p. 16 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 31, No. 23. (6/7/1905)

Earlier text: MEETINGS IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

SUNSET MAGAZINE

By Editor

describes

California

Not only California, but all the great West, is truthfully described in the beautifully illustrated pages of this virile Western monthly. Its fine half-tones make you SEE the country, while its descriptive and industrial articles TELL YOU EXACTLY what is to be found there. It is

"Opportunity"

in visible form, for it shows the wonderful chances for success now open in the new West for wide-awake people.

If your news dealer doesn't carry SUNSET, send us his name and address and write for sample copy.

HOME OFFICE: 431 California St. San Francisco, California.

Sunday Legislation and Religious Liberty

Sunday observance and Sunday legislation are two very different propositions. As far as human right is concerned, any man has a right to observe Sunday as religiously as he chooses. But when he seeks law to compel others to do as he does, he manifests a spirit of tyranny. He sets himself up as a judge of what other men shall do in a matter of conscience. He asks the state to enforce his convictions upon his fellow-men. This the Lord Himself did not do. He said, "If any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not; for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world." Now if Christ did not assume to judge men who did not believe as He did, what right has any professed disciple to do so? He committed to His disciples only the kind of work that He did, which they were to do in all the world; and He asked no aid from the civil government, nor did any of His apostles. It is true that all who do not believe His Word and follow His example will have to meet it in the judgment; but when He was a preacher of the Gospel, He recognized every man's right to believe or not to believe, leaving them to be judged by the Word "in the last day." See John 12:47, 48.

Gives Up the Effort.

By Editor

Dr. Randolph McKim, whose scheme for the introduction of state religion in the public schools of Washington, D. C., was rejected by the board, has declared that he would not renew the effort in that direction. And others who were inclined to sympathize with the movement, express regrets over the bitter feelings that were engendered by the controversy. That bitterness was aroused principally by Dr. McKim's acrimonious assaults upon the opponents of the scheme, especially upon Jews, seculars, and the foreign element. But abuse of opposing persons and classes is a characteristic argument of those who advocate measures tending toward a union of church and state; and this shows that the principle is utterly void of legitimate support.

God’s Law and the Life of Faith

God's law is the law of thy life. Transgressed, it is inevitable death. Observed by faith in Christ Jesus, it is strength and salvation.

Christian Joy Amid Life’s Troubles

Rest in the midst of a world of turmoil; peace in a world of strife; joy in a world of sorrow; life in a world of death—these are the priceless possessions of the Christian.

Confession and Forsaking Sin

The confession of sin that involves separation from sin, places the soul on the side of God, and in antagonism to sin. Such a soul is then where he can realize God's precious promise, "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy."

God’s Law Is the Law of Life

God's law presents no arbitrary requirements to show His authority. Infinite Love, Wisdom, and Justice could not give any other law. The commandments of God are the expression of his own character, and He can not deny Himself. Moreover, God's law is the law of His life. It is the law of the life of all humanity. To pervert it is sin and death. God could not, therefore, teach or require any change or perversion. He wishes man to live; how could He give him a law of death? God's law is the law of righteousness (Ps. 119:172), and "in the way of righteousness is life."

AIR AND SUNSHINE.

Pure air twenty-four hours in the day, and sunshine whenever the sun shines—these are the prime requisites of healthful living. There are but few germs that can beat down the barriers built up in the body by these two great constitution-builders. They have proved themselves the most valiant defenders of human life against that most tenacious enemy of the race, consumption. In fact, no other remedy worthy the name has yet been discovered, tho there are scores, if not hundreds, of claimants for the honor. Keep the consumptive in the open air twenty-four hours a day, except when it is snowing or raining. He will not take cold, if warmly clad; and he stands a better chance of recovery than through any other course of treatment known to the world at the present time. At the same time that he is throwing off this disease, he is having his entire system renovated and disinfected, and made stronger to resist the ravages of other diseases.

And this advice to tuberculosis patients is just as good for those who never have experienced its ravaging touch. Pure air and sunshine—they are yours by divine right; insist on having them.

Again Demonstrated.

