Sunday Laws and Religious Liberty
By Editor
We oppose Sunday laws because we do not believe in religious legislation. We are told that in this we stand with the most objectionable classes in the community, with saloon-keepers, gamblers, racing-men, etc., because they oppose Sunday laws. So let it be. We would rather stand on a right principle with the blackest saloon-keeper in this nation than to stand on a wrong principle with the greatest saint. For it is principles which make men, and there is more hope for the saloon-keeper who truly stands for the principles of liberty than for the saint who steadfastly holds to the principles of tyranny. In fact, the best and most zealously disposed man, if led by wrong principles, becomes the greatest persecutor. In the words of Jesus: "Whosoever killeth you [His disciples] will think that he doeth God service." He will do this because he does not know either God or Christ. See John 16:1-3. That is, he does not know the principles of power, liberty, love, and righteousness there is in God thru Christ Jesus. If Christians would pause to consider, they would not ask for a Sunday law, nor a law to enforce morality. Granting that Sunday observance is right, they have no right to demand that their opinions shall be respected by the other man more than the other man has the right to demand that they shall respect his opinion and choice. He is much more likely to respect us if we do not compel him, than he would be if compelled. The Golden Rule demands that we give the other man the same right to choose we ask for ourselves. Furthermore, we can not enforce morality, strive as we may. We may make a man act outwardly as tho he were pious, but no law can change the heart, and morality is a matter of heart and conscience and motive and not of fact. The purpose of civil law is to suppress incivility; to prevent the ill-disposed trespassing on the equal rights of others; to protect one in his rights, respecting property, chastity, reputation, life, and worship, providing he does not encroach upon the equal rights of his fellows. This leaves the devotees of all religions free, with no standing as such in the law, with equal rights before the law. Who could ask more? Who would desire a religion which could not live without the support of the civil arm? Russian Elections.—The available returns of to-day's balloting in the final elections of members to Parliament, according to a St. Petersburg despatch of February 19, indicate a decisive victory of the Opposition over the Government forces, coupled with the overmastering of the Constitutional Democrats by the more radical parties, such as the Group of Toil, the Social Democrats, and the Social Revolutionists. The prediction that the second Parliament of Russia would be more irreconcilably opposed to bureaucracy than the first is thus being fulfilled. Our next "Sabbath-School Quarterly" is now ready, and all orders will be filled promptly. Send early, that you may receive it before the next quarter begins. The subjects treated are "Bible Election" and "Spiritual Gifts." Price, five cents per copy. Change of Capital.—A bill has been presented before the California Legislature, the purpose of which is to submit to the people of the State the question of changing the capital of the State from Sacramento to Berkeley. Berkeley's claims are her geographical position, her superior transportation facilities, and economy to the State. And certainly these are strong points for the university town. Missouri.—A concurrent resolution is before the Missouri legislature to fix the pronunciation of the name of that State. As received from the Indians it should be in three syllables, accented on the second; short "i" in the first syllable; the sound of "ou" in the second as "oo" in moon; short "i" in the last syllable, and soft "s" in both cases instead of "z," Mis sou ri. [The following poem, written by H. W. Longfellow, a half century or more ago, is suggestive of this day of strenuosity and trust oppression.] BEWARE! The Israelite of old, who tore
The lion in his path,—when poor and blind,
He saw the blessed light of heaven no more,
Shorn of his noble strength and forced to grind
In prison, and at last led forth to be
A pander to Philistine revelry.
Upon the pillars of the temple laid
His desperate hands, and in its overthrow
Destroyed himself, and with him those who made
A cruel mockery of his sightless wo;
The poor, blind slave, the scoff and jest of all,
Expired, and thousands perished in the fall!
