Earlier text: THE WORK AND THE WORKERSThe Cost of Peace
By F. M. W.
We frequently see comparisons and comments upon the terrible cost of war in the expenditure of vast sums of money and the sacrifice of human life. This is indeed terrible to contemplate, particularly the toll of human suffering and life which every war exacts. But the money cost of actual war is as nothing compared with the continual and rapidly growing expense involved in the maintenance of standing armies, the preservation of naval prestige, and all that figures in the great powers of earth keeping their national defenses up to the highest possible point of efficiency for the sake of maintaining peace. According to the Fortnightly Review for September, the naval expenditures of the great powers of Europe for the present year are enormous. They are given as follows: Austria-Hungary, $31,590,000; Italy, $49,907,340; France, $90,522,360; Germany, $111,230,820; Russia, $118,958,220; Great Britain, $225,504,000. Figures presented in the Christian Herald of October 22, add to the interest of this comparison. Quoting from the Sphere, a London (England) magazine, the Herald says:— From tables giving the totals of the national trade which pays the taxes for the support of armies and navies, we learn that the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria, and Italy) does an annual business of $5,695,920,000; the Dual Alliance (France and Russia) has a yearly trade of $320,760,000; the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, leading the world, has $6,006,960,000. Nor is this all, for while these large sums of money must be raised for the support and training of men for national defense, there is withdrawn from industrial pursuits a large army of able-bodied men, who, if they were not a charge to the state in consequence of this imposed occupation, would actually be producers to the extent of many thousands of dollars. The quotation from the Sphere continues:— There is yet another important economic matter to consider. The Triple Alliance has 1,555,000 men under arms on the normal peace footing. The Dual Alliance has 1,000,000. The five powers thus keep 3,455,000 men out of industrial occupation as against 156,000 men employed in the army and navy of America and 380,000 men in this country [Great Britain]. Every working man serving as a soldier is unproductive. To these figures the writer in the Christian Herald adds:— Assuming that these men will average an earning power of only $100 a year, there is a loss to the great military nations of Europe of $345,500,000 against a similar loss of $38,000,000 in Great Britain and $15,600,000 in the United States. Small wonder is it that in view of this vast expenditure and continual expansion Winston Churchill, first lord of the Admiralty of England, should suggest a holiday in naval construction. In a recent speech he proposed a postponement for twelve months of British shipbuilding, provided Germany would agree to do the same, as in carrying out their proposed naval program their relative naval strength at the end of the year would be the same as at the present time. This proposal, however, was not welcomed either by German statesmen or by Mr. Churchill’s own associates. And so the war program will continue. More powerful and more destructive battle-ships and engines of war will be constructed. It is the hastening of the world to the last great conflict. Notwithstanding the organization of peace societies, and the agitation of peace movements, which of themselves are a fulfilment of the prophetic word (Isaiah 2), the industries of peace continue to pay tribute to the demands for war which exist on every side, thus fulfilling as well the prophetic prediction of Joel 3:9-16. F. M. W. Praying to the God of Hezekiah
By W. A. S.
In his “History of the Church Missionary Society,” Mr. Eugene Stock tells of an experience of God’s delivering mercies in the early history of mission effort in the Yoruba country of West Africa, generally known now as the Lagos country. There was war between Dahomey and Yoruba. It was in 1863. The Dahomans had massacred the inhabitants of one town, where there were Christians, and were marching unopposed upon the capital, Abeokuta, where the missionary headquarters and training-school were located. The British naval officer on the coast had given his decision in the quarrel in favor of Dahomey,—an act deeply deplored in England,—and ordered all Europeans out of Abeokuta. This, in native eyes, was full license to the savage Dahomans to do their worst, and it was considered that Abeokuta was “doomed.” The missionaries in Abeokuta felt that they could not forsake their people and their work. They sent word that they would remain. The mission committee in London realized the peril of the situation, and felt that only by God’s intervention could the mission be saved. They issued a call to prayer throughout England, while the Dahomans were gathering to the siege of Abeokuta. This call to prayer quoted the words of Hezekiah when the king of Assyria besieged Jerusalem, “With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God,” and the promise of God through the prophet: “Thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return.” There was earnest and continual prayer throughout the constituency of the society in England. Mr. Stock says:— The committee’s circular had invited prayer that “Dahomey might be restrained, and be compelled to return to his own land, if it might be without bloodshedding.” “We felt,” wrote Ridgeway in the Intelligencer, “that in asking this we were asking a hard thing, but not too hard for