p. 21 | Inquisitors at Work in Canada by W. A. C.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Tacoma Park Station, Washington, D.C. · Aug 8, 1907

Inquisitors at Work in Canada

By W. A. C.

Under date of July 25, Mrs. Luella B. Priddy, of Markham, Ontario, writes as follows concerning what is going on in Canada under the recently passed “Lord's day act:” —

“The machinery for the work of persecution is getting well perfected. Recently our nearest neighbor told Mr. Priddy that his minister had been distributing blanks among his members. He (the minister) did not say who sent them out, but said: ‘You just fill them out, put in the names of the people who work on Sunday, and send it on, and they say they will do the rest.’”

“You can understand what that means. They evidently do not intend waiting the slow movement of the people to enforce the law, but the authors of the blanks will take the matter in their own hands.”

“During the three years we have lived at this place, we have repeatedly heard of threats to have Mr. Priddy arrested, and we hear lately that people are going to watch us to get evidence against us.”

This shows the inquisitorial nature of the spirit that is behind the movement for Sunday enforcement. The chief promoters of this movement are church leaders, and they are educating the church people to be inquisitors, to watch and spy upon their neighbors, and to assist in the work of enforcing upon the people this spurious sabbath, and see that all—particularly observers of the seventh day—who do not keep Sunday, are haled before the courts and visited with summary and condign punishment.

Thus religion was enforced and persecution was carried on under the Inquisition in Europe during the Dark Ages. But this is not Christianity. Christ did not keep Sunday, neither does his life afford a single instance or furnish the remotest warrant for prosecuting people under civil law for not complying with one's views of religion. Paul did this before he was converted, but never afterward. It certainly can be none other than a spurious Christianity that teaches people to keep as the Sabbath a day which God nowhere in his Word commands them to keep as such, and then prosecutes them under pains and penalties of civil law if they do not keep it.

It was the persecutors of Christ who “watched him,” accused him of “perverting the nation,” and sought occasion to bring him before the courts and have him condemned to death.

Let all the people be warned and enlightened upon this great issue, that they may know on which side of this Sunday-enforcement movement to take their stand. One side leads to the keeping of the true Sabbath and liberty, the other to the compulsory observance of a false sabbath and bondage.

W. A. C.