Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1888-07-19
NUMBER !.

pie morality under our feet as we have
done aud prosper. We cannot teach
that men have natural and inalienable
rights and then in practice deny all
those rights by making land private
property, as the products of human
labor are and should be private prop
erty. Here is a fundamental error.
The way of the transgressor is, indeed,
hard. and we must repent if we would
| live.
Mr.. P. inveighs against foreigners as
Sabbath breakers, or rather as break
ers of Sabbatarian laws. Should We
not push perjury pretty close to swear
fealty to constitution that leaves ev-.
cry man free to follow his conscience
in religious matters and then we should
turn round and make laws compelling
men to observe certains religious tenets.
If Mr.. p. had read the Sunday QueS-
ton, published, some years ago, in
| Chicago, he would not criticise others
SO much on this point. Ifhe were ask
ed to cite his authority for divinely
appointed day he would, of course. re-
fer his questioner to the decalogae, or
to a misconstructed passage in Hebrews.
But the Jews show how they con-
strued the commandment given to
them by saying in the Tdinaud:: "Jt
shall be day of feasting and dancing,
for the drinking of wine, and the wear
ing of fine apparel" Luther, however.
says he would rather that we should
work or it, dance on it, or do anything
to break it, than to keep it from any
Jewish dispensation. John Calvin, the
founder Of our strictest sect Of Sab
batarians, says, in the 8th volume of
his Institutes, that there is no divine
command for its observance. Against
the passage in Hebrews, even if the
common construction were proper, one
might set the passage in Thessalonians:
"Let no man persuade thee as to holy
day, the new moon, or the Sabbath
day." Or cite the fact that Paul did
not regard it at all important what day
was kept, and that Christians kept
various days, and some none in partic-
ular. until the session of the Nicenel
Council, which sat at Ratisbon, settled
it by majority vote; and the north
ern, or German, bishops being in the
majority, carried for their day, or the
day that their Druidical forefathers
devoted to the worship of the sun. 1t
is interesting to note in this connection
that every day in the week is named
after Teutonic god or deity, except
Saturday, which is named after the
Roman deity, or idealization, of time.
We observe Sunday as day of wor-
ship because on that day the hea then
Druids worshiped the sun, and If any
body wants to keep it they are at liber-
ty to do so, and if they do not wish to
observe it church and State are not
combined here and any law compelling
its observance is worthy only of con-
3 tempt.
| Mr.. P. speaks so confidently that one
would think revelation had been
made to himself, and, if so, he is bound
to observe the divine command. But
from its-very nature, cannot be q reve-
lation at second hand. To every one
else it is only hearsay; and he will not
promote the happiness of his fellow
men by flying in the face of anxious CT
self-evide mt truths. Gihbon says that
the clergy have failed to be the instru-
ments for good in human progress,
that they ought by their very profess
sion to be, because they have been the
conservators sofsuperstition rather than
of truth. Stanley says that during
seventeen years travel IN Africa he
never found man who would kill
him if he simply folded his hands. Un-
less we stop sending missionaries to
!; Africa Stanley will soon find men there
who would be glad to catch him with
bis hands folded in order that they
might dispatch him with ease. The
dark continent cannot match this land
!, of missionaries and civilization, for
!, dark and heartless deeds, and, we
!, should do well to pull the beam out of
our own eye before we pluck the mote
from the eyes Of others. 1t would seem
!. that when God created man he would
not have had to repent the work of his
, own hands, or be grieyed at his heart
f because he had made man upon the
! earth, if he had not made the further
! mistake of not endowing man with
t money enough to buy his right to life,
liberty, &c. This is little matter that
needs our immediate attention, aud we
can afford to let foreigners and their
notions about Sunday alone until we
have dried up this frightful source oi
crime among ourselves. FARMER.
MurrayviIle, Ill, July s, 1883.
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