March 24, 1898
IT is just as impossible to legislate good deeds out of bad men, as to legislate good fruit out of a bad tree.
THE measure of strength and prosperity in any government can be accurately judged by the degree of civil and religious freedom enjoyed by those living under it.
CIVIL government can accomplish its ends only as it has and employs force to compel obedience; Christianity can accomplish her ends only as she refrains from the use of force.
A SUNDAY law, or any form of religious legislation, is a blow which falls much more severely upon free government than upon the individuals who are its intended victims.
THERE is a pope within you, unless the kingdom of God is within you. It is the popery in people by nature that makes possible and calls for a pope outside of them.
OUGHT the citizen of Spain, in case of war over the “Maine” disaster, to be patriotic and support his country, and do all the damage possible to this country? If not, why not?
THE man who wants to keep Sunday can keep it without any Sunday law; and the man who doesn’t want to keep Sunday can get neither rest nor religion out of such a law if he has one.
“COME up and see my zeal for the Lord,” said Jehu, the king of Israel, as he was on his way to execute vengeance upon the stronghold of idolatry; but Jehu did not accomplish much as a reformer. And the reason was that his reform work was by force of arms and not by the power of the Spirit.
IT is said there must be no union of church and state, because that would discriminate against some of the churches. But how can there be a union of the state with religion without discriminating against some religion? And if it be right for the civil power to discriminate against one religion in favor of another, why is not such discrimination just as regards the churches?