St. Landry democrat., 1881-06-25
Sunday and Sunday Laws.
IN, o. TiDes.l


One Of the most striking features of
the religious world to-day is the conflict
which RACES between two classes of fan
atics violently opposed to each other.
One OF these is composed of anti-reli-
giOnlsts, a sort of religious Nlhlllsts
who seek to destroy current and estab-
lished religious belief and practices.
This faction is composed Of a heterogen-
eOus mixture Of sO-called scientists,
advocates of woman suffrage and the
abolition of the marriage laws, arguers
for the extinction Of all legal restriction
upon mans social or spiritual relations.
These people, calling themselves free
thinkers, but who are fanatics earnestly
seeking to force the tyranny of their
opinions upon all who may not agree
with them, have awakened into equal
energy and activity, a set of religious
fanatics who busy themselves with
efforts to secure the enactment of
stringent punitive laws against their
religious adversaries. They manifest
themselves in violent Sunday laws, in
tyrannical prohibition laws, in efforts
and denoDlinational doctrines engrafted
on constitutions and statutes, and. in a
word, they are at war with all opinion
that does not emanate from themselves.
If these two classes of fanatics would
only war upon each other until mutual
determination should result, society
would be supremely benefited, civiliza-
ton advanced and righteousness, and
virtue set at their true value. The fa ct
is, however, that between these two
contending forces human society is
ground up as between the upper and
neither millstones, civilization is dis
honored and religion becomes sham.
For the present the religious fanatics
have the best of it, and they are getting
in good deal of work in the way of
Sunday laws. Two years ago in Texas,
where about the only capital crime is
horse stealing-a Sunday law was en-
acted so severe and oppressive that if
it had been executed sick man could
not have procured medicine, or hun
cry traveller have bought a dinner on
Sunday in the entire State. This law,
like many Of the other criminal laws in
the State, was not enforced and consc-
In many other States at this moment
oppressive enactments of this kind are
producing much social disorder, and it
is safe to say are doing no end of evil
! to the cause of religion.
Laws which secure to the workingman
his weekly day of rest and relaxation
are founded in the highest wisdom and
beneficence. Laws which convert that
day into season OF pennance are in the
last degree injurious and unjust. For
severe and repressive Sunday laws
there are no warrants of scripture, no
practice of Christ or the Apostles, and
no demand of virtue and piety. Sunday
is not the Hebrew Sabbath. Sunday is
the first day of the week, made holy to
Christians because it gave back to them
their risen Lord. The Jews celebrated
the seventh day Of the week, Saturday
which Christ took special OCCASION to
violate by gathering corn on that day
and he further declared that this Sab
bath day was made for mems use, not
to control men, for he had put away old
things and made all new. Sunday was
and is o-day, a feast day in the Church
from the earliest times. 1t was never
until made by the Puritans in CromWell's
bloody and fauatical reign, a day OF
gloom, penitence and abstinence. Con
stantine the Great, in the fourth century
first made an edict giving Sunday as q
holiday to the busy workers. The New
Testament shows that the Apostles and
early Christians were accustomed tC
feast together on Sunday. 1t was left
for the fanatics of Cromwell's time tc
inFest this happy day with the gloon
and penitential practices of the ancient
Jewish Sabbath, and for the fanatics OF
of our own day to repeat this violation
of Christ's holiday.