The Official Organ of the Religious Liberty Bureau
By Editor
The Official Organ of the Religious Liberty Bureau
This is a new 32-page quarterly magazine of religious freedom, devoted to the promulgation of the fundamental principles of the rights of the people. The July number of Liberty is a young people’s issue, designated as a Christian Endeavor number, prepared especially to bring before the young people the principles involved in religious legislation, and to emphasize the importance and sacredness of religious liberty in the promotion of the affairs of the state and in the accomplishment of the work of the church. It gives a survey of the present progress of the popular movement to form a union of government and religion in Argentina, Germany, England, Canada, and the United States. It clearly sets forth its position on civil and religious liberty, based upon the command of Christ, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.” It commends all legitimate “Christian endeavor,” but condemns the doing of unchristian things in the name of “Christian Endeavor.” It magnifies true Christian citizenship, but exposes the work and purposes of the movement operating under that name for the regeneration of society through the civil law. It honors our flag, but it reveals the inconsistency of an outward reverence of the emblem itself, while violating the very principles for which it stands. It republishes that portion of Patrick Henry’s inspiring and immortal speech at the time of signing the Declaration of Independence, and gives the thrilling story of his defense of three Baptist ministers who had been arrested for preaching “the gospel of the Son of God” in old Episcopal Virginia of 1768. The principles set forth in these words of one of the founders of our country will be profitable for the reflection of the youth to-day. It defines patriotism as not being merely in love with one’s physical country, but deep devotion to the principles for which it stands. It gives a brief, yet concise history of religious liberty through the Christian era, tracing the marked changes from the time of Julius Cæsar down to the founding of the government of the United States. It locates the first Sunday law, and settles its unfortunate parentage among the pagans and idolaters, who made and enforced it in the interests of a union of heathenism and Christianity, and draws a logical conclusion. It reveals the spirit of some of the influential advocates of enforced Sabbath observance in the proposition for boycotting those who refuse to close their places of business on Sunday. It explodes the foundation claim of the leaders of Sunday enforcement, “that it is in the interest of the preservation of society, the state, and the nation,” by citing history which has been acted on a world-theater and demonstrates the fallacy of the claim in actual practise. It quotes some of the teachings of National Reformers, and interprets them in plain English. It reveals Christ as a Sabbath-keeper, and proves from the testimonies of eminent men and the Bible that Sunday was not the day he kept, and draws the Scriptural conclusion that his followers will be like him—Sabbath-keepers. It contrasts the spirit of the gospel with the present proposed method to force obedience to man’s conceptions of religious duties. It compares the kingdom of Christ with the kingdoms of earth, and draws convincing conclusions that it is impossible to make Christ this world’s king. It traces the old superstition of “the divine right of kings,” revived in the form of the divine right of majorities in legislative assemblies at the present time. It maintains that all religious laws enacted by any state are the product of a false conception of the purpose of government and the mission of the church. It records a long list of statements from eminent men, bearing directly upon the great principles of religious liberty. Besides all this, and more, it sets forth the principles of Christian temperance as a proper and legitimate moral reform. The contents of the July number merit a wide circulation. We now have five hundred agents selling Liberty, but we need five hundred more to join these in selling this special Christian Endeavor number in all parts of the United States. The best class of people appreciate Liberty. They recognize the value of the principles it is defending, and readily give the magazine their approval. Our workers are saying, “We never saw papers sell so easy.” Liberty.—Annual subscription price, 25 cents; 40 per cent discount when ten or more subscriptions are sent in at one time, accompanied by the cash; one to ten copies, any one number, 5 cents a copy; ten to twenty-five copies, 3 cents a copy; twenty-five or more copies to one address, 2½ cents a copy. Life and Health or Liberty may be ordered through any State tract society, publishing house, or from the Review and Herald Publishing Assn., Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C.