The General Assembly. By Prof. L. H. Atwater, D. D. [pp. 424-442]

Tite Genter(zal Assemrblyg.
take of them we are not the worse, and if we partake of them
not, we are not the better, yet it may often be expedient to
abstain from the use of lawful things, when not so to abstain
may wound the conscience of weak brethren, or may constitute a snare to tempt ourselves or others to sin, or to form
sinful habits. Whether we eat, or drink, or whatever we do,
we are bound to do all to the glory of God, and to the perfecting of holiness in ourselves and others. In short, we are to
use our liberty in things indifferent in a Christian spirit, with
Christian love, and for Christian ends. "For, brethren, you are
called unto liberty, only use not your liberty for an occasion
to the flesh, but by love serve one another." -Gal. v. 10.
7. But inasmuch as it is a real liberty to which we are called in these things, its use is to be determined by each one's
own conscience for himself, not by the conscience of others.
For "why should my own liberty be judged by another man's
conscience? "-1 Cor. x. 29. Here each one is at liberty to
act according to his own views of duty, and no man has a
right to judge him. Whether he eat meat, or herbs, or drink
wine, or abstain from them, "to his own Master he stands or
falls; " we must all herein give account to Him, not to man.
8. In the light of these views, and in the circumstances in
which we are now placed, we think it a right and Christian
use of our liberty in the premises to abstain from the use
of intoxicating drinks as a beverage. We do what we can to
persuade others to take the same view and the same course.
We hope and pray that all may see their duty in this light,
till the drunkenness which desolates the land is done away.
9. But if others judge it right to use their liberty otherwise,
and, within the limits of temperance, not to abstain from all
that can intoxicate, it is not our province to judge or condemn
them for that purely and simply. We may not make it a term
of communion, or bar to the Lord's table. To do so would be
to usurp the prerogative of Christ, nay, to excommunicate our
Lord himself.
10. We believe that nine-tenths of all who habitually abstain from the use of intoxicating drinks do so in conformity
to the principles above indicated; and that, should the
leaders of Temperance Societies succeed in what some are
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