By K. C. Russell, Secretary International Religious Liberty Association
IN THE CHAIN-GANG IN DAYTON, TENNESSEE, 1895
"By their fruits ye shall know them." This language primarily defines the infallible test of character. It will apply with equal force to the character of organizations, religious, legislative, and otherwise. We judge of the character of any movement by its effect for good or evil upon the people. In view of the prominence that is given to the question of Sunday legislation in California and other States, it would seem to be a very proper thing to inquire as to the character of the fruit or results that are borne.
Among the many evils which are the direct result of Sunday laws are the following:
They are in direct opposition to the law of God, enforcing upon people a rival to the Sabbath which was made by Jehovah at the close of creation week, and which is embodied in the bosom of the moral law and observed by Christ and His disciples.
Making Criminals and Hypocrites
Sunday laws result in making a class of citizens criminals for doing on Sunday acts which on other days of the week are considered noble and praiseworthy; for instance, the farmer who tills the soil, the mechanic, and those engaged in other noble and dignified pursuits, are regarded guilty of a heinous crime in pursuing their industries on Sundays.
Another result of enforcing Sunday laws is the making of hypocrites; for many are compelled to observe Sunday laws outwardly, who are not Christians, and have no spirit nor heart in any religious requirements. Of such a class, Christ says, "Wo unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess." Matt. 23:25.
Spies and Prosecutors
Sunday laws result in transforming citizens into a class of spies by their effort to detect their neighbor who may be discovered violating the Sunday prohibition.
Such laws result in a flagrant violation of the Golden Rule, which says, "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets."
Disastrous to Church and State
History, both ancient and modern, unmistakably shows that the result of such laws has been disastrous to the best interest of both the church and the State. This is demonstrated by the fact that in the nations where they have had the greatest number of and the severest Sunday laws, there followed the greatest example of national disintegration and ruin.
As illustrative of the fruits of Sunday laws in our colonial history, enabling the reader to see the spirit which has prompted those who have been responsible for their existence and enforcement, we refer to the first Sunday law ever enacted in the United States,—that of Virginia, 1610, reaching the very limit of severity. It provided:
"Every man shall repair in the morning to the divine service and sermons preached on the sabbath day, and in the afternoon to divine service and catechizing, upon pain for the first fault to lose their provisions and allowance for the whole week following; for the second, to lose the said allowance and also to be whipped; and for the third, to suffer death."
More Modern Examples
Some may say that society has outgrown such drastic laws, and that there is no danger of such legislation's being enforced at present upon American soil. The facts, however, of more recent history demonstrate that the same evil spirit that prompted the enactment of these laws still lurks in many of the States of the Union. Within the last quarter of a century, under the revival of Sunday laws, over one hundred conscientious, God-fearing Christians in the United States, besides some thirty in foreign countries, were prosecuted for doing quiet, inoffensive work on Sunday, resulting in fines and costs amounting to $2,269.69, and imprisonment totaling 1,438 days, and 455 days' service in the chain-gang. In at least fifteen States prosecutions of this kind have taken place.
Among the number of those referred to as having been persecuted for a violation of the Sunday law, was a consecrated Christian man in a Southern State. He was a farmer by occupation, and the particular offense was that of pursuing his ordinary calling on Sunday, the first day of the week. The work he performed was done in a quiet and inoffensive manner. For this so-called offense he was tried, convicted, and fined. But rather than tacitly to acknowledge his guilt by paying his fine, he submitted to going to prison and the chain-gang. While confined in a loathsome prison cell, he contracted a disease which terminated in his death.
The reader should not forget that every State which enacts a Sunday law makes such results possible.
Criminals for Religious Differences
From these more recent examples showing the terrible fruits of Sunday legislation, it ought to be clear to every liberty-loving and patriotic citizen of this country that such legislation is dangerous in the extreme. It must seem incredible that in this enlightened age, God-fearing Christian men and women would be haled before the courts, tried, fined, and persecuted, not because of any offense against the peace of society, but because their ideas differ from those of the majority as to the day that should be regarded as the Sabbath.
The strong effort which is now being made in the State of California for a Sunday law is only a part of a program that is being carried out by a certain class of religio-political reformers in other States throughout the Union. It may be surprising to the reader to learn that within the past quarter of a century no less than seventy religious measures have been introduced into the national legislature, fifty-five of which have been Sunday11bills, thirty-nine for the District of Columbia.
To the praise of Congress, she has not yet yielded to the demand for a Sunday law. In refusing this demand, she is maintaining the noble principle of a total separation between the church and the State, which was incorporated into the Constitution by the father of our country.
