Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1921-05-25
Rev. LOdWiCk on
ObserVingSunday
"The Sabbath Is Made Whole Man. His Spiritual
His Moral And His Physic al Well-Being Man Has
Body AS Well AS SOu'

| cumstances when they seek TO enforc :
this Statute, was shown Dy lev. LODI
wick in the reasons given here.
| First, Thousands of Christian peo-
/ pie members of our churches are them
/ selves guilty of violation, of CHS law.
! Second, The law is aimed specifi-
cally against merchandising; against
/ doing business for profit; against COM
mercializing the Sabbath day.
| When man or woman pays ten
cents for newspaper on Sunday they
are violating the law, as some people
cannot get along without seeing Case
! line Alley and Andy and Min Gump.
! The Sunday newspaper is not philan-
| thropic institution. 1t is circulated for
! the money that there is in it.
/ The same law applies to buying ice
cream and fruit and having it delivered
! to your back door on Sunday. because
| ten or fifteen people have to be there
to oDen their stores and to serve your
wants. If we must enforce the law then
let us enfOrce the whole of it and not
part of it. If I should go to the movies
| tonight or to the baseball game this
afternoon no more harm would be
! brought about than reading the di-
vorce cases that appear in the daily
papers.
| What then can Christian 1eople say
those without the pale of the Church?
The multitude who seek other forms
! of diversion? If they say to the Chris
tian, You buy your Sunday news
paper, and ice-cream and fruit on
Sunday, and are therefore equally
guilty before the law? I lake my di-
version in another way. Wherein am
I more guilty than you? If it be said
that the character of the moving pic
| lures shown on Sunday are not in
keeping with the day land we conced-
ed this) the question arises care di-
vorce cases trailing their Shiny length
through the columns of the press less
corrupting than the movies?
What would Jesus say if he came
into the world and saw the back-bit-
ing that is going on and the lying
about the income tax and the falsified
reports to the assessors?
This question | believe we must ap-
proach from a different angle. We
cannot invoke that statute for the
safeguarding of the Lords Day. | be-
lieve in giving credit to men who adj
hitting mistakes are willing to recti-
fv them and who are sincere in trying
to do what is right.
Rev. Lodwick related the parable of
the fallen woman and when her ira
ducers clamored that she be stoned to
death, Jesus said "He that is without
sin among you cast the first stone :"
And when He looked up He found Ha
and the woman were alone, and he
commanded her GO in peace and sin
no more.
Perhaps we can improve upon the
methods of Jesus but I have my SER
ious doubts. The era of goodwill and
Righteousness is to come not by using
the law as a club over the heads of
men but by the Interpretation of the
gospel so that the world may know
what it is What the civil authorities
may do is another matter. speak to-
day of the attitude of the Christian
Church.
Relative to our local situation we
find the masses are evenly divided on
this question as they were on the
liquor question. The Churches are not
unit, except in the fact that they
must be a place for the element of
worship.
There may be objection to the open
| ing of places of amusement for COM
mercial purposes. There may be OBJ
| lection to the character of film shown,
| but honest efforts are being made to
remedy these defects. If educational
and religious films are used a new
situation arises which would have to
be met I agree with Mrs. Feather
stone of Chicago, who condems good
people for failing to support and en-
courage good things and compelling
managers of movie picture theaters to
cater to those who would patronize
them. In the large cities the moving
picture shows have become so fas-
cnating that the young people are
| being drawn to them.
We object to the commercial element
! that enters into those forms of re-
creation that are now carried on, on
Sunday. IF this could be eliminated
and gambling and profanity cease-we
face another situation. The new Base
Ball league has ruled strongly in an
open proclamation to managers of
teams to rigidly enforce the rule
against gambling or betting. loud
and profane language and rowdyism of
all kinds That these evils will be cor