Blue Laws & Hypocrites by Hampton W. Cottrell

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, Cal. · Oct 17, 1916

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 43, No. 41.

Blue Laws & Hypocrites

By Hampton W. Cottrell

What Would It Profit the Church if She Could Compel Every Man to Attend Church on Sunday?

By Hampton W. Cottrell

HOWEVER frequently it may be denied, the fact remains that Sunday legislation is religious legislation; and as such, it is in the interest of the "salvation of the day," of its supposedly sacred character, and not in the interest of overworked employees of mines, logging camps, factories, railroad construction camps, et cetera, as is so frequently contended by its advocates when they appear in the daily press in favor of such legislation and compulsory Sunday closing.

The enforcement in Oregon, at the present time, of the 1854 territorial Sunday blue law, as finally amended December 18, 1865, is the outgrowth of the spirit of religious bigotry that dominated the prevailing religious sect during the medieval ages. Some men now have a theoretical knowledge of God, as did some then; but these now do not understand, as those then did not, that the only source of influence to make sinners Christians is the power of God's grace in the heart of the offender, at the personal choice of the individual. "Whosoever will" may come.

The apostle Paul, prior to his conversion, believed in compulsory religion; but after his grace-wrought change, he said, "The love of Christ constraineth us" to "persuade men," rather than to compel by civil law, as now obtains under the Oregon Sunday blue law.

Respectable Business Men Arrested

LAST fall, in the city of Portland, and in several other cities and localities in Oregon, various business men were arrested, and dragged before the courts, because they were not acting on Sunday as a few other men thought they should act on that day.

Through the judicial skill of Judge Gantenbein, the schemes of the religious dictators of other men's conduct were put to sleep throughout the county of Multnomah, until November. Then, at the state election, the people will have opportunity to decide whether they will have a state Sunday blue law, which demands that every man be religious on Sunday, or at least act as though he were, and defines the character of his religion for that day each week.

The Field of Civil Government

CIVIL government was ordained of God, with human authority to be expressed in its laws. Primarily, it was to protect every man in the enjoyment of his inherent rights. These rights include that to be religious, or not to be religious, as he may elect, and also choice of the sect with which he will affiliate. Secondly, civil government was to punish the invader of said rights for the transgression of the law, which is crime.

The divine government has its eternal laws, the transgression of which is sin. It directs the individual wholly in matters of conscience and religion, with which the state, of right, can have nothing to do. After the state has punished the criminal for his crime, he is still accountable to God for his sin.

Paul says that "every one of us shall give account of himself to God" for his violation of conscience, which may be manifest in matters of religion or otherwise.

Jesus Christ said, "Render therefore unto Cæsar [civil government] the things which are Cæsar's; and unto God the things that are God's."

The Sabbath is surely religious; for we read, "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." It must therefore be rendered to God, not to the state; for civil government can, of right, have nothing whatsoever to do with duties which the individual owes to God only.

Sunday Laws and Heathenism

MODERN Sunday laws and forced rest had their origin in heathen religion, in the days of Constantine. In the year 321, he issued his memorable religio-civil edict, in which he said, "Let all judges and all city people and all tradesmen rest upon the venerable day of the sun." The act then makes the following exemptions: "But let those dwelling in the country freely and with full liberty attend to the culture of their fields; since it frequently happens that no other day is so fit for the sowing of grain or the planting of vines; hence the favorable time should not be allowed to pass, lest the provisions of Heaven be lost."

The character of Constantine's law is seen in its promotion and exaltation of a pagan religious institution, a memorial of the greatest of heathen gods,—the sun,—from which the day received its name, "sun's day." From pagan Rome under the rule of Constantine, Sunday observance was introduced into the professed Christian church and Christianized by the papacy. Sunday, together with other religious tenets, was forced upon the world's inhabitants by that then dominant power, the professed church of Christ, until the world was stained with the blood of many million martyrs.

The Thumbscrew and the Fagot

THIS unprecedented shedding of innocent blood was the natural result of the unholy alliance of church and state. When the church, through the state, attempted to enforce its religious tenets upon dissenters, it was driven, by its unholy course, to establish the now historic religious Inquisition. And as religion is a condition of heart, and not simply a question of outward acts, the church was further compelled to establish the stocks, the thumbscrew, the fagot, and the block, in order to wrench from the dissenter a confession of the motives of the heart.

It is clear to all, that the pagan Sunday law was not enacted to meet the supposed need of a pretendedly-believed-in but unknown physical law, that all men require one day of rest in seven in the best interest of their physical well-being; for the city people, the tradesmen, and the judges have no more physical need than do the country people, who were, by the exemption, required to proceed with agriculture on that day.

The pagan church and state were united, and persecution followed, and millions of Christians were put to death for conscience' sake. The English church and state formed a union, and from it our forefathers fled to the New World. They hoped to establish here individual freedom of choice in matters of religion or of no religion, provided only that in the personal carrying out of one's ideas, the equal rights of others should not be invaded.

