Sunday in History by J. O. Corliss

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · May 6, 1913

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 40, No. 18.

Sunday in History

By J. O. Corliss

By J. O. Corliss

The controversy of ages over the authority for Sunday observance has, of late years, become one of wide-spread interest, and even of significance. All parties engaged in the discussion have delved, more or less, in history for confirmation of their positions, yet without settling upon a common ground of agreement.

It is, however, a matter of common knowledge that, from earth’s remotest history, the seventh day of the week was set apart by Jehovah to be observed as a Sabbath. It is also well understood that when the Hebrew people were rescued from Egyptian bondage, and brought into camp at the base of Sinai, there God spoke audibly to them, commanding the observance of the seventh day. This was to be in commemoration of the seventh-day rest Jehovah observed, immediately following the six days employed in creating and organizing the world’s forces. Ex. 20: 8-11; Gen. 2: 1-3.

Tracings of later sacred history clearly reveal-that God’s chosen people steadily adhered, at least in theory, to the observance of that particular day, whether quietly located in Palestine, or held captives in Babylon, or in their later wanderings over the world. So tenacious, indeed, have been that people regarding the Sabbath, under all circumstances, that the day of their rest has been ignominiously termed the “Jewish Sabbath.”

Christ, who came from heaven to earth, to unite in Himself all mankind, of whatever nationality, in the true service and worship of God, first appeared among the Jews, as the child of a devoted Jewish mother. He regularly observed the same day which the Jews esteemed heaven-born. Luke 4:16. His followers who became founders of the Christian church continued the Master’s practise, sacredly observing the seventh day even when the anointing of Christ’s body after His crucifixion was on hand, which might have seemed a highly commendable act for a Sabbath day service. Luke 23: 54-56.

The question then properly comes forward: Admitting as a fact that the divine Master and His disciples founded the church to be the “pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15), and while they carefully, even sacredly observed the seventh-day rest, by what method, or through what process, was the first day, or Sunday, substituted for the God-given seventh day in the Christian church?

To answer this question fairly it will be necessary again to follow the trail of history. By this course alone may be discovered the origin of Sunday observance, and the object of its introduction as a weekly period of public worship. A general yet thoroly reliable statement as to its origin may be found in Webster’s “International Dictionary” as follows: “Sunday — so called because this day was anciently dedicated to the sun, or to its worship.”

The Universality of Sun-Worship

Worship of somebody or something has ever marked the trend of native mind. In all ages, sun-worship has been the prominent display of superstition, and has engaged the attention of nearly every race of earth’s inhabitants. The probable reason for this indigenous tendency is that men’s first conception of power was confined to the effect of the sun’s rays upon vegetation. So by permitting outward observation to overrule any faint throb of possible trust in an unseen Sovereign, the sun was adored as the great benefactor of mankind.

Even the Israelitish nation, notwithstanding its marvelous experience in God’s providential dealings with them, and their tenacity for the Sabbath, fell, to some extent, under the influence of this irrational worship. Whether this was because of their proximity to Egypt, Aram, Syria, and Phenicia, all of which were sun-worshiping nations, or whether it was the result of innate human tendencies, one may not too confidently affirm. But at all events, the Scriptures reveal that whenever they apostatized from their heaven-born faith in a beneficent Creator, they invariably turned to sun-worship, and the service of Baal, a common heathen deity.

This is directly verified by reference to 2 Kings 21: 3; 23: 5, 11; and other scriptures. This was not simply the proneness of common people, but was partially, at least, the result of priestly example; for in one certain prophetic vision, there were seen twenty-five priests who, while supposed to be engaged in regular sanctuary work, had their backs turned to the temple, as they looked eastward in their worship of the sun. In this sacrilegious act, these same men were said to “put the branch to their nose” (Eze. 8: 16, 17), supposedly as symbolic of their faith in the productive power of the sun.

True faith in the direct energy of Jehovah was, however, revived in the presence of the Lord Jesus, who did creative acts in healing the sick, recovering men’s sight, and in raising the dead. Such demonstrations of power were inducements to center the mind on a great first cause, above and beyond every physical object. But in time, as worldly policies were permitted to temper church administration, faith in heavenly power waned accordingly, and soon sun-worship, in modified form, entered the Christian church.

How It Entered

Mosheim, in his church history, hints at the way this was gradually grafted upon the Christian faith. In substance, he says that the slow growth of the church for a time, induced its leaders to modify requirements admitting members to its communion; and as a consequence, leading Romans who were not fully recovered from their early practise of sun-worship, were received freely into church fellowship. These finally influenced the rank and file of the church body to accept, as an added day of worship to the Sabbath, the day formerly devoted by these Romans to sun-worship.

This directing agency, coming as it did in the fourth century, shortly after the famous decree issued by the emperor Constantine, carried great weight in determining the final result upon the church regarding this question. The decree referred to here was put in circulation A.D. 321, and was as follows:

“Let all the judges and town people, and the occupation of all trades, rest on the venerable day of the sun; but let those who are situated in the country, freely and at full liberty attend to the business of agriculture; because it often happens that no other day is so fit for sowing corn and planting vines; lest, the critical moment being let slip, men should lose the commodities granted by heaven.”

It will be observed that this decree did not forbid the observance of the seventh day, but simply confirmed, by civil edict, the “venerable day of the sun,” in the minds of the masses, and lifted that day to the level of the Lord’s Sabbath. Seeing, however, that the Sabbath continued to be observed by conscientious church-members, the council of Laodicea, held in A.D. 364, decreed that “members of the church should not rest from work on the Sabbath like Jews, but should labor on that day, and preferring in honor the Lord’s day, then if it be in their power should rest from work as Christians.” (“Sermons on the Sacraments and Sabbath,” page 123.)

Thus by human decree, Sunday came to be called “Lord’s day;” and to guard it as a sacred period, the following edict was issued by the emperor Leo in A.D. 469:

“The Lord’s day we decree to be a venerable day, and therefore free it of all citations, executions, pleadings, and the like avocations. Let not the circus or theater be opened, nor combating with wild beasts be seen on it. . . . If any will presume to offend in the premises, if he be a military man, let him lose his commission; or if other, let his estate or goods be confiscated.”

Then, as tho he would correct that part of Constantine’s law which permitted agriculture on Sunday, the emperor added:

“We command therefore all, as well husbandmen as others, to forbear work on this day of our restoration.” (“Dialogues on the Lord’s Day,” pages 259, 260.)

Thus by church and civil decrees, the people of the early ages were forced to accept Sunday as their day of rest, in the place of the Lord’s Sabbath. This state of things should, however, have been corrected when, under the Reformation, the Protestants of the sixteenth century separated from

the Roman communion. But in this they failed, and so the “venerable day of the sun” was brought over from paganism and papal sources to be planted in the Protestant creed, as a fundamental of church fellowship. No other valid reason can be given for its adoption, since the Bible nowhere lays any foundation for such a course.