, if he sees fit to do so, to have no religion at all. We are to render to God the things that are God's, and not to render to Cæsar the things that are God's. God Himself does not force His worship upon the individual. "Whosoever will," is the Gospel invitation. The appearance of worship may be demanded by force, but our heavenly Father would have us recognize from His dealings with mankind that real worship must be free and voluntary. A failure to recognize the foregoing plain principles has been at the foundation of all the persecutions of all the past ages. And all the blood that has been shed in all the religious5wars that have been fought has been due to the fact that man has attempted to force his fellow man to do some act of worship, or observe some religious dogma. Our grandfathers came to this country to work out the principles of religious and civil freedom. We have inherited from them some most priceless institutions. They took us on their knees in our childhood and told us again and again of the value of maintaining our freedom to worship God according to our own enlightened consciences. They told us to guard this sacred institution of freedom more devotedly than we would guard either our lives or our property. There is great danger of being deluded into the thought that because we have freedom to-day, therefore we will always be free. But there was never a more pernicious error. Principles must be frequently reviewed, and constantly and faithfully taught to the rising generation if we would keep them alive and enjoy their benefits. It is everlastingly true that "eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." T.