The Portland daily press., 1878-07-18
The Sabbath Question.

MR.. EDTroR:-G0d is the Soul of Nature.
And all the processes and operations of nature
are only the Divine methods. Hence the laws
of God are no more and no less than the laws
of nature. All books, creeds, ceremonies, rites,
observarces, are human, and rest upon no
| other than human authority. The writing of a
law of nature in book adds nothing whatever
| to its binding force.
The law of gravitation exists. So does the
law of health. Does treatise on physics or
physiology add anything to these laws? The
movements of the universe are governed by
law Scripture texts never affect these move
| ments in the least
The moral law rests upon the same ground
1t exists in the nature of things, and does not
depend on special commands or enactments.
1t is correlated with the law of health, life,
gravitati0D, or any other condition of nature
The Sabbath never was and never can be
incorporated into the moral law, for the reason
that there is nothing moral or immoral about
it. A day is caused by revolution of the
earth upon itself-"around its axis" if you
please. Did nature or God ordain in advance,
or even as N after-thought, that every seventh
revolution should be holy, and all the other six
unholy? Or rather shall we not credit that
notion to the Jewish fable of creation, with its
tired God, resting and being refreshed after six
DAYS of weary toll?
There is not, there cannot be anything, either
sacred or profane, in any specified duration of
time. Men have set apart special DAYS for
special occasions, and the Sabbath is at best an
institution for ceremonial observances. As
day of rest no other being needs or uses it
besides man and those beasts of burden which
he has forced from their natural state into his
service.
Nature, throughout all her vast domain of
life, knows nothing of Sabbath day, and cares
nothing about it. All her operations 90 on
precisely as upon any other day. Vegetation
grows; insects, birds, beasts build, toll, rear
their young on that day as on any other. The
vast movements of the universe go on, unheed-
ing our little petty devices, temples. AFFAIRS
ceremon les, observances of days, for winning
the favor and securing good terms with God,
the All Soul, whom We imagine is offended
with u.s.
But, say the advocates of an holy day, the
Sabbath was included in the ten command
ments and belongs to the moral law, and if
you strike ou5 one, we shall have but nine left.
And, moreover, the mora law belongs to man
through all time.
AS above stated, incorporating the Sabbath
among the ten commandments did not make
moral law of it. And as to having but nine
commands left, what morality is there in num-
bers? The moral law existed before Moses, or
the Jewish. Egyptian, or any other fable Of
the creation was ever invented.
Before Moses, before Abraham even, the
Egyptians had instituted their dreaded trial of
the dead, at which the moral conduct of the
deceased was passed in review before his
judges. Had he done murder? Was he thief,
covetous, liar, an oppressor of the poor, or
guilty OF other wrong doing? or innocent of
any moral wrong?-and judged accordingly.
Where were the Jewish tables then?
Moral law always did exist; can never cease
to exist and no human enactments can in
crease or diminish its binding force
1t always was wrong to do wrong, and wrong
doing can never be right. Let us spend Sun
day and all days in such ways as will best
promote the highest good of the race by secur-
ing Its physical, moral and intellectual health.
Ii forest and field, in communion with nature
are best for that, go there; if the church, the
social assembly, the lecture room, go there; il
the private study at home, stay there.
But 'let no man Judge you.'' 'sWho art
thou, that iudgest another mans conscience?"
LoRING MOODY.