LEARNED FOLLY by John Nevins Andrews

Publishing Committee · Rochester, N. Y. · Jul 18, 1854

LEARNED FOLLY.

By John Nevins Andrews

EVERY popular church has its Doctors of Divinity. This is an order of men that Christ never instituted. "But be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren." Matt. xxiii, 8. The divinity of the Scriptures has never been sick, and has never needed doctors; but human divinity, from the church of Rome down to the younger sects, has found the services of this class of men indispensable. If the efforts of these doctors were directed to the bringing of human divinity to the standard of the Scriptures, they would in this be worthy of all praise. But with some honorable exceptions, the reverse of this is true. The labor of their whole lives seems to be spent in making scriptural divinity conform to that of their several religious bodies. Hence some of the plainest truths in the Word of God are reduced to nothing, and things not mentioned by God in his word, are made to become truths of the first importance.

As an illustration of the manner in which the word of God is made to correspond with the doctrines of men, we will refer to the fourth commandment. The Pagans' "venerable day of the sun" has by the great apostasy been put in the place of the Sabbath of the commandment. When the Protestants separated from the church of Rome, they brought away this venerable Sunday with them. As they had appealed from the Pope to the Bible, it could not have been very difficult for them to discover what Romanists freely admit; namely, that "the Scripture doth no where mention this change of the Sabbath." With this discovery, it would seem the most natural thing in the world that they should at once return to the fourth commandment, and obey God in this, as in all his other commandments. But they have not done it, though three hundred years have elapsed since the Reformation. On the contrary, their Doctors of Divinity have placed the fourth commandment in their alembic, and by some scientific process have reduced it to nothing. All the while, however, they profess the highest regard for its authority. The following is the most approved method of dissolving the commandment into thin air:—

The fourth commandment during the former dispensation, required men to observe "one seventh part of time as the Sabbath, but not the definite seventh day."
The Sabbath has been "changed to another day of the week."
In the gospel dispensation the fourth commandment requires us to keep "one day in seven, but no definite day."

To state this in a word:—The Sabbath has been changed from "one day in seven, and no day in particular" to another "day in seven, and no day in particular;" and that other "day in seven and no day in particular," is the first day of the week! which the Protestant church is zealously attempting to compel all men to observe. The labors of a whole school of Doctors of Divinity are needed to keep the first-day Sabbath in repair, and the above is, in reality, their best way, as yet, of making the fourth commandment support the first day of the week.

That other "day in seven, and no day in particular," must certainly be the notable "eighth day" brought to view by the fabulous epistle of Barnabas. Those who choose to keep the "eighth day," can act as they see fit, but they will find it impossible to keep three "eight days" in succession, and have them all come on Sundays. Sunday-keeping is the Romanists' just reproach upon Protestants; and Protestants will not be able to wipe this reproach away, until they turn from the traditions of men, to keep all the commandments of God. J. N. A.