p. 306 | Untitled article by W. A. Colcord

Pacific Press Publishing Company · New York · October 2, 1890

FromThe American Sentinel, Vol. 5, No. 39

The Sunday Question.

By W. A. Colcord

REV. W. F. CRAFTS makes this statement:—

To put most men where they must choose between losing their position or their rest day, is to “force them into Sunday work.”

This, we think, is by no means a necessary conclusion, nor even a logical one. To put men where they must choose between two things is not to force them to choose a particular one of the two, but simply to make a choice. Otherwise there is no choosing about the matter. Many of the early Christians were forced to choose between losing their lives and denying their faith by paying homage to idols in accordance with Roman law. They were forced to make a choice, and the nature of their choice determined their fidelity or infidelity to the cause they professed to love. The same is true of choosing between losing a position, and a day of rest. The choice made would simply determine which had the stronger hold upon the person choosing; and to say that most men, if forced to make a choice between the two, would give up the day, is equivalent to saying that most men would not do what they believe to be right, or that they have very little regard for the day. The former is not very complimentary to the man, nor the latter to the day.

What is needed, is conscience, and not law in the matter. No man is forced to work on Sunday. There is no law compelling him to labor on that day. He can rest if he chooses, though in some instances he might thereby lose his position, which would be a sacrifice he would make to his religious convictions, showing his fidelity to principle. Some man in search of an honest employe would hire him the next day. If all men conscientiously believed in keeping Sunday, and would adhere to their conscientious belief, the forcing would be on the other side. Factories, mills, and railroads would be forced to stop on Sunday for lack of hands to run them. There are two sides to this question. Let the battle on the Sabbath question be fought out on the line of conscience and moral suasion, and not on the battle-field of a compulsory ecclesiastical law. Such laws come to us with a bloody record.—W. A. Colcord, in Washington Post.