By Editor

That Sunday-closing of saloons is not a temperance movement, has been demonstrated in Chicago in a most convincing manner. Professedly Christian people who really think the saloon bad, if they would be consistent, ought to favor its abolition altogether. The late municipal election in Chicago gave them an excellent opportunity to express themselves. The two leading candidates for mayor both openly declared before the election that they would not close the saloon on Sunday. This gave the "temperance" men of both popular parties a chance to rally to the support of the Prohibition candidate, with the best of reason, from their own standpoint, for withdrawing from their old partisan affiliations. But the results show that they did not do so. There was a large increase in the total vote over that of the previous election—an increase of 13,000; while the Prohibition increase was no more than would have been expected under ordinary circumstances—only 623. So that the advocates of Sunday-closing showed that they would forego even that modicum of alleged temperance principle, rather than to dispense with the saloon more than one day in the week. Thus the Sunday-observing church people of Chicago—a great majority of them at least—deliberately arrayed themselves on the side of the liquor traffic. Even the comparatively small number of Prohibition voters are not all church members.

Frenzied Finance and the Trust System

By Editor

Mr. Thomas W. Lawson, one of the great stock manipulators of the day, who has become specially prominent through his "Frenzied Finance" articles running in Everybody's Magazine, sends out a circular letter to the press, in which he says that in the June number he is up to the great crime of the Amalgamated Copper Trust, the point to which he has been coming for some time. The plague of "frenzied finance," or stock-jobbing robbery, is the progenitor of the trust "system" which is now blighting the country, and Mr. Lawson is exposing its corrupt operations. Whether his details are all true to the letter or not, we do not vouch; but the effect of the "system" on the people at large is sufficient to show that there is ground for several stories fully as blood-curdling as the one he writes. He certainly gives evidence of an inside knowledge of the trust "system" that is, perhaps, second to none, and he impresses his readers with a pretty deep conviction that his story is true. At least, he does not spare himself nor hide his own connection with the schemes which he exposes, nor have any of the wealthy victims of his exposure resented his accusations, only in a general attempt to make light of them and to pass them by as unworthy of attention. This, too, notwithstanding the fact that he is wealthy enough to be made amenable to large damages, if his charges be not true. Dire threats have been hurled against him, but none of them have been carried out as yet.

Discontent

By Editor

Discontent.—While some are contending for the "simple life," others feel that there is ground for discontent; and among the reasons for such a condition, the Denver News names the following:

The "frenzied finance" revelations, the increase of crime by immigrants, and other problems connected with the influx of inferior peoples, the evils of graft and adulteration, the indifference of the people to injustice from common carrier companies and other public services, and the overriding of law by city officials.

Surely these things ought to make patriots discontented till they are settled right. The same thing is true in the religious world. There is surely ground for discontent in the divisions in the Christian church, in the manifestation of greed, in unbelief in the Bible, in the rejection of the incarnation of Christ, and other things of equally fatal import. Truly, God's children should be so discontented that they would with all their heart come back to the old way, the good way, the way of the Book and the Master—"the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." And even here there should be no spirit of contentment apart from living connection with God and faithful work in His vineyard.

Important Articles and Series Announcements

By Editor

The pressure on our space this week is so great that we are compelled to omit important matter. The series on "The Early and Latter Rain" will be resumed next week, and thereafter will alternate with Professor Rine's series, "Foretokens of our Lord's Return." We hope none will pass by the article in this week's issue entitled, "Greed and Her Progeny of Vice and Crime." It is long; but its importance is much greater than its length. Much of its force would have been lost had we published only a part in this issue.

Exemption Recognized

Exemption Recognized.—In Columbus, Ohio, a few weeks ago, a Jew was arrested for keeping his place of business open on Sunday, and was fined in the Police Court. His case was appealed to the Common Pleas Court, and the decision reversed, on the ground that the defendant had observed the previous day. So rarely are the seventh-day observers accorded the exemption right, even where it is provided, that the press despatches recorded this as the first instance of the kind in the state.

Prayer Depends on the Heart

It is not the attitude of prayer that counts; it is the condition of heart with which we come to God. The great essentials of prayer are a sense of our need and simple faith in God's all-wisdom, power, and goodness.