Limping Logic

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Tacoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jun 4, 1908

IN a recent sermon on the observance of the Sabbath, Dr. A. C. Dixon declared that “the Sabbath existed before the law was given to Moses on Sinai,” and argued that the Sabbath was a physical necessity, a mental necessity, a moral necessity, and a spiritual necessity. He then drew his conclusion:—

It follows, therefore, that the Sabbath is a national necessity. Whatever is for the physical, mental, moral, and spiritual good of the people is for the good of the nation. “Righteousness exalteth a nation,” and without obedience to the laws of our nature, which are the laws of God, there can be no national righteousness. Laws for the protection of the Sabbath are, therefore, for the protection of the nation.

This argument, put into the form of a syllogism, would run thus: Whatever is necessary to the welfare of the people is a proper subject for legislation; the Sabbath is necessary to the welfare of the people; therefore the Sabbath is a proper subject for legislation. But the major premise, which is taken for granted in Dr. Dixon’s argument, is not true. A certain amount of food and sleep are necessary to the welfare of the people, but we do not concede the right of the legislature to prescribe the time for taking these necessities of life, or the amount required. There are some good things entirely beyond the control of the State, and one of those is Sabbath-keeping. We believe in keeping the Sabbath “according to the commandment,” but the commandment of God, not of man.