There is a poor, blind Samson in this land,
Shorn of his strength, and bound in bonds of steel,
Who may in some grim revel, raise his hand
And shake the pillars of this commonweal,
Till the vast temple of our liberties
A shapeless mass of wreck and rubbish lies! Hard Times Ahead.—A railway man, A. B. Stickney, president of the Chicago and Great Western Railroad Company, declares that there are "hard times ahead if the Legislatures of the various States do not stop 'tinkering' with things which are not fit subjects for legislation. The present 'railroad baiting' is bound to lead to disaster to the country at large if it be not checked. The trouble will come in perhaps three, perhaps four, perhaps five years." But the colossal railway combinations are inviting just such legislation. It will be a marvel if hard times do not come sooner than that. The characteristics of a perfect man are faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, charity. "But he that lacketh these things is blind, and can not see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins." It is necessary, first of all, to have faith, in order that the other graces may be properly cultivated. Faith is what unites us to Christ, and He has told us that without Him we can do nothing. In a storm in the English Channel, February 21, the steamer Berlin was wrecked on entering port at Hook-of-Holland. Stranded and helpless, the waves completely demolished the vessel, and all but ten or twelve of the 143 on board were lost. A despatch dated February 20 tells of attacks by Russians on Jews at Odessa. Jewish shops were entered, plundered, and demolished, and many were killed, the police making no effort to suppress the disorder. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.—United States Constitution. Christian Country.—Much is said, especially among advocates of religious legislation, about this being a Christian country, that the world is growing better, right in the face of the most stupendous systems of sin and fraud the world has ever known. A leading daily calls it "an era of fraud," and mentions many large companies and names of men of international repute as among the guilty ones. It declares what everybody knows, that "fraud and oppression by capital and to the injury of the public have run riot in the United States for the last quarter of a century. Long impunity has induced not only boldness, but actual recklessness, in the commission of what may be called the crimes of monopoly." Of course this daily thinks that the strong hand of the law will improve things. The result will be as it has been before; it will not cure the evil; it will make necessary the change of the form of the crime. This will effect little, save diminishing it temporarily. Noah's Ark.—We are told by the Jewish Ledger that the editor of Siren and Shipper has taken careful note of the measurements given of the ark in Genesis, and tells us that the "general dimensions of the ark have been closely followed by cargo steamships built for deep-sea and the American Great Lakes service." The ark was 480 feet long, 80 feet wide, 48 feet deep, with tonnage of 11,413. He tells us further, "She had plenty of room for pairs of all the distinct species of animals that were classified by Buffon," and "could have accommodated a thousand persons, and then have plenty of room for the storage of supplies." In the seventeenth century, Peter Jensen, a Hollander, built a boat in the exact proportions of the ark, which was, as the records show, a profitable venture for the owners. "Thou hast magnified Thy word above all Thy name," the psalmist sings to his God. It is the "word" which is emphasized throughout the Scriptures. At the close of the wonderful Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declares: "Every one therefore that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man, who built his house upon the rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon the rock." Not what we think or conclude, or what others decide to be right, is to be our criterion or the standard of our faith, but what God says. Those who build upon God's sure word are established. To the Hills, or to God?—How many times do men quote the psalm as tho it were a real comfort, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help." Ps. 121:1. But this is what the heathen did, looked to the hills and their high places. Ps. 123:1 reads, "Unto Thee do I lift up mine eyes." How much better it is to read Ps. 121:1 as a question: "Shall I lift up mine eyes to the hills? From whence shall my help come? My help cometh from Jehovah, who made heaven and earth." Beyond all the high places of men, let us look unto the Lord our God. See the margin. "Ask, and ye shall receive" is the assurance of our Lord. True, He knows our needs before we tell Him, but unless we truly appreciate them, we will never rightly ask. If we do not feel our own need, we will not appreciate His favors. How many there are who constantly reveal this in the ordinary every-day gifts of God. If we will not appreciate physical blessings, how can He bestow upon us His spiritual blessings. Regarding Mr. Henton's advertisement in another column, we wish to say that he is thoroly reliable, and may be depended upon. No. 3 of the True Education Readers is now ready; price, 90 cents, post-paid. Address, Pacific Press, Mountain View, Cal.