p. 323 | Untitled article by H. F. Phelps

Pacific Press Publishing Company · New York · October 16, 1890

FromThe American Sentinel, Vol. 5, No. 41

Should the State Regulate Morals?

By H. F. Phelps

THIS is an important question, and one that every American citizen should understand, and be able to answer intelligently. In order to have a more correct understanding of the question it will be necessary to define the terms used.

“Morality is the relation of conformity or non-conformity to the true moral standard, or rule. . . . The conformity of an act to the divine law.” The “divine law,” is universally acknowledged as being “summarily contained in the Decalogue,” written by the finger of God on the tables of stone. From this, it is plain that morality pertains solely to God, having reference to man's relation to his Maker. It must also be just as plain that, with these, civil governments or civil rulers can have nothing to do.

For civil governments were ordained to rule, not in the things of God, but in the things pertaining to civil matters—the relation of man to his fellow-man or to the government itself.

Civil government therefore can have no right to enforce or regulate acts of conformity or non-conformity of its subjects to the divine law. And an attempt, even of this kind, is only an attempt to regulate matters of conscience, and civil government can have nothing to do with conscience.

It is true, in every sense of the word, that, “Sabbath desecration is to be deplored.” But, as the Sabbath is an institution of heaven, and the command for the Sabbath is found in the moral law, and all moral questions pertains to God's government, the observance or non-observance of the Sabbath should be left to the individual conscience of every subject of civil government. And farther, if the above propositions are correct, the civil government has no right whatever, even to try to enforce a moral question, a question that pertains to man's relation to his Maker; and it must be clearly seen, that to attempt such a thing is exalting the civil government above God himself, for God never forces obedience from his creatures.

It will never do to say that this is a temperance measure, for if a person who drinks, knows that he will be prohibited from getting it on any one day in seven, he will get enough on the day preceding, to supply his supposed needs.

Then, again, what may or may not be considered a desecration of the Sabbath, can only be decided by an appeal to divine law. And here, again, we are met with differences of opinion and interpretation. Thus again we see this must be left to the individual conscience, and not to civil authority, unless we adopt the principle that “might makes right,” and then let questions of conscience be settled by majorities.

Lord Macaulay ironically says, that in matters of conscience “majorities are all right, when I'm in the majority; but all wrong when I'm in the minority.”

To illustrate still farther, we will take the case of the infidel. Has he no rights? He has no convictions or scruples as to the Sabbath. Would it be right for the Christian, who might be in the majority, to compel him to observe a Christian institution? It would be all right and proper if it would be right for the infidel, who might be in the majority, to declare that there was no Sabbath, and compel Christians to labor on the Sabbath. But if one is wrong so is the other.

It must, therefore, be clear to all, that the only position for the civil government, or local authorities, is simply to protect every man in his rights; the Christian in keeping the Sabbath, and the infidel in not keeping it. If we should try to compel a man who is not a Christian, to act as do the Christians, we should only make a hypocrite of him who otherwise might be a good citizen, and thus he would become a dangerous man, and hence a dangerous citizen. Let us be consistent, and look at this question from the stand-point of the Golden Rule. “Therefore all things, whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.”

H. F. PHELPS.