the Lord.” Yet he so ordered it. The Dahoman army did return to its own country without a battle, and almost without bloodshedding. And Buehler, in writing from Abeokuta, quoted the very passage which the committee had quoted in their circular: “The king of Dahomey has not come into this city, nor has he shot an arrow there, nor has he come before it with shields, nor has he cast a bank against it. By the way that he came, by the same has he returned, and has not entered into this city.” The details, when received, seemed almost incredible. For sixteen days in March, the Dahoman army had remained encamped about five miles from Abeokuta. Night after night an attack was expected; morning after morning dawned without a gun having been fired; and on the seventeenth morning the camp was found deserted. The whole Dahoman army had gone off, no one knew why. Certain words of St. John occur to the mind: “But the servants which drew the water knew.” Mr. Buehler, one night when alarm was given, overheard an Egba Christian woman praying aloud, quietly took down the words, translated them literally into English, and sent the translation home. All over England were that woman’s simple heart-outpourings read with thankful sympathy:— “O Lord Jesus, lift up thine arm; lift up, lift up, O Lord, Lord Jesus our Redeemer, lift up thine holy arm and deliver us from the cruel Dahomans. O Lord Jesus, remember what they have done to thy saints in Ishagga, how much innocent blood they have shed. O Lord, Lord, deliver us, that we may not fall into their hands. Thou hast sent thy messengers to us with thy Holy Word. We trust in thee, O Lord our God; do not forsake us. Thou didst deliver thy people Israel from the hand of Pharaoh, and hast overthrown his army.1144 Thou didst deliver Hezekiah and his people from the hand of Sennacherib, who blasphemed thy holy name. Do also remember us, O Lord; remember thy church, remember thy servants, remember our children. O Lord God, deliver us for thy dear Son’s sake. Amen.”—Vol. II, page 437. It is in the latter days, when God is sending the light to all nations and tongues and peoples, preparatory to Christ’s second coming, that we may look to see him working as in ancient days. Inspiration puts upon the lips of his children in the last days the prayer: “Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days.” Through the whole history of the “modern mission century” we see the hand of the living God doing things on earth, and more and more earnestly, as the end draws near, may be pressed the petition for the arm of the Lord to be revealed in mighty power as in the ancient days. Another Kind of Social Gathering
By F. M. W.
LAST week we referred to one of the model social gatherings which it was our privilege to attend. We regret that all have not been of this character. The experience of the writer, unfortunately, has been the experience of others of his ministering brethren who have been unwittingly led to the acceptance of invitations from their friends to gatherings of a sort that did not minister to godliness. One of these occurring some years ago we vividly recall. It was a social gathering at the home of one of the members of the church. Apparently the direction of the evening’s entertainment had been left to the study and planning of young and immature minds. After an hour of idle chit-chat, joking and laughing and more or less gossiping regarding matters in the church and neighborhood, the formal program of the evening was rendered. This consisted of the singing of several worldly songs, the recitation of two or three comic and ridiculous pieces, and the recital of several laughable and ludicrous incidents which had occurred in the experience of the narrators. Following this a game called the spider’s web was played, consisting of the tracing of various threads of twine which had been interlaced and crossed, running from room to room and point to point, throughout the house. Next came the event of the evening, a feast of rich cakes and highly seasoned viands rendered all the more indigestible by the lateness of the hour and the weariness of the guests. There was nothing in the spirit of the occasion that ministered to spirituality or even to sobriety. It seemed to be the purpose of the majority of those present to crowd into the passing hour as much of wild mirth as possible. Christ and the claims of his service were apparently forgotten. There was nothing in the occasion that could be recalled upon the morrow with feelings of pleasurable remembrance. Some were present who could neither find pleasure in the exercises nor participate therein. As invited guests they did not feel free to withdraw, and the occasion was not one fitting for expostulation or kindly admonition. We know that many, both old and young, have been drawn into gatherings of this character as unsuspectingly as were we, and have felt sad at heart for being present. The spirit of prophecy affords us a vivid description of the character of such gatherings. The servant of the Lord speaks very plainly. From the tract “Recreation” we quote:— But there has been a class of social gatherings in — of an entirely different character, parties of pleasure that have been a disgrace to our institutions and to the church. They encourage pride of dress, pride of appearance, self-gratification, hilarity, and trifling. Satan is entertained as an honored guest, and he takes possession of those who patronize these gatherings. A view of one such company was presented to me, where there were assembled those who profess to believe the truth. One was seated at the instrument of music, and