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Chapter 1—The Present Situation
A Repetition of the Same Sins
—The same sins that brought
judgments upon the world in the days of Noah, exist in our day. Men
and women now carry their eating and drinking so far that it ends
in gluttony and drunkenness. This prevailing sin, the indulgence
of perverted appetite, inflamed the passions of men in the days of
Noah, and led to widespread corruption. Violence and sin reached
to heaven. This moral pollution was finally swept from the earth by
means of the Flood....
Eating, drinking, and dressing are carried to such excess that they
become crimes. They are among the marked sins of the last days,
and constitute a sign of Christ’s soon coming. Time, money, and
strength, which belong to the Lord, but which He has entrusted to
us, are wasted in superfluities of dress and luxuries for the perverted
appetite, which lessen vitality, and bring suffering and decay.—
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 11, 12
.
A Succession of Falls
—From Adam’s day to ours there has
been a succession of falls, each greater than the last, in every species
of crime. God did not create a race of beings so devoid of health,
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beauty, and moral power as now exists in the world. Disease of
every kind has been fearfully increasing upon the race. This has not
been by God’s especial providence, but directly contrary to His will.
It has come by man’s disregard of the very means which God has
ordained to shield him from the terrible evils existing. Obedience
to God’s law in every respect would save men from intemperance,
licentiousness, and disease of every type. No one can violate natural
law without suffering the penalty.—
The Review and Herald, March
4, 1875
.
Thousands Selling Their Mental Capabilities
—What man
would, for any sum of money, deliberately sell his mental capa-
bilities? Should one offer him money if he would part with his
intellect, he would turn with disgust from the insane suggestion. Yet
thousands are parting with health of body, vigor of intellect, and
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