Religious and educational aspects of temperance / by various authors.

Date:
[1874?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Religious and educational aspects of temperance / by various authors. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    avoid, temptations which are encountered for no valuable or important purpose. And if we could justify such a course for ourselves, are we justified in leading others by our example, into danger, well knowing that we cannot confer upon them our physical constitution, our social circumstances, or our religious principle 1 Whatever therefore may he our powers of resistance, or whatever our views as to the com- parative merits of overcoming, or avoiding, temptation, it is surely much safer for the Christian to feel his weakness, than to boast of his strength. But if he is strong by the power of Divine grace, let him show his strength by bursting the bonds of custom, for the sake of the thousands around him, who, from greater weakness and stronger temptation, are unable without his countenance and aid to break the heavier fetters by which they are bound. “ To the weak became I as weak,” said the Apostle, “ that I might gain the weak.” Some persons, we believe, have been prevented from join- ing the Temperance Society by having entertained erroneous views as to the terms of membership. The pledge has been looked upon as a sort of oath or vow, and its signature as involving personal association with other members of the society. Now, the “ taking the pledge,” as it is termed, is nothing more than signing an agreement to abstain on certain conditions. It involves no personal association with others; and as it is voluntarily entered into, it can be voluntarily annulled; that is, the individual singing may, at any future time, request to have his name withdrawn from the pledge- book, and the agreement is at an end. Of course the viola tion of the agreement, without a previous withdrawal of the signature, would be a moral wrong • and so would the violation of an agreement or resolution which was not recorded at all. Having thus briefly endeavoured to remove some of the objections which serious and well-disposed persons have felt
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