such songs were poured forth as made the watching angels weep. There was mirth, there was coarse laughter, there was abundance of enthusiasm, and a kind of inspiration; but the joy was such as Satan only is able to create. This is an enthusiasm and infatuation of which all who love God will be ashamed. It prepares the participants for unholy thought and action. I have reason to think that some who were engaged in that scene, heartily repented of the shameful performance. Many such gatherings have been presented to me. I have seen the gaiety, the display in dress, the personal adornment. All want to be thought brilliant, and give themselves up to hilarity, foolish jesting, cheap, coarse flattery, and uproarious laughter. The eyes sparkle, the cheek is flushed, conscience sleeps. With eating and drinking and merry-making, they do their best to forget God. The scene of pleasure is their paradise. And heaven is looking on, seeing and hearing all. Both pleasure and profit may be found in Christian fellowship and well-regulated social enjoyment; but, as we have stated before, such gatherings in order to be profitable must be arranged as a result of prayer and earnest study. The counsel of mature judgment and of Christian fathers and mothers must have a strong, molding influence. Let us seek to avoid those places and those associations that tend to draw us away from God, and seek more earnestly those that make for our mental and spiritual upbuilding. The Folly of Bigotry
By C. M. S.
FORCE has no place in the settlement of religious questions, and yet it is the universal weapon of bigotry. The man who will not see, who knows nothing of the work of grace in the heart, and who cannot meet argument with argument, or give a reason for his hope that is satisfactory even to himself, will attempt to silence argument with a club and answer logic with a brickbat or a stone. Gamaliel gave sound advice to the leaders of the Jews when he said concerning the apostles and their work:— “Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to naught: but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.” Acts 5:38, 39. The Pharisees seemed to be echoing the teaching of Gamaliel when they said, concerning Paul and his work:— “We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God.” Acts 23:9. This was sound advice; but bigotry has never followed it. When Jesus went up Calvary’s slope bearing his cross, bigotry was exulting in the idea that it had silenced his teaching and scattered his followers. But instead of that, it had shed the blood of man’s great Sacrifice and had finished the work of perfecting that antitype to which all sin-offerings had pointed forward since the days of Abel. With every stone hurled at the martyr Stephen, bigotry thought it was driving a nail in the coffin of Christian doctrine. But the prayer of Stephen for his orthodox murderers has been an example and an inspiration to the followers of Christ for nineteen hundred years. His spilled blood has helped to seed the world with the virile truths of the gospel. The Jewish Sanhedrin thought it had accomplished much toward stifling the gospel when it sent Saul to Damascus, breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the Christians, and with authority to bind and bring to Jerusalem any who were of that way. But God sent a shaft of light into the soul of Saul, and Saul the persecutor became Paul the apostle to the Gentiles, the greatest factor after Christ in the establishment of Christ’s kingdom in this world. The Roman Church of the dark ages thought it was working in its own interests when it made the Bible a forbidden book, and tortured and burned to death the millions who persisted in reading it; but out of that awful régime of bigotry and oppression and slaughter stepped the monk of Wittenberg, with that forbidden Book in his hand and its precepts in his heart, to start a Reformation that made the Pope himself tremble9 on his throne, and burst the mental and spiritual shackles of many of earth’s defrauded millions. Bigotry had overshot the mark. God himself had spoken to an imprisoned soul, “The just shall live by faith,” and the emancipated monk to whom he spoke it passed on that bread of life, first to the hungry millions of his native land by word and pen, and then to hungry souls in every land by the multiplication of his published works. God meant religion should be as free as the untrammeled river flowing on to the great sea; and when men attempt to dam it up and imprison it and regulate it by human law, it rises and flows over, and sweeps away the barriers and obstructions that human hands have put in its way. The American colonists thought to regulate religion, and to proscribe and banish from their realms all religion save their own; but in doing it, they banished a man who grew into a State, and the fundamental principles of that State became the fundamental principles of the whole nation; and that nation, in that thing, became a light to all the world. Bigotry had undone itself again with its own weapons. But bigotry is blind and dull; it will not learn. Nation after nation is rising and throwing off the shackles bigotry had forged for it. England did it; Germany has done it; France is doing it; Portugal has done it; Spain is moving in that direction; the people of Austria have seen a light, and many of them are moving toward it; and even the nations of South America are working toward soul emancipation. A Catholic bishop of Peru, with a band of followers, rode out into the mountains to break up a Christian medical mission among the Indians, and to destroy a school. They beat the