Well meaning as our forefathers were, soon religious legislation began in the eastern and the southeastern colonies; and under similar unfair and unjust laws, Baptists, Quakers, and Roman Catholics suffered persecution, and were banished, whipped, imprisoned, or hanged.

Sunday Laws Are Religious

SECTION one of the Sunday law of England reads: "All and every person and persons whatsoever shall, on every Lord's day, apply themselves thereon in the duties of piety and true religion, publicly and privately." Is this a religious law? The Oregon Sunday blue law, and Sunday laws in other states, are just as religious in character as are those of Rome, England, and Russia, and are steps looking toward the union of church and state in this country.

Dr. Joseph Cook, of Boston, a prominent National Reformer, is quoted as saying, "The experience of centuries shows that you will in vain endeavor to preserve Sunday as a day of rest, unless you preserve it as a day of worship."

Henry Collin Minton, D. D., LL. D., president of the National Reform Association, at a convention held at Oakland, California, July 27 to August 1, 1915, speaking of Sunday legislation, said: "We are facing the great question in this Congress only as we see it as a religious day. . . . Primarily and essentially it is a religious day."

Tightly Closed on Sunday

WHILE the city of Portland and the entire county of Multnomah are resting under judicial injunction until the November election, the counties of Washington, Lane, Linn, and others are under the ban, so that newspapers, cigars, gasoline, or refreshments cannot be secured on Sunday. The law forbids the opening of any place of amusement on Sunday except theaters.

If this law is technically enforced, newspapers cannot be printed, sold, or delivered on Sunday. All picnic and pleasure resorts

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Blue Laws and Hypocrites

(Continued from page 11) of every character must close on Sunday if any charges are connected therewith.

An apparent change has taken place in the mind of the superintendent of the Pacific coast Sunday forced rest league, who has formerly held that a “civic” Sabbath was what he desired. He now says: “A law of this kind should be based upon public conviction that Sunday is a divine institution. . . . It will require more than a civil law to save the day. The church and the state must each do its part.” The doctor then expresses himself as looking forward to a time of “state-wide prohibition of Sunday business and Sunday amusement.” (Pacific Christian Advocate, July 5, 1916.)

The Theater Exempted

THE state exempts theaters under the law. A city ordinance in vogue in the city of Dallas forbids the opening of theaters on Sunday, except between the hours of 2 and 5 P. M. On July 27, 1916, O. C. Smith, proprietor of the Orpheum Theater, stood trial for violation of this ordinance. A demurrer was entered by Attorney Oscar Hayter, on the plea that the city Sunday closing ordinance was inconsistent with the state law; but the demurrer was overruled, and Mr. Smith was fined. The case was taken to the circuit court on a writ of review. On August 5, it was tried before Judge H. H. Belt, who decided that the city ordinance was in conflict with the state law, releasing Mr. Smith from the fine.

It is said that forced Sunday rest is a necessity because of unfair competition in grocery trade. If a man has conscientious convictions that he should rest on Sunday, can he not cease his labor when Sunday comes, and rest, just as one hundred and twenty-five thousand Seventh-day Adventists and ten thousand Seventh-day Baptists do when Sabbath comes? They do not appeal to the state for its support of their Christian faith, under guise of “unfair competition in business,” and pathetically declare: “It will require more than a civil law to save the day. The church and the state must each do its part.” The word of God will save any day for which He declares, without assistance from the state.

If men desire, let them rest on the day of their choice. To do so will not invade the rights of any one.

Compulsory Sunday rest advocates assert that “science” has demonstrated that every man should “rest regularly one day in every successive period of seven days, beside the nights, for his best physical good.” But there is no law of physical being that requires the stalwart man of thirty years to rest as many consecutive hours in a week as the delicate woman of eighty, but rather that each rest when weary. Any benefit one may derive from a weekly day of rest, more than secured at other periods, is because of the religious character of the institution; and then it must be from the free choice of the individual, and from conscientious motives.

A Misnomer

THE assertion is frequently made that it is a “civic” Sunday rest that is desired. But there can be no such thing as a civil Sunday rest law or a “civic” Sabbath; for the man who mows his lawn on Sunday, or hoes in his garden, or sells bread from his bakery (which is allowed by the existing law), or sells bread from his grocery (which the law forbids), is just as civilized as he would be were he forced by “state police power” to go to church, be baptized, partake of the communion, or lead the choir, on that day. Sunday laws and Sunday compulsory rest have therefore nothing whatsoever to do with one’s civilization.

Religion and the Police Power

THE “police power” of a city cannot, by civil right, exceed its grant from the state; nor can the state’s “police power,” in equity, exceed its grant of power from the federal constitution; and this should be so acknowledged in its laws. And the federal constitution says, “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” In turn, the “police power,” or rights, of a nation cannot, of right, exceed its grant bestowed by God, which confines it to the realm of civil questions, and equally separate it from the realm of conscience and religion. Said the late President Ulysses S. Grant, “Keep the church and the state forever separate.” In the interest of liberty, vote “Yes” on repeal bill No. 312, and abolish the unjust statute intended to enforce religion by law. No. 312. Vote “Yes.”