It Will Be Agitated

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D.C. · Feb 23, 1905

It Will Be Agitated

It is certain that the Sabbath question will command more and more attention as we draw nearer to the climax of the great controversy. In one way and another the subject is now almost constantly kept before the minds of the people of this city at the present time. Since the announcement by the Protestant ministers of the purpose to inaugurate a special campaign for better “Sabbath observance,” there have appeared in the papers many columns of letters dealing with the various phases of this question, in addition to a well-written editorial and the reports of our public meetings where this subject has been under consideration.

In the same issue of the Washington Post in which was published the report of our second meeting at the Lafayette Opera House, which is reprinted in another column, there appeared the following letter dealing with the report of a sermon preached in this city on a recent Sunday:—

EDITOR POST: I read with much interest the report of the sermon by Rev. Randolph H. McKim, in which he suggests as a remedy for the moral decadence of the nation the teaching of the ten commandments in the public schools. It is refreshing, indeed, in this age of

lawless teaching, when many from the pulpits are teaching that the decalogue has been either abolished or changed, to hear so venerable and influential a clergyman as Dr. McKim exalt the downtrodden law of God so highly. Evidently the learned rector of the Church of the Epiphany believes that the ten commandments are still binding, and constitute the very essence of morality, and should be taught to the children from infancy. The Lord anciently enjoined this responsibility upon all parents. See Deut. 6:7-9.

But suppose this suggestion is carried into effect. What about the fourth commandment? This says very plainly that “the seventh day is the Sabbath.” Dr. McKim says this should be taught the children in the schools. Shall it be taught as God gave it, or as the church practises it? The seventh day is not Sunday. There is no law in the Bible that says anything about keeping Sunday. Shall the children be taught during the week a law which says, “The seventh day is the Sabbath,” and on Sunday be taught in the churches to disregard the very day this law commands, and keep instead a pagan holiday, nowhere commanded in the Scripture? Would it not help the youth to a higher regard for the decalogue, for the church of the living God to keep this precept with the other nine? How can the youth be taught to highly regard this moral code when every week the church as a body disregards one of its plainest precepts?

It seems that the position of Dr. McKim concerning the perpetuity and unchangeable character of the law is the same as that of the Seventh-day Adventists. They teach that the ten commandments are binding, and should be taught to the children as well as to those who are older, and then put their teaching into practise by observing the day enjoined in the law—the seventh day. The rector of the Church of the Epiphany teaches that this law is also binding, and should be taught the youth. The difference between the doctor and the Adventists seems to be in practise rather than in teaching.

G. B. THOMPSON.

The very next day the Post had an editorial with the heading “Sunday Observance in England,” in which it commented upon a crusade against the non-observance of Sunday which has been begun in England. It set forth the alleged causes for this crusade as follows:—

It is asserted that the rich and idle, who might well be content with six days in which to enjoy themselves to the utmost, are turning Sunday into a day of pleasure, with automobile excursions, boating parties, formal dinners, card parties, and concerts. Sunday has been secularized to such a degree that servants, railway men, and, in fact, nearly all classes of laboring men, no longer secure a day of rest. Customs, too, have changed with the swirl and whirl of society. In the olden days a person who indulged in any form of amusement on Sunday was socially ostracized by all “respectable people;” but since it has become fashionable to play golf on Sunday, to say nothing of other forms of recreation, the Puritan spirit is less dominant, and much is condoned which was formerly condemned. It is this condition of things which has led the clergy into a common movement for the salvation of Sunday.

The attitude of the people of this country toward Sunday is thus stated:—

Except in a few communities, the strait-laced Sunday has disappeared. People are regarding the day with broader spirit. If a man who has labored all the week indulges in recreation on Sunday, no one threatens him with eternal damnation; and if he listens to good music in the evening, he is not at once placed in the category of those who are totally degenerate. Even Christian people, who are careful to walk in the narrow path, and who believe in following religious precept, are more tolerant to-day regarding Sunday observance than ever before, and many of them indulge in harmless pastimes without a qualm of conscience.

The Post has this to say concerning the enactment of Sunday laws:—

No one has been harmed by the slight concessions which have been made to those who find in Sunday the one day free for recreation. On the contrary, it is safe to say that any attempt to compel people to live according to the old “blue laws” would work incalculable injury. A Sunday statute, framed along the lines suggested by some well-meaning but bigoted reformers, would simply invite violation. It could not be effective because human nature is not to be changed by legislation. Above all things, it would be unwise, because unnecessary.

As the claims of the law of God are urged upon the people with greater clearness and power in the teaching of the third angel's message, the spirit of opposition will be more determined, and the prophecies relating to the beast and his image will be fulfilled. It is evident, however, that there still remains enough of the right sentiment to be effective in holding in check these elements until the work of God is accomplished. The little time that remains should be employed to the best possible advantage in presenting to the people God's message to this generation, and in gathering out of every nation a people prepared to meet the Lord. Let every proper means be used to bring the present truth before the people.