The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1900-03-27

it that we place on our ordinance rules
forbidding the sale of these things
covered by the law? How far are we
responsible for our example for en-
couraging the breaking of the day on
the part of those who would find it
Improbable to keep their business 60
ing if we did not purchase Of them on
this day?
at is possible there are very many
persons here in this house this MORN
ing who are ready to exclaim: This Is
intolerable bigotry and puritanical mar
rowness. This is not the attitude Christ
would take on this question. He was
too large minded. He was too far ad-
vanced in thought to make the day to
mean anything of that Sort
But let US consider what Is meant
hy the Sunday of our modern life as
Christ would view it. There is no dis
Ilting the fact that the age is ma
terial, mercantile, money making. For
six eager, rushing days it is absorbed
10 the pursuit of money or fame or
pleasure. Then God strikes the note of
his silence in among the clashing
sounds of earth's Babel and calls man.
kind to make day unlike the other
days. 1t is his merciful thoughtfulness
for the race which has created this
special day for men. Is it too much to
ask that on this one day men think
of something else besides politics,
stocks, business, amusement? Is God
grudging the man the pleasure of life
when here he gives the man six days
for labor and then asks for only one
day specially set apart for him? The
objection to very many things COM
monty mentioned by the pulpit as
harmful to Sunday is not an objection
necessarily based on the harmfulness
of the things themselves, but upon the
fact that these things are repetitions
of the working day and SO are distract
ing to the observance of the Sunday
as day of rest and worship, undis-
turbed by the things that have already
for six days crowded the thought Of
men. Let me illustrate
''Take, for example, the case of the
Sunday paper as it pours into Milton
every Sunday morning on the special
newspaper train. Now, there may not
be anything in the contents of the
Sunday papers that is any worse than
can be found in any weekday edition.
Granted, for the sake of the illustra-
ton, that the matter found in the
Sunday paper is just like that in the
Saturday issue-politics, locals, fash
ion, personals, dramatic and sporting
news, literary articles by well known
writer's, fatality, etc., anywhere from
20 to 40 pages-an amount of reading
matter that will take the average man
q whole forenoon to read.
81 say, granted all this vast quantity
of material is harmless in itself to
moral life, yet here is the reason why
it seems to me Christ would, as l am
doing now, advise this church and
the people of Milton to avoid reading
the Sunday paper, because it forces
upon the thought Of the community the
very same things which, have been
crOwding in upon it all the week and
in doing this necessarily distracts the
man and makes the elevation of his
spiritual nature exceedingly doubtful
or difficult. l defy any preacher in
this town to make much impression
on the average man who has come to
church saturated through and through
with 40 pages Of Sunday newspaper
that is, supposing the man who has
read that much is in a frame of mind
to 60 to church. But that is not the
point. 1t is not a question Of press
versus pulpit. The press and the pull
pit are units of our modern life which
| ought to work hand in hand. And the
mere matter of church attendance
might not count if it was a question
with the average man whether he
| would 60 to church and hear a dull
| sermon or stay at home and read al
interesting newspaper. That is not tho
point. The point is whether the day
of rest and worship shall be like ev.
cry other day; whether we shall let
| our minds go right on as they have
been going, to the choking up Of ave.
nues Of spiritual growth and religious
| service. Is it right for us to allow in
Milton the occurrence of baseball
games and Sunday racing and evening
theaters? How far is all this demor-
alizing to our better life? What would
| Christ say, do you think? Even sup.
posing he would advise this church to
take and read the big Sunday daily
sent in on the special Sunday train that
keeps a small army of men at work
and away from all Sunday privileges;
| even supposing he would say it was all
| right to sell fruit and cigars and meat
on Sunday and perfectly proper fol
| church members to buy those things
ON that day, what would Christ say
was the real meaning and purpose OF
| this day in the thought of the Divine
Creator when he made the day fol
man?
81 cannot conceive that he would
say anything else than this to the peo.
pie of this town and this church: He
would say it was our duty to make this
| day different from all other days In
the two particulars Of rest and wor'
ship. He would say that we owe 1t tc
| the Father of our souls in common
| gratitude for his mighty love toward
us that we spend the day in ways
| pleasing to him. He would say that
the wonderful civilization of our times
| should study how to make this day g
true rest day to the workingman OF
| the world and that all unnecessary car
| rying of passengers or merchandise
should stop, so as to give all men, II
| possible, every seven days one whole
day Of rest and communion with some
thing better than the things that perish
with the using. He would say that the
church and the church member and the