An Infidel Silenced by Geo. Wright, Jr.

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Mar 28, 1865

An Infidel Silenced.

By Geo. Wright, Jr.

While most of the so-called orthodox denominations of the day, profess to believe in, and teach in their Sunday-schools, the perpetuity, and binding force of God's law of ten commandments, and at the same time living in utter disregard of the requirements of the fourth, they place themselves, to say the least of it, in a very inconsistent position, and put in the hands of infidels, a powerful weapon which they do not fail to use against them.

To illustrate, I will relate an incident that occurred something over a year ago. An acquaintance of ours, from a neighboring village, called on us. Being a confirmed infidel of the Boston Investigator School, and knowing us to be professors of religion, we were soon required to give a reason of our hope. In the course of the conversation, I noticed he was looking intently at the commandment chart, hanging in our room. All at once he took me familiarly by the arm and led me in front of the chart, and interrogated me as follows: You profess to believe in those commandments, do you? Yes, sir. All of them? Yes, sir. Then I would ask, why do you keep the first day of the week as the Sabbath, when that fourth commandment requires you in the most definite manner, to observe the seventh day? Well sir, I replied, I do not, I am happy to inform you that I am trying to keep the Sabbath of the Lord according to that commandment. Indeed! he answered, then I have nothing further to say. I had supposed you to be a Sunday-keeper, and I intended to use your inconsistent position, while professing to believe the Bible and be guided by it, and at the same time violating one of its plainest precepts.

Thus my friend was disarmed and silenced by the power of a consistent faith in harmony with the word of God.

At different times since embracing the truth, I have conversed with infidels (and they are generally well-read, intelligent, men), and they have, invariably acknowledged that, taking the Bible as the guide, our faith was the most consistent of any they had met with.

For one, I thank God for a faith that is in harmony with the law and testimony. And with David I pray, "Let my heart be sound in thy statutes; that I be not ashamed." Ps. cxix, 80.

Geo. Wright, Jr.

Lapeer, Mich.