Christian Indians and dragged some of them off to prison; but in a few days a law was passed by both houses of the Peruvian legislature so amending the constitution that the Roman Church loses its position in that nation as the only permitted religion, and the people are to have the privilege of accepting and practising the religion of their choice. These experiences prove, and prove again, the truth of that scripture declaration that we “can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.” The weapons formed against religious freedom finally help in the overthrow of the cause they were intended to serve. The burning of Bibles causes more Bibles to be published; the persecution of Christians has always made more Christians; and the denial of freedom has always been the harbinger of liberty. These are the lessons of the ages; but bigotry will not learn. A few years ago a great federation of Catholic societies began to make demands upon the American government that periodicals attacking the Catholic faith should be denied the privilege of the mails. Immediately there began to spring up in different parts of the country anti-Catholic weeklies. One of these, in less than three years, has attained a circulation of more than a million copies a week, and others that have been in the field longer are increasing their lists. The attacks of Catholic mobs on anti-Catholic speakers increase the desire of the people to know what it is that Rome does not want them to hear. On November 7 Detective Robert Wilson, of Scranton, Pa., delivered a lecture against Rome in the Berean Baptist Church at Carbondale, Pa. A mob of about two thousand persons attacked the church while the lecture was in progress, demolished the large memorial windows, more or less seriously injured with stones and bricks many of those inside the church, brutally beat some of those who were in attendance and some who were not, entered a near-by house, dragged out its owner, and would undoubtedly have beaten out his life had not the police succeeded in getting him out of their clutches. The mob would not disperse until the sheriff permitted them to go through the wrecked church hunting in every possible hiding-place for the pastor and the lecturer. How the mob would have treated these men had they found them can only be imagined by the way in which they wreaked their unreasoning vengeance upon those who did fall into their hands. Such acts can convince no one of the falsity of the charges made by the lecturer. They only serve to convince those who heard them of the dangerous nature of the organization the lecturer was attacking. Such a mob by such acts cannot convince any one of the harmlessness and beneficence of the religion it professes; for no one can believe that the priests to whom those men confess could not have stopped the riot if they had chosen so to do. In fact, many will believe that the priests themselves were the instigators, and will judge the religion by the characteristics of that frenzied mob, the brutal acts it committed, the weapons it used, and the windowless and demolished church. There is no escaping it. We note that the papers which speak editorially of the deplorable occurrence seem afraid to denounce the actions of the mob, and they lay the chief blame upon the speaker, of whose arguments and charges they had heard nothing, as the meeting was not for the general public, and reporters were excluded. That demonstration was the argument of bigotry,—the only one it has,—and it never satisfies, never convinces. It proves conclusively that they who use it have not learned Christ; for he, “when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not.” If the Roman Church would convince the world that she is indeed the true church of Jesus Christ, she must abandon the weapons of the unconverted, and demonstrate her claim by the Christlikeness of her acts. The sword of the Spirit is not a bludgeon, and the power of the Christ life is not manifested in the hurling of bricks and stones. C. M. S. Our European Division Meetings — No. 6
By A. G. Daniells
The annual meeting of our Austrian Mission field was held in Vienna, the capital of the Austrian Empire. While this empire embraces countries like Hungary, Bohemia, and Moravia, our Austrian Mission field is limited to Austria proper. Hungary is the largest and most important division of the Danube Union Conference. Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia were at first a part of our Austrian Mission, but Bohemia is now a separate mission, and Moravia and Silesia have been organized into a conference. This arrangement leaves Austria proper, with its nine provinces, a separate mission field. This part of Austria is said to be the most intensely Catholic country in all Europe, and possibly in all the world. Of its population of some nine millions, about eight millions are Catholics. The laws of the national government, and also of the city governments, are all favorable to the Catholic Church and against other denominations. These laws forbid the holding of public religious meetings. No public meeting of any kind can be held without obtaining permission. Then the police must be notified of the time and place of the meeting to be held, and it is required that a policeman or some other officer of the government shall be present to hear all, and make a record of anything he desires to use. In a public meeting no hymn can be sung, no prayer offered, and no benediction pronounced. It must not have the semblance of a religious service, for only the Catholics are permitted to conduct religious services. I believe certain favors are