and _whipped Mrs. Smith!_ And
do you know that the judge who tried that case (not being a good Bible
student) actually sent that good, pious man to the house of correction
--that man who not only believed in his Bible, but lived by it! And just
as likely as not that judge will be elected again. Truly we have fallen
on degenerate times!

Legal minds outgrew the idea of vicarious punishment long ago. Physical
liberty came to have a new meaning, and punishment was awarded more
nearly where it was due. But the religious mind never outgrows anything.
It is born as big as it ever gets. Development is its terror. It abhors
a change. It forces you to sin by proxy, to be redeemed by proxy; and
the only thing it does permit you to receive at first hand is Hell. That
is the only one thing you can't delegate to somebody else.

If you commit no sin, you are responsible for the sins of other people
--dead people, too, that you can't look after. If you are good and true
and noble--even if you are a Christian--you don't get any credit for it.
If there is any one thing above another that God detests it is to have
a man try to be grand and noble and true, and then get the credit of
it. "To Christ belongs all the honor, the praise, and the glory--world
without end, Amen."

But when it comes to the punishment, the vicarious notion doesn't seem
to work. There is the one point where you are welcome to your own, and
no discount allowed to heavy takers. Hell is always at par and no bail
permitted. Even ignorance of the requirements is no excuse. If you did
not know any better, somebody else did, and you've got to pay for it.

Now if the vicarious principle is not big enough to go clear round, I'll
leave my share off at the other end. If the Church wants to take my hell
(vicariously) it is welcome to it. I will let it go cheap.

Awhile ago a man stayed some time at a hotel in New York, and when
the time came for him to pay his bill he hadn't the money. Well, the
proprietor felt sorry for him and said, "I tell you what I'll do about
that bill, I'll throw off half." His guest was overwhelmed by this
liberality, and with tears of gratitude said, "I cannot permit you to
outdo me in generosity; I'll throw off the other half and we'll call it
square."

So if the Church desires all the credit, it is also welcome to all the
blame. I cannot permit it to outdo me in generosity. But I'd rather be
responsible for just my own sins, and then I can regu