Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1886-04-08
THE OLD SABBATH.
A Day that is Older than the Book OF
Genesis

Day that is Older than the Book of
Genesis.
When one notes the origin of the
Sabbath, studies the attitude of the
bible IN regard to it, and follows its
history down through the church, the
day becomes one of the rare curiosi-
ties of superstition. Let us then look
at the Sabbath a little, for the facts
concerning il ought to help tne solu-
ton Of what has come to be the Sun
day newspaper question.
The day is ages older than the Jew
ISL people Or the book of Genesis.
There is no rational doubt that it orig
mated in Sabaism or planet worship.
It is found among the Acadians, &
Turanian people, who occupied the
valley of Euphrates long before Baby
lon became city. Il strictness and
severity are tests of goodness there
was time when the old pagan AS
syrians were better Sabbath keepers
than any Jew or Christian has ever
been since. For the king himself was
forbidden to eat any cooked food, to
change his clothes, to take medicine,
though Ill, Or even to engage in who
ship. AS near as possible to nothing
at al was the only thing one WAS per-
mitted to do on the Sabbath in those
''good old times"
The day did not then originate with
the bible, and there is no proof that
the infinite God of this universe ever
commended the keeping of any such
day as Rev. Joseph Cook became so
warm over in his last Monday lecture.
For in two Of the books of the Old
Testament two inconsistent and mu-
tualIy exclusive reasons are given for
keeping it. Oae of these reasons is
the childish one that God rested, as
though tired out, after the SIX days
work of creation. But in the New
Testament Jesus Himself fatty con-
tradicted that statement, though, even
If he did not, science does for it demon
strate the fact that the creative work
is going on to-day as much as ever,
and has always been going On. And
then the Jewish Sabbath, according
to the best scholarship, was no more
like the one that New England has
tried to support on divine authority
than Easter is like the Fourth of
July.
And when we come to the New
Testament we find Jesus himself pub
licly branded as q Sabbath breaker,
while the writer of the Epistle to the
Colossians distinctly and in terms
abrogates the Sabbath law, declaring
it TO be no longer binding on Chris
tians. There if no trace anywhere
OF any authoritative transfer of Sab
bath-keeeing On Sunday. The Jewish
Christians continued to keep the Sab.
bath, while, st the same time, they
met on Sunday morning to celebrate
the Lords supper, and keep in mem
DRY their faith in the resurrection of
Jesus. But the gentle Christians
generally kept Sunday only. And for
hundreds of years it never occurred to
the early church that there was ever
any question about it being wrong to
work on Sunday, after their religious
services were over, or to engage In
any occupation they pleased.
The very first law ever past was the
edict Of Constantine, issued A. D.,
SCI But that only made it what we
would call holiday, releasing people
from the obligation of labor. It ex-
pressly excepted agricultural laborers,
whose crops might need attention
and it said not a word about its
being wrong to work. It was not
until the year 528 that all work was
prohibited.
And all the way down through the
history OF the early church there is
clearly seen an endeaVor on the part
OF the Christian leaders to discourage
what they regarded as the Sabbath
superstition of the Jews. st.
Cyril, Jerome, Luther, Calvin, Tyn-
dale, and others are at one on this
point. They all declare the Sabbath
a matter of church custom and conve-
nience, and NO part of any religious
Or moral law.
/ Sunday, as New England has known
It, was an institution unheard Of IN
either Jewish or Christian history un-
til the tine of puritanism in England.
| So, however good q thing it may be,
let us at least tell the truth about it
and if we wish to keep it, let us rest
it on the foundation on which it be-
longs.-Boston Globe.