granted to Protestant “sects,” as they are called when they have grown to certain proportions. But the restrictions and prohibitions are so heavy that it is well-nigh impossible for any body of Protestant believers to secure very much freedom. We have now been working in Austria ten years, and during that time we have not been permitted to take a religious name, or to hold a regular public religious service. The law forbids religious teaching, baptizing, and the forming of churches. It forbids the distribution of religious literature by selling, lending, and giving.1146 In fact, it aims to make it impossible for any religious body, save the Catholic Church, to exist in Austria. But with all this against us, our cause is making most encouraging headway in that country. When I visited Austria in 1902, eleven years ago, we were just beginning our work in that empire. There were ten or twelve believers in Prague, Bohemia. I learned of no others. There was not a Seventh-day Adventist in the great city of Vienna. During these eleven years we have had only a few laborers in Austria, and these have worked under the greatest difficulties. But God has given them most encouraging success. There are now nearly one thousand believers in Austria, including Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia. The reports for the quarter ended July 31 of this year shows that there are 180 baptized believers in Bohemia, 334 in Moravia and Silesia, and 242 in the Austrian Mission field. Nearly all of these have come from the Catholic Church, and have been won by the most careful and prayerful efforts. We have baptized believers in every province of Austria, and there were delegates at our last annual meeting from all these provinces, save one — Dalmatia — which lies in the extreme southern part of Austria, along the eastern shore of the Adriatic. I am sure it will be both interesting and helpful to our people outside of Austria to hear how we were able to hold our annual meeting, bound about as we were by such restrictions. Our evening meetings were mostly public, but not professedly religious. The meeting was opened — without singing or prayer — by the simple announcement of the name of the speaker of the evening, who proceeded to give a lecture on some beneficial subject. In his lecture the speaker could discuss problems of all sorts relating to the betterment of the people. Even the Bible and its teachings could be discussed in the presence of the police and some other government officials. But the government permits another kind of meeting to be held, a private meeting to which no one may come except those who are invited. The invitation must be given by card. This card must contain the name of the person invited, the full address of the place of meeting, and the name of the one extending the invitation. This meeting, being private, may be religious in character, but it is, of course, subject to police inspection. Should the police find a person present who has no invitation card, that person would be removed from the meeting by the officer. The purpose of all these restrictions is to make it as difficult as possible for any one, save those representing the Catholic Church, to conduct religious meetings. And it must be confessed that when all the prohibitions and obstacles are understood, it seems almost impossible to get a foothold and make headway. Yet God has given our workers in Austria marvelous success. They have had many remarkable experiences. Many times the Lord has delivered them from serious situations. This has given them confidence and courage. The workers and brethren and sisters who attended our meeting in Vienna were full of gratitude and joy for the light and blessings of the third angel’s message. It was truly inspiring to associate with these dear people, and to witness their zeal and courage. Whenever a hymn was to be sung in our private meetings, a number of the brethren would immediately close all the windows of the hall so that our meeting should not attract the attention of passers-by, and so possibly create a riot. After the first hymn the windows would be opened until the closing hymn. The reports of the ministers, Bible workers, and canvassers were full of interest. The following, taken from the report of one of the laborers, tells the story of the steady progress the cause is making:— “The Lord gave us for these two cities ten souls, of which eight fall to Bozen and two to Merava. Not without difficulties we labored, and the Lord helped us wonderfully.
“One dear woman in Bozen, a good Catholic woman but now a sister of ours, heard of the meetings. She daily attended mass, and was a regular visitor of three praying circles. Her son, who used to accompany her to my lectures, was a student of the Franciscan high school, preparing to become a Franciscan friar. Both being deeply impressed by this truth, the mother left her praying circles and the mass, and the son his Franciscan study, to become a hopeful member and student of our missionary school at Friedensau. The Lord be praised.
“A precious experience another dear brother had in Meran. He is the father of four children, and held a position in the city railway service. At first he was given the Sabbath off, but as he asked to have it off regularly, notice was sent to him that he must give up his position. The day before leaving his work as a street-car conductor, while conversing with a gentleman in the car he mentioned his having to give up his position. Being asked the reason, he answered, ‘For conscience’ sake.’ The gentleman was surprised, and gave him a position, with the Sabbath free.”
