p. 84 | No Sabbath by Editor

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Michigan · Aug 14, 1866

No Sabbath.

By Editor

No-Sabbath men occupy the most unfortunate position of any class upon the Sabbath question. Those who believe in a Sabbath after six days of labor, but vary from the day which God has designated, have only the Scriptures against them; but those who hold that there is no Sabbath at all, not only have the Scriptures, but the whole scientific world, in irresistible array against their stultified creed. The physiological argument is of course equally satisfied by any day of rest regularly recurring after six days of labor; hence the following thoughts on the weekly cycle, though written from a Sunday standpoint, are just as crushing against the no-Sabbath falsehood, as though written in favor of the true Sabbath. We extract it from an article in the last number of the Herald of Health.

THE WEEKLY CYCLE.

Binding laws always grow out of a natural need. They simply announce a law of nature. With modifications, this will be found true of all laws whatever. The strongest statement ever made of this truth was that astounding intuitional reply of Frederick Douglass to Daniel Webster. Webster had said: "It is useless to re-enact the laws of God." "But I tell the gentleman," said Douglass, "that IT IS USELESS TO RE-ENACT ANY OTHER!" A more crushing answer was never made.

The institution of the Sabbath—that is, of a rest-day, is one of the best known illustrations of this doctrine. If it could be shown that the weekly day of rest were physiologically unnecessary and useless, it would be impossible to enforce its observance by law, and to preserve its respectful regard in religion. But exactly as the body runs down all day to be wound up at night, just so it runs down a little more each of six days, to be wound up on Sunday. Any other day would do. Clergymen, for whom Sunday is the most laborious day—and a very exhausting one it is—commonly take Monday for their Sabbath. If they take no Sabbath, they will come a good deal sooner to their long rest. Monday is the best day for them. A minister ought no more to do business on Monday than a deacon on Sunday. On the whole, human beings are so made that a total rest from hard work one day in every seven is just the cyclical arrangement necessary to make the most of life, under present circumstances.

We need not here argue the general question of a Sabbath. The demonstration has been made complete over and over again, for both man and beast. Dr. Smith's experiments showed, however, in medical corroboration of the established belief, that, as a regular rule, pulsation increases and respiration decreases in speed all the week, returning promptly through Sunday's rest to the proper rate on Monday. These movements of course show declining strength and increasing effort from Monday to Saturday.