Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1901-07-10

announcement had Deen maze tnaJ tne
board of agriculture had strenuousfy
resolved that the gates of the fair
should be opened to the public on Sun
day. the first day of September next. 1t
was announced by one of the officers
of the State Association of Christian
Endeavorers that he had following of
some 10000 young Christians and we
might expect
ONE OF THE FIGHTS OHIO
HAD EVER SEEN.
If we are on the eve of such strug-
gle, think it desirable at least that
we become familiar with the issues
involved and that the people should
form some rational judgment as to th5
enormity of the sin which the state
board of agriculture has committed in
deciding in favor of the open gate.
What is the source of this tremen-
dous heat, that in it's fierceness men
should talk of insulting our Lord" and
tearing down the cause of righteous
ness" and of ministers stultifying
themselves by preaching to the people
at the fair on Sunday" What is this
Sabbath that has no hinge in it that its
gates cannot be moved? There is no
natural fuel for such a devouring flame.
Nature furnishes no oil for its white
heat 1t is an artificial fire, and hence
It's fierceness for the time. 1t is
A FLAME FED BY PREJUDICE,
and when rational mood shall return
this mock confiagration will cease.
Is there not an echo in all this mad
fuss that comes down to us from the
time of Jesus, when he had his contro-
versy with the Pharisees over this
same question as to the proper uses OF
the Sabbath? He and his disciples had
done something on the Sabbath day
that the Pharisees did not like. 1t was
violation of their law. and they up
raided him. In justifying himself and
his disciples he referred those Jews to
certain things which some of their old
and royal Hebrews had done before
which set aside their technical laws
of the Sabbath. and then he drew his
conclusion for his accusers, "The Sab
bath was made for man, for his use, and
not man for the Sabbath" and he said
THE Son of Man is Lord also of the
Sabbath to use it as he best may for
his betterment.
Would it not be well today for his
professed followers to remember what
he said about
MAN BEING GREATER THAN THE
SABBATH?
And haven't our Columbus pastors
some of them-gone over to the Jew
ish side in this controversy? When
the Pharisees condemned Jesus for do
ing good on the Sabbath day he said to
them, do you remember what David
did when he and his friends were an
hungered-how he went into the house
of the Lord and di eat the w-bread,
which it was lawful for the priest alone
to eat?" Jesus thrust aside the old
traditional laws and customs ABOUT the
Sabbath and did what it was desirable
to do, and it seems to me that if his
modern disciples could but obtain some
of his spiritual freedom they would
cease to talk about insulting the Lord
and tearing down the cause of right
eousness," when the people are simply
rational on the Sabbath. The Sabbath
is not a great mold into which men
are poured as melted lead. there to
harden into fixed forms. but the Sab
bath is a day which men are
TO USE FOR THEIR OWN GOOD,
and it seems to me that it is time for
us to put away the arbitrary and imi
tating restrictions that have been
grouped around certain and particu-
lar "a hours of the Lord S common time
The last weeks papers brought us thg
: ItpOIJ llldI d CtIldln LulnlSltI utdt
Bellefontaine had been asked to resign
because it had been found out that he
sold some milk on Sunday! l think h;
would be glad to resign from such {
| church. If l had Jersey COW tha
gave more milk than my family needed
and my next door neighbor should plal
to take the surplus and should send il
for milk for the breakfast coffee Sun
day morning and leave a nickel or
dime in exchange and you should asl
me to resign on account of it think
would, unless should decide that
/ A COMMON SENSE GOSPEL
was imperatively needed among yo
and should resolve to preach all tn
more fiercely Why should a child lis
} ten to bird sing Sunday morning an
, he himself be told that he must nc
, whistle on Sunday? Why doesn't tn
: Lord say to the bird, as Brother Free
would say, "You will insult me if yo
sing on the Sabbath and if you propof
! IN sing I have a hundred and fiftv thOi