Sinclair Lewis' novel, Elmer Gantry...
Illustration
Object:
Sinclair Lewis' novel, Elmer Gantry, is the story of an evangelical revival
preacher who just loves to speak out against sin. People come from miles around to hear
him, because his sermons are filled with juicy accounts of sexual sin. As the story
unfolds, it becomes clear that Gantry is himself the greatest sinner of them all.
It's true for all of us that if we spend most of our waking hours worrying over how evil the world is, we will become hardened and cynical. If we keep on in our preoccupation with evil, we may even fall victim to its power ourselves. Then we will have become the sort of Christian Jonathan Swift identified centuries ago with "just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another."
It's true for all of us that if we spend most of our waking hours worrying over how evil the world is, we will become hardened and cynical. If we keep on in our preoccupation with evil, we may even fall victim to its power ourselves. Then we will have become the sort of Christian Jonathan Swift identified centuries ago with "just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another."
