February 24, 1898
REFORM individuals, and there will be no need of “national reform.”
RELIGIOUS legislatin not only invades the rights of man, but those of God himself.
EVERY appeal made by the “Christian” church to the state is a denial of the power of godliness.
THE ballot stands for physical force, but physical force does not and cannot stand for morality.
ERROR is always asking the aid of the state to avert the danger of a collision with truth. But truth never fears such a collision.
A SUNDAY law is all right, upon the theory that it is proper for one person to sacrifice principle in order to save some other person’s feelings.
THE only thing that force can accomplish with bad citizens is to put them in the penitentiary. There is not force enough in the world to reform one individual, even were it all concentrated upon him.
THE tendency of modern civilization is to destroy individuality; and the only sure refuge for individuality is in the gospel. Without individuality there could be no faith; and without faith, there could be no gospel.
ONE of the strangest things in this age of marvels is that Sunday can be commercially the first day of the week, and at the same time be religiously—as we are told—the seventh day! How this can be we do not understand.
IT is not according to the gospel that a person should be compelled to do what is right. Whether a thing is morally right or wrong, therefore, is a question with which civil government cannot concern itself; for civil government was not instituted to proceed contrary to the gospel. Its proper inquiry is, with respect to anything. Is it contrary to the preservation of individual rights?