Discussion at Vacaville.
By W. M. Healey
The discussion announced for the 26th opened at 10 o'clock A. M., we affirming the following proposition:— "That the Sabbath of the fourth commandment is binding upon man, and not the first day of the week which we find Christians generally observing as a day of rest." We showed that the decalogue was given by God as a guide, and is the only test of moral character, and its principles are binding everywhere that God has intelligent creatures. That it represents God's will, and is a transcript of his character, and every one of its precepts grow out of God's inherent attributes. That the fourth commandment is the only one that points out the true God, by showing that he is the one that created the heavens and the earth; and therefore had a right to command us to have "no other gods" or "worship images." He being our creator it is our duty to acknowledge it, which is done by keeping the fourth commandment. Having an hour's speech in the opening, we spent the time in thus showing the morality of all the ten commandments, their universal application and eternal duration. Mr. Johnson followed, claiming the ten commandments to be a part of the old covenant, and that, with it, were all abolished, reading from Gal. 3, and Col. 2, to show that the law was abolished at the cross. On the second day we showed that the ten commandments were a covenant commanded but not a covenant made; that the old covenant was made concerning the ten commandments, and was an agreement on the part of the people to do them. Ex. 19, 20, and 24. That the old covenant was ratified before God wrote the ten commandments. Ex. 24. We also showed that the law done away was the ceremonial, which pointed forward to the cross, being simply a law regulating the typical system, which was a shadow of good things to come and the body (casting the shadow) was of Christ. We managed upon the first day of the debate to draw out about all the argument that our opponent had to present from the Bible, and as we did not press him very hard upon any point he was perfectly reckless in his statements. The following is a sample of the statements he made: "The ten commandments were all given over in the New Testament except the fourth one. Tell us why that was left out?" We asked him where we could find them given. He said in Christ's sermon on the mount. Matt. 5. Of course we showed that they were not half there, and besides this was a sermon preached three years and a half before the crucifixion, and while they all admitted the old law to be binding. We then urged him to give us a commandment in the New Testament against image worship. We urged him upon this and many other equally presumptuous positions, and soon drove him from the Bible, when to fill up his time, he began to read from history to show that we ought to keep the first day of the week, making quotations from the "Epistle of Barnabas," and others, and misquoting other authors. We charged him with bringing forgeries for history, which he did not dare deny. Our opponent had indulged in slang and sarcasm which all reacted upon himself. We claimed three days upon this proposition, but Johnson said at the end of the second day he would not go on another day. I told him and his friends that if they had got enough they could back down, and putting it to vote nearly all his members voted to stop. There were many good points that were made against them which we have not time to notice in this report. Our people here are all well pleased with the result thus far, which cannot be said of the other side. God is giving us a victory. The Disciples claim that they have put forward the best man they have on this coast. There has been some fifteen ministers of different denominations in attendance, and from three to four hundred persons, many of whom are convinced that we have the truth. December 30, 1877.
W. M. HEALEY.