In one of the meetings we requested all who had come from the Catholic Church into our ranks, to stand. Nearly every one of the one hundred and fifty who were present arose. The statistical report showed that during the year ended June 30, ninety-seven were added to their numbers, seventy-six by baptism, and twenty-one by letters from other countries. The average tithe per member was $22.42 and the offerings to missions $7.65 per member. This is a fine showing for the 242 brethren and sisters scattered over Catholic Austria. During that same year our seven canvassers sold $4,200 worth of our publications, and this in the face of laws forbidding the circulation by loan, sale, or gift of religious literature. In carrying on their work these canvassers are constantly subject to arrest and fine or imprisonment. In his report one of the canvassers told of being arrested, of all his publications being taken to police headquarters and burned, and of a fine imposed on him. On refusal to pay the fine he was sent to prison for three days. As he had the privilege of choosing the days of the week he would go to prison, he selected Friday afternoon. When released the following Monday he resumed his canvassing. He was again sent to prison, and he again selected Friday as the day to enter. After several repetitions of this, the jailer asked him how it happened that he always came on Friday. He replied that he did no work on Saturday, the Sabbath, and that he could not canvass on Sunday, so he chose these days for his imprisonment in order to have more time during the week for canvassing. It was truly uplifting and encouraging to hear the reports of these workers, and witness their devotion and courage. They believe in this cause with all their hearts, and are doing all they know how to help to finish quickly the work God has given us to do. Elder J. Wolfgarten, who has had charge of the work in Austria for several years, was chosen leader for another term. Brother and Sister Wolfgarten have had many evidences of the special care and deliverance of the Lord during these years. Elder G. W. Schubert, who has recently been elected president of the Central European Union, in which Austria is located, attended this meeting, and at its close, in company with Elder L. R. Conradi, attended general meetings in Bohemia and Moravia. In the latter country they organized a new conference. It is expected that a Bohemian conference will be formed in another year. Thus the work progresses, and for it all we praise and magnify the name of the Lord. Trial Tests Christian Profession
TRIAL is the real test of the genuineness of Christian profession. Faith grows stronger and hope shines brighter in the darkness. THE Christian Church of Englewood, Ill., publishes a monthly paper called the College Vista Budget. In its issue for September, 1913, under the heading “Sabbath and Lord’s Day,” the following interesting catechetical article is contributed by Pastor E. A. Hibler, of Warren, Ohio:— 1. What is the difference between the Sabbath and the Lord’s day? Answer.—The Sabbath was a day of rest. Ex. 20: 10. The Lord’s day, or the first day of the week, is a day of worship. Acts 20: 7; Rev. 1: 10. 2. What is the numerical difference? Ans.—The Sabbath, the seventh day. Deut. 5: 14. The Lord’s day, the first day of the week. Mark 16: 1, 2. 3. What is the civil name for the two days? Ans.—The Sabbath is called Saturday. The Lord’s day is called Sunday. 4. What do these two days commemorate? Ans.—The Sabbath commemorates the rest day of creation and bondage in Egypt. The Lord’s-day commemorates the resurrection of the Saviour of the world. It would be interesting if Brother Hibler would tell us on what authority the first day of the week became a day of worship in the Christian church, by what authority he designates the first day of the week “the Lord’s day,” and what appropriateness there is in observing the first day of the week in commemoration of the resurrection of the Lord. As a matter of fact, as far as the record of the Scriptures is concerned, the first day of the week was used by the Christian church as a day of ordinary labor, and the seventh day observed as a day of holy rest. This is demonstrated even by a critical study of the scriptures which he cites; namely, the twentieth chapter of Acts. Nowhere in the Bible is Sunday called the Lord’s day. Conversely, the seventh day of the week is declared specifically to be the Lord’s day (Ex. 20: 8-11), and of this seventh-day Sabbath enjoined in the commandment the Saviour declares himself the Lord. Mark 2: 27, 28. In the sixth chapter of Romans the apostle Paul shows that baptism has been given the Christian church as a memorial of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord. Why should the church, without a divine command, observe a second memorial? Truly, as Dr. Hibler states, the seventh-day Sabbath commemorates the rest day of creation. The Creator first used the day as his rest day, and then gave it to the human family in commemoration of his great creative act. Gen. 2: 1-3; Ex. 20: 8-11. Just as long as we walk this material earth and are surrounded by the handiwork of God, so long will it be proper and right to observe the birthday of the world. Its observation from week to week turns our minds continually to the Creator of all, to our Maker and Redeemer.