Sacramento daily record-union., 1881-07-09
THE SUNDAY LAW DEBATE

EDS. RECORD UNION: Not everybody can
start paper of his own, in which he could
say what he pleased and print what he
pleased. The RECORD UNION is known to
me to be almost the only journal in California
that has moral courage enough to give all
sides, in connection with all questions, a fair
hearing. The Christian Church side is freely
published by all your contemporaries where
matters of said church are laid open to dis
cussion, but refusing to give space to the re-
joinders from the opposite side. There has
arisen recently furious madness concerning
the better observation of the Sabbath. The
increasing intelligence of the people, through
the instrumentality of the newspapers, has
caused a remarkable laxity of that Puritan
ical rigor with which cur fathers were wont
to observe the Sabbath. To counteract this
laxity, the church is endeavoring to create
pious furore for the holy day, and thus to re-
new the vitality of some of the laws which
have been growing obsolete for the past sixty
years. 1t appears that the crafty clergy of
the day are endeavoring to SOW the seeds OF
tyranny in the fresh and fertile soil Of the
young giant State of California They seem
determined to fasten themselves upon the
people by force of law. 1t is to be hoped
that the people of this State will be wide
enough awake at the next election to take
away the legislative right from men who
show such disposition to mix up the
affairs of Church and State and
to assist the clergy in tyrannizing
over the minds and consciences of the COM
munity. The clergy are always very apt to
lug in such men in legislative or judicial Of
fees as they can make tools of in warfare
upon popular rights, and promise them in re-
turn the full sway of their priestly influence
in securing their political promotion. To
save these Sabbath law-making Solons any
further trouble in discussing the origin and
design of the Sabbath, let them recall the
fact that the Jewish Sabbath, which is the
only one mentioned in the Bible that was
ever given to MAJ, had its origin on Mount
Sinai, and was designed for the Jews and for
them alone, to whom it was distinctively and
exclusively addressed. The priests tell the
people that God rested upon the seventh day
and blessedit and thus established Sabbath
in the commencement But we have no ac-
count of any Sabbath till 1000 years after
wards; and then it was not given to the
world, but to the Jews, with thousand
one has ever thought of applying to
mankind at large. "God rested on the
seventh day." they say, and therefore
men should do so. But God also
created the earth, sun, moon and stars.
Should man therefore do the same? Were l
addressing Jews l should prove from the
New Testament that the Sabbath was extin-
guished even as to them at the coming of
Christ, who set it aside and after
wards openly violated it; and one of his
apostles particularly commands US as follows
"Let no man therefore judge you in meats,
or in drinks, or in respect Of holy day, or of
the Sabbath" The same apostle also says
Zone man esteemeth one day above another;
another esteemeth every day alike; let every
man be fully persuaded of his own mind"
And the revisers Of the New Testament could
not find any authority at all for the :" strong
hold of the Sabbath men as represented in
the old version, Romans xiv, 6: "And he
that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he
doth not regard it," and therefore left it out.
What authority do they have for its change
from the seventh day to the first? Can it be
that people are 80 ignorant as not to know
that there is not particle of such authority
in the Bible? Certainly not but people wish
to be humbugged.
Sunday was first observed as a holy
day by by the Persian Sun-worshipers,
the followers of Zoroaster. Its partial
observance was first introduced into
Europe by the Roman Emperor Con-
stantine, in the third century although but
little attention was ever paid to it elsewhere
but in Asia, until the puritanic infection in
troduced it into England in the sixteenth
century. Such is the authority for the OBJ
servance of Sunday as Sabbath, and it is
not pretended to be SO observed at the pres
ent day except by puritanic bigots in Great
Britain and the United States. 1t is gen.
eral gala-day over the whole continent of
Europe, and observed by every species of
popular amusement. Although not Bible
Sabbath, it is by conventional custom day
of relaxation from ordinary vocations, and as
such the most convenient day for religious
meetings, which are properly enough held on
that day-any other day would be as holy,
but not as convenient for the purpose.
Nord, July 3. 1881. Il. w. F.