Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1900-01-10

Sunday paper Is just like that in the
Saturday issue-polltics, locals. fash
ion, personals. dramatic and sporting
news. literary articles by we'll known
writer's, fatality, ETC., anywhere from
20 to 40 pages-an amount Of reading
matter that will take the average man
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
1t seems to me Christ would. US ] an
doing now. advise this church and
the people of Milton to avoid reading
the Sunday paper, because 1t forces
upon the thought Of the community tile
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. 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 frame Of mind
to 20 to church. But that is not the
point. 1t is not 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 II II was a question
with the average man whether he
would go to church and hear a dull
sermon or stay at home and read all
interesting newspaper. That Is not the
point. The point Is whether the day
Of rest and worship shall be like eV-
cry other day; whether we shall let
our minds 60 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 q 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 for
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 for
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 to
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 q
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
Christian everywhere should do all In
his power to make the day a glad,
powerful. useful. restful, anticipated
"a hours. looked forward to with pleas
ant longing by little children and Ia
boring men and railroad men and
street car men as the one day Of all
the week. the happlest and best be-
cause different in it's use. And so diff
ferent that when Mondays toll begins
the man feels refreshed In body and in
soul because he has paused q little
while in the mad whirl Of his struggle
for bread or fame and has fellowship
ed with heavenly things and heard
something diviner than the jangling
discords of this narrow. selfish earth.
"lf this thought Of Sunday Is bigotry
or narrowness. then | stand convicted
as a bigot living outside Of the nine
teenth century. But am not con-
cerned about that. What / am con-
cerned about is Christ's thought Of this
day. If understand his spirit right, /
believe he would say what have said.
lie would say that it Is not right use
of this day for the men and women of
this generation to buy and sell mer-
chandise. to attend or countenance
places OF Spectacles OF amusement, to
engage in card parties ut their homes,
to ill their thoughts full of the ordi-
nary affairs of business OF the events
of the world. He would say that 1t
was the Christians duty and privilege
in this age to elevate the uses Of this
day so that everything done and said
should tend to lift the race higher and
make it better acquainted with the ma
ture of God and its own eternal des-
tiny.
"If Christ would not take that view
of this great question. then have to-
tally misconceived and misunderstood
his character. The Sabbath was made
for man. 1t was made for him that
he might make of it a shining jewel
in the string of pearls which should
adorn all the days of the week, every
day speaking of divine things to the
man, but Sunday opening up the beau
ty and grandeur of the eternal life
little wider yet.
This, dear friends all, has been my
message to you this morning. May