A YOUNG brother writing from Vermont asks the following questions:—
1. “Did the early Christians keep one day? (if so, which?) or did they keep both? I wish to arrive at the truth, but do not wish to be too hasty in deciding. The Bible undoubtedly favors your position, but does it make the subject sufficiently clear without examination of the early writers?”
It is not a little strange to see persons on a subject of such importance as the Sabbath of the Lord our God, laying aside all other testimony and appealing for decision to what are called the “early writers.” It seems to matter not what may be the teachings of Christ and his apostles, but men with a reverential regard for the early writers, fix their mind upon them, seemingly as though they were dependent on them, not only for all truth, but for salvation even; and before a decision can be made, their testimony must be consulted. We write not thus to convey the idea that there were early Christians who kept the first day of the week instead of the seventh, as the Sabbath, whose testimony on that point would be against us; for we deny that there were any such cases; but we write thus because the early writers have nothing to do in settling this question. The Bible is a sufficient rule of faith. If the teachings of these men disagree with that, we must reckon them among the “grievous wolves” of which Paul speaks in Acts xx, 29. If their teachings do agree with the Bible, then an appeal to them is entirely superfluous. “Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy.” “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God,” unless the early writers fix upon another (?!) “All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable,” &c., when we can have the testimony of the early writers (?!)!! The man of God may be “thoroughly furnished unto all good works,” after he has consulted the early writers (?!)!!
2. “Suppose a man starts on Monday noon, and travels from east to west with the sun, at the same rate as the sun, so that he will get around to his starting-place on Tuesday noon precisely, where will he first find it Tuesday morning?”
The man starts on Monday noon, and keeps directly under the sun; and now to tell where he would find morning would be indeed a hard matter! We rather think it would be nowhere! So long as he travels with the sun, so long it will be, wherever he is, noon and not morning. But if this is mentioned as an objection to the observance of the Sabbath, we would only reply that the Sabbath was given to man, a race of beings whose means of locomotion are not such as to enable them to travel around the world, 25000 miles, in 24 hours! Probably the Creator never intended that they should have such a capacity for traveling! But if they had, and if the present organization of the earth was such, that their course, in traveling around it, would not be intercepted by two great oceans, doubtless there would have been some different arrangements made, or more explicit instructions given in regard to the Sabbath!!
But the question before us is not only a supposition, but an impossibility; and we have no right therefore to let it occupy our thoughts to the exclusion of weightier considerations, or to the detriment of truth. Suppositions will never go as arguments. We may suppose a man taken from the earth and placed in the moon, and puzzle our brains in endeavoring to settle the question how he is going to keep the Sabbath there; and because we are not able to come to any definite conclusions in regard to the matter, and because we find no instructions in the Bible touching any such emergency, we may set it down as an objection to the Sabbath law. But to what does it amount? Nothing will be established in this way; neither is it reasonable to suppose that provision will be made for cases which never can occur!
3. “When we travel around the earth, one going east and another going west, we find our reckoning will vary when we come together on the opposite side: what is to be done?”
This objection, though not in the present case offered as applying particularly to the seventh day, is very frequently by one-eyed First-day keepers urged against the seventh alone. Such, however, forget to see that it is equally an objection to the first day as to the seventh; and not to the first alone, but to any day, and consequently to the Sabbath institution itself; and if against the Sabbath institution, then against God who gave it. Such is the true import of this objection. If it furnishes anything at all, it goes against the Sabbath institution, and impeaches the wisdom of the great Creator.