The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-05-09
THE SABBATH DAY.
Rev. N. L. Rugg Declares Greed
Its Great Enemy.
THE NEED OF PHYSICAL REST.
Christians DO Not Attempt to Abridge
Personal Liberty by Comp cling Re-
ligious Observance OF Sunday.

On Monday last the Rev. NJ. L. Rugg, of
the North Seattle Baptist church. read the
following timely paper on the present
Aspect of the Sabbath Question" before
the Ministerial Alliance OF this city:
The present aspect of the Sabbath question
may De stated il a ShakespeGrean quotation:
ITO be or not to be- that is the question:" shall
we, Or shall We not have day set apart by law
as a time of rest from secular employment, and
coasecratod by the people of God TO Christian
worship? That there is a determined effort be-
ing made to destroy the sanctity of the Chris
tian Sabbath / think all who have been study
ing the ''sgns of the times will admit. To
know how to defend it, the Causes that work for
Its overthrow must be understood. 10
porvlde q remedy for his patient the
physician must first diaguosticate the disease.
SO in this discussion of the Sabbath question
l use the word Sabbath in its primary sense OF
rest as being most comprehensive and best un.
derstood-let US first notice the causes conspir-
ing against ii. The dark side Of Sabbath OBJ
servance today. Is not so much the present
Dissertation the general tendency. The drift
of public opinion is away from the observance
OF the day for rest and worship and towards the
keeping of 1t as public holiday. The American
Sabbath is being grated with European scions
1t requires son OF a prophet to tell what the
fruit will be. AS the graft comes into bearing
we shall have the Sabbath dissipation of CONT
mental Europe. The emigration from CONT
mental Europe within the past few years is an
important factor in fashioning our Sabbath
sentiment The most OF this class have
only the crudest idea of personal liberty.
The ego with them Is supreme: the many have
no rights the individual Is bound to respect.
This exaggerated idea OF individual importance
is strengthened By the tiattery OF the pothouse
politician who seeks to control their votes.
Mistaken in their idea OF liberty, they expect
unlimited license; is not this "the land OF the
fres? Restrictions in the interests OF morality,
or conformity to the time-honored customs OF
our people and obedience to the laws OF our
land, are construed by them as persecution and
met with howl for personal liberty. While we
have many of our best and most law-abiding
and valuable citizens among our foreign-born,
and We have no words OF depreciation OF their
value, yet the fact remains, a large percentage
belongs to the other Class, and il Is growing.
Investigation shows that there has been
q large increase OF this class within
the past decade, and this is the noisy class.
They make themselves known, while Others go
to work to make themselves homes and become
American citizens In the trUest sense OF the
word. They would subvert law, overthrow ex-
listing institutions and change, if possible, the
very character OF our national life. One OF the
greatest hindrances they meet in their lawless.
ness in the Christian Sabbath. 1t is one Of the
stronges, bulwarks of law and order, and
against II they mass their forces. When we re-
member that our foregn-born with their chill
dren form over 20 per cent. of our population,
and then consider the Sabbath conditions under
which many Of them have been trained, We will
understand one OF the dangers threatening our
Christian Sabbath. In line with the opposition
of this class OF our foreign-born citizens, and
largely composed of them are the various
secular societies and personal liberty leagues
of our land, the whole trend OF whose influence
is against Sabbath observance Indeed, in
many instances the purpose Of their organiza-
ton to antagouizs the Christian Sabbath is
openly avowed. 1t was Largely for this they
We're formed. Anything that savors OF or tavors
the Christian religion they oppose. While not
numerous or large, they are aggressive and
loud. What they lack in numbers they
supply in noike; and where their arguments fall
in wisdom they would make up in wind. The
edge OF their logic is generally very dull, but
they follow Solomon's advice. and whore "the
iron DO blunt and they cannot "whet the
edge" they "put to more strength" They have
place among the enemies working for the over
throw OF the Christian Sabbath.
Greed Is another cause working against the
right observance Of the Sabbath. Much OF the
opposition to the Sabbath draws its nourish-
meut through that "root OF all kinds of evil"
"the love OF money" Large business interests
carried on seven DAYS In the week, huge cor.
porations without souls are unwilling to lose
the profit that might be gained In the Sabbath
seventh, and SO oppose the day OF rest. Men
who would be friends are thus made enemies
by their love of gain. Their pockstbook is
mightier than their principle. Greed keeps
open the saloon seven days in the week. and
furnishes one of the most aggressive foes Sta
tistics show "that nearly one-half the drinking
and three-fourths of the drunkenness take
place on Saturday evening and Sunday" Men
who will, for the love OF gain, engage in bust
ness that damus their fellows, body and soul,
are not going to give up their best day without
a determined fgat.
Another danger to all Sabbath institutions is
found in the changed conditions of living in
our present civilization. Many forms of labor
on the Sabbath day seem to be WORKS OF neces-
sity. Our ocean steamships must pursue their
onward way; the overland trains roll steadily
on: our people must be fed and our homes and
streets lighted on the sabbath day Says DR..
Gardiner: ali the Jewish encampment in the
wilderness might march "a Sabbath days
Journey from sanitary considerations, then We
may suppose that from various considerations.
equally imperative, the swifter wheels of our
mechanical and complex civilization may con-
tinue to move on in many directions and not
violate tho spirit OF the Sabbath law"
The danger is, that forgetting the
law OF necessity, we come, uncon-
sciously ii may be, to obey the dictates of con-
venience; starting out with certain admitted
necessities of sabbath non observance, we may
Weld little By lttlo 10 the claim Of aYarice. or
am bit.on or pleasure, and allow ourselves to
dri it into the vortex of mere holiday Sunday"
This danger has, TO some degree, been realized,
and the greatest peril OF the Christian Sabbath
TO-DAY is found in this drift among its protested
friends No other cause, believe, is working
so strongly for the destruction OF the sabbath
the loose way in which pToiessed Christian men
and women keep the day. Too often business
instead OF worship employs their time, the sun
day excursion anu pace OF recreation Instead OF
Gods house commands tnelr presence. They
are too tired TO go to church, but not wearied
enough to go 10 - sunday picnic; too exhausted
with business 10 read the Bible or a religious
work: Just refreshed enough to read the market
report or latest scandal. Col save our Sabbath
from death at the hands OF its friends
But how shall we meet these dangers? Being
forewarned ought 10 mean being forearmed.
Seeing the danger ought 20 mean readiness 20
meet it.
And first there should be IN arousing OF the
Christian conscience. Judgment should first
begin at the house OF Got. Ii petitions are to
have any influence towards getting righteous
laws and laws enforced when enacted, there
must be a Christian conscience 10 back them up.
As long as Christian people do not believe in
Sabbath enough 10 properly observe it them
selves, so long will their petitions be treated
with coniernu. The strengthening OF the sab
bath bulwarks must begin n the church Of God.
We can never sweep back the incoming tide OF
sabbath desecration with legislative brc0ms.
We can never build a statutory dixie strong
enough to even stay its onward course. The
9eatest OF sill dead things is statutory law with