AGGRESSIVE ADVENTISM by Editor

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Apr 15, 1889

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 15, No. 15.

"AGGRESSIVE ADVENTISM."

By Editor

THE above is the heading of an article in the Western Christian Union of March 22, a paper edited and published by the Rev. G. W. Bothwell, D. D., pastor of the Second Congregationalist Church, Oakland. We give the article entire, that the readers of the Signs of the Times may see what "Aggressive Adventism" is defined to be, and how it is to be dealt with. The Sentinel referred to is the American Sentinel:—

"Our neighbor, the Sentinel, has worked itself into a feverish state of excitement lest the Blair Sunday-Rest bill may become a law. If this bill should become a law it will be the formulated sentiments of nine-tenths of all of the evangelical churches of the country. It will be indorsed by the faculties of all of the leading colleges and universities in the land. Intelligent Christian sentiment throughout the world, ever in sympathy with every step toward conformity with the oracles of God, will cordially approve all the main features of this bill.

"Against these majorities, constituted as they are, why are our Adventist friends continuously protesting? We are weary of Ishmaelitism in theology and upon questions of public morals. The methods employed in securing many of the 31,000 names of alleged citizens of California, recently presented in Congress, were not creditable to any people calling themselves religious. We refer to their practice of button-holing unsuspecting citizens in the railroad waiting-rooms and on the street corners—not a few of whom were wholly unfamiliar with the question, and of inducing them to sign a narrow sectarian protest under the specious plea that the Constitution of the United States was threatened. We had entertained a high opinion of this people until we were forced to observe how they secured signatures to their recent petition. We will charitably suppose that the Sentinel did not know the methods resorted to by some of their over-zealous canvassers, but that does not affect the fact that they have placed the leaders of the church in very bad company. Every infidel, every dram seller—all desecrators of holy day—will applaud them for what they have tried to do, for reasons too obvious and too ignoble for mention.

"This continuous discussion of the Constitution—this hiding behind it—is one of the most transparent guises we have ever known a professedly religious people to resort to in order to gain other ends.

"The treatment, or the disrespect, shown the framers of the Sunday-Rest bill, recently presented in Sacramento, affords a large class of lawless and immoral people an opportunity for gloating over the defeat of a bill urged and petitioned for by a great majority of the best people in California.

"Again, the Sentinel, by its rejoicing, is in bad company. We have no desire to persecute our neighbor, but we think it should look a little more closely after the injudicious people who support it and advocate its interests. It should read them some lectures upon their peculiar methods of proselytism, and then, perhaps, if it did not find favor in the sight of all of the people, it would, at least, have the respect of a worthy conservative class who heartily second every effort to secure fair play.

"Most of the States make provision for the exercise of the peculiar tenets of belief which are entertained by the Adventists. They can worship on Saturday and call it the Sabbath if they choose, but there let their privileges end. Instead of thankfully making use of concessions granted them, and then going off quietly and attending to their own business, as they ought, they start out making unholy alliances that they may defeat the purpose of their benefactors. None of these bills are aimed at them, but if they fail to appreciate the fact they may yet call down upon themselves such a measure of public disfavor as that legislation embarrassing to them may result."

Although the American Sentinel is the paper specially referred to, inasmuch as the article deals with Adventists, and is directed against Adventists, we will notice its various points in order. In the first place we will say for the Sentinel, that it has not worked itself into a feverish state of anxiety lest the Blair Sunday-Rest bill may become a law. It certainly cannot, but another similar one may; and from the lordly tone of those who are working for such a law, we think a little anxiety becomes those who love liberty. The statement that such a law would be "the formulated sentiments of nine-tenths of all the churches of the country," shows that there is danger ahead, for, as Hon. Richard M. Johnson well said: "Extensive religious combinations to effect a political object" are "always dangerous." "Among all the religious persecutions with which almost every page of modern history is stained, no victim ever suffered but for the violation of what government denominated the law of God.

As to the method employed in securing the signatures to the petition asking Congress not to pass any Sunday law; the canvassers went in person to the persons whose names appear; those persons were invariably adults, capable of judging for themselves; and they always signed the petition with their own hand. Besides, special pains was taken to let everyone know just what the petition called for. Why, then, do the Sunday-law workers cry fraud? Simply to turn the attention of people away from their own course in securing indorsement to a Sunday-law petition which was marked by fraud at every step. Following are a few of the crooked steps taken:—

1. Instead of obtaining individual signatures, they counted the indorsement of the petition by the vote of a few representative men, as the indorsement of an entire denomination or society.

2. Although the petition specified that each petitioner should be "21 years of age or more," they counted in whole churches, children and all, and in some instances obtained the indorsement of Sunday-schools.

3. Persons that had been counted once in the membership of their local church, were counted again with the membership of the entire denomination, and sometimes still again with some other society; so that some persons were counted no less than six times, as favoring the bill.

4. A letter from Cardinal Gibbons, expressing his own personal approval of the measure, was counted as the indorsement of 7,200,000 Catholics, each one of whom was there certified to be "21 years of age or more."

In view of these things, it is no wonder that they wish to divert attention from themselves. But a more manly, not to say Christian, way would be to acknowledge the fraud, and bring forth works meet for repentance.

Now as to the final paragraph. We doubt if many of our readers have read any recent utterance that savored more of Russian despotism or the Inquisition than it does. Notice that Mr. Bothwell does not say that Adventists should be content with the privilege of being exempt from the penalties of a Sunday law. No; he does not contemplate anything of the kind; but he thinks that they ought to be very grateful to their "benefactors," the Sunday people, for allowing them to rest on Saturday. He thinks that they ought to be so grateful that they would not say a word by way of exhortation and warning to those whom they regard as in danger because of disregarding God's law. And he intimates that if they do not show a proper sense of gratitude to those who permit them to live in this land of the free, and to worship God as he has commanded them, even this privilege will be taken away. In other words, he plainly intimates that if Seventh-day Adventists do not stop telling the people the truth about the Sabbath and the Sunday, they will soon be deprived of the privilege, not only of preaching the word, but of keeping the Sabbath.

That the Sunday-law movement will yet develop into this, is becoming quite evident. In Arkansas an effort has been made to repeal the amendment that was made to the Sunday law in 1887, exempting observers of the seventh day from the penalties of the law. Previous to that they had been greatly persecuted, and that amendment gave them as individuals equal rights with others. But now it is proposed to take this away. The framer of the bill acknowledges that it may drive the Seventh-day people from the State; but he says that they are too "aggressive," and his people are getting tired. That is, they are preaching what they conscientiously believe to be truth, and the people don't want to hear it. Well, if the movement is successful, it will not be the first time that "the church" has made use of the civil power to put an end to "heresy" which it could not silence by Bible arguments. The end is not yet, but the signs of the times indicate that it cannot be far off. W.