The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1889-04-05
A QUESTION ANSWERED.
WrNoNA, March %, 1889.


Editor Free Press:
i have lust received the numbers OF
the FREE PRESS containing Ed. Rogers
report of the Garden City discussion, In
which he asks me an important ques-
ton, which please permit me- to answer
as publicly as it was asked.
In the discussion / quoted Or. a.
Campbell as follows: A positive inslltu-
ton requires positive precept-a posi-
tive and express authority. No positive
institution was ever established upon
inference Baptism, p. 2lS.
| said, bring me such precept Tor
Sunday observance and will keep 1t.
Bro. Rogers in his last article claims to
have found the precept and virtually
asks me, If will keep Sunday according
TO promise.
or course Bro. Rogers is certain that
he has found the positive precept en-,
forcing Sunday observance, or he would
not make the claim he does, such a
course would be handling the word OF
God deceitfully. Certainly il is great
discovery. Its importance can scarcely
be oyerestimated. In the first place
Sunday keepers, especially the minis
tiers will be thankful. They will rise mp
and call him blessed, saying:
This Is the way we have long sought,
And mourned because we found IL not.
Ifthis precept proves to be genuine,
he will have gained not only myself, but
all the Adventlsts in the world. We are
ready to keep Sunday as soon as the
positive precept can be pointed out to
us. Bro. Rogers is now prepared to do
this, for he is not one to say, the Lord
saith, when the Lord has not spoken.
There is just one thing lacking to make
| 1atn hat 10 a
act location of the precept, OF course
Bro. Rogers is prepared to put his fin
ger upon the chapter and verse contain
ing the express authority, otherwise be
never would have claimed to have found
il, and even go so far as to call upon me
to keep Sunday on the strength of it. In
| looking over the references he gave, 1
did not find 1t. ] found where Paul re-
quires us to receive his writings as the
commandments of the Lord; but must
confess / found no place where Paul
commanded us TO observe Sunday as q
day of worship. The only place that /
could find where Paul wrote anything
about the first dav of the week, was in
| Cor. 1911, 2, where he says Upon the
first day of the week let everyone OF you
lay by him in store as God has pros
pered him, that there be no gatherings
Wnen L come, Out Inl5 requires sDillc'
thing to be done at home, lay by him IL
store, and has no reference to keeping
Sunday as day of worship. | could
find nothing in his arguments on pente
cost, resurrection, meeting with the dis
ciples, only a lot of unnecessary infer
ences. But perhaps have overlooked
it, or perhaps Bro. Rogers failed to give
the right reference. 1t must be these
for Bro. Rogers claims to have found 1t
and any one of ordinary intelligence
, knows q positive precept when he see
1 it. If he has found one he knows il
and knows where il is.
He is not the man to claim such
thing when in reality he never foun'
such a precept at all. That would b
2 wicked, and now we ask him to just Civ
! us the chapter and verse where the posi-
' tive precept expresses authority requlr
ing the observance of Sunday is to b
found and We will all keep it. The strif
will cease and Bro. Rogers and mysel
g win walk down life journey lovingly
D keeping Sunday together.
If he does not wish to publish 1t to til
I world personally, let him drop me lin
1 give me the desired text, and l will b
very thankful, and will gladly publish
4 10 all the earth. If he will not do thl
q much for us, some at least, will hav
8 grave suspicious that after all the pre-
: cept was not found and consequently tn
= Sunday institution is of men and not {
q God. Yours truly,
w r Hill