WHEN Adam disobeyed God, he sold himself and his posterity into bondage. Like Esau, he "sold his birthright for a mess of pottage." The race, from being servants of Satan, in time became servants of one another. As individuals or classes acquired the power of might or cunning, the weaker or less aggressive became subservient to the more ambitious and unscrupulous. As a consequence of this condition, there has been throughout the history of the race a struggle for liberty. Government after government, great and small, has been set up and overthrown as the great contest has been carried on.
Every species of human government of which the human mind can conceive has been tried, each of which has laid great claims to superiority, and made great promises of happiness to its subjects. But not one has been able to fully carry out its promises. The leading inducement of what we might term modern civilized governments has been the guarantee of religious liberty. But religious liberty for those who embrace the popular religion—in other words, liberty for the religion whose votaries have control of government—is the extent of permanent achievement. Many fierce battles have been fought for the enjoyment of religious liberty, while not one of the contestants even dreamed of such liberty for any others than the victors. Whenever more than this has been granted, it has been deemed merely toleration.
All will admit the correctness of this position until we come down to the United States Government. Here, however, the "starry ban-725ner" floats to the breeze, the great eagle spreads her wings, and the Fourth of July orator shouts himself hoarse in praise of the religious liberty guaranteed by the Constitution. Our Declaration of Independence, the cost of whose establishment and maintenance to this time is beyond computation, proclaims "these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."
This government has held out to all the world that here is the great boon which so many have sought in vain—religious liberty. But the human race has had sufficient experience, with all the kinds of government which it has been able to invent, to learn that when any human government guarantees liberty to all religions, it gives a guarantee which it cannot fully sustain. So long as most religions are essentially antagonistic and practically hostile to each other, the maintenance of even an outward peace between the various adherents depends rather upon a restriction of the principles of the opposing religions than upon their liberty.
There is but one unselfish religion in the world, and that is the Christian religion—the Christian religion in its purity, and not in its clashing sectarian pretense. The Christian religion, enforced solely by persuasion and appeal to the word of God, as enunciated by the Lord himself and his immediate successors, and exemplified in their practice, is the only religion that does not seek the aid of civil law. No religion that does seek the support of civil government, thereby appealing to the carnal weapons upon which civil government must reply as a final arbiter, has any legitimate claim to being classed as Christianity. All other religions, necessarily including the Roman Catholic and all the so-called Protestantism that seeks advancement by political methods, are ambitious of legislative control; and they all manifest this ambition the moment they see a probability of success.
In all such religions an essential feature is the uprooting of all opposing forces, civil or religious. Hence the unrestrained liberty of any one politically ambitious religion would logically and certainly restrict the exercise of all others. So it is clear that the seeming equality of all religions in our government, that which has been called religious liberty, has been maintained by the restriction of prominent religious principles and not by granting them full liberty. To the Mohammedan, religious liberty would be liberty to kill off the "Christian dogs," and anything short of that would be a curtailment of his religious liberty. To the Roman Catholic, religious liberty would mean the liberty to "correct heretics" in order to save their souls; it would mean the liberty to draw the means from the public treasury to support her institutions, and the liberty to place her supporters in all places of public trust. To the apostate Protestant, the "National Reformer," for instance, religious liberty means about the same as it does to the Roman Catholic. It is patent beyond dispute that, from the standpoint of the highest aims of these religions, and of others that might be named, their adherents have not enjoyed full religious liberty under this government. And to this fact is due, under Providence, whatever measure of liberty true Christianity has been permitted to enjoy.
Just as soon as either of these religions, or any two or more of them combined, becomes strong enough politically to control legislation, it will soon be made manifest to all dissenters, as it has been already to some, that, squarely put to the test, our government’s guarantee of religious liberty to all classes is not worth the paper upon which it is written. Moreover, its fundamental law provides for its change, or the abrogation of its guarantees at any time when a sufficient number of the people so desire. And nothing would so forcibly urge such a desire as religious prejudice, a fanatical zeal to restrict or prohibit the exercise of religion repugnant to those in power.
But from the very beginning our constitutional guarantee as to religious liberty has been subject to abridgment. While Congress has been forbidden to pass any "law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," the States may pass such laws, and some of the States came into the Union with quite stringent laws, establishing religious institutions. And we have had at least one test case wherein the United States squarely refused to protect a citizen against the penalty of a State religious law. In the State of Tennessee a man whose religious conviction led him to observe the seventh day as the Sabbath was convicted of violation of the State law forbidding secular labor on the first day of the week. His case was appealed to the Supreme Court of the State and thence to a United States Court. The latter appeal was made on the plea of the religious liberty guarantee of the Constitution. But the court declined to recognize the plea or to interfere with the edict of the State. The decision of this Federal judge was in part as follows:—
Sectarian religious belief is guaranteed by the Constitution, not in the sense argued that King, as a Seventh-day Adventist, or some other as a Jew, or yet another as a Seventh-day Baptist, might set at defiance the prejudice, if you please, of other sects having control of legislation.
Thus the government, after guaranteeing religious liberty to all classes, tells us through one of its courts that the guarantee is good only to those "sects having control of legislation" in the States. But if they have control of legislation in the States over matters in which Congress is forbidden to act, they are independent of the general government, and may exercise their own religious liberty without its guarantee. Thus it is demonstrated that such guarantee is of no practical benefit to anybody. It operates only in favor of those classes who have the power to enforce it through another source, namely, through control of State legislation.
So much for the religious liberty guaranteed by the most liberal government that human ingenuity ever devised. If such a government cannot give us religious liberty, what human government can give it to us? Verily there is none that can do so. Such a consummation in a selfish, sinful world is an impossibility. Such a condition can only exist in a world where there is but one faith—a "faith that works by love"—and where every citizen is thoroughly imbued with that faith.
Where, then, shall Christians look for religious liberty? "Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith." Says this Author and Finisher: "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:31, 32. And again, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." Verse 36. The apostle Peter, after giving an assurance that the present sin-cursed earth will shortly be renovated by fire, gives this comforting promise: "Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." 2 Peter 3:13. Righteousness can only be administered by the Lord himself, and "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." 2 Cor. 3:17. "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." Gal. 5:1.
Keeping God’s Commandments
6. “For this is the love of God that we keep his commandments,”
PROHIBITION IN IOWA.
By Elder J. O. Beard
BY ELDER J. O. BEARD.
(Concluded.)
WHY THE LAW FAILED.
In the earlier history of our country, parties were formed for the purpose of advocating principles, and different parties arose only as men honestly differed as to what was right. But here we have a majority freely admitting that prohibition is right in principle, but at the same time repudiating it as a test of party fealty. With the evidence of this already given, perhaps this additional item will be sufficient:—
In partisan politics prohibition is weak, in the hearts of the people it is strong. The man who invents a method of getting prohibition in such a shape that no political party will have anything to gain by helping to nullify the law, will be a benefactor and when he dies should have a monument. —Daily Iowa Capital.
The above, with many like utterances, shows that political parties are now chiefly organized and managed to secure and hold official position. And, to that end, party policy is dictated by leaders and not determined by the voice of the people. Also there has been manifested among the people an alarming amount of apathy. They have been like men dreaming. A flurry of excitement would arouse them to spasmodic activity, but they would speedily relapse into drowsy inaction. The cause of this was a selfish love of ease and an almost total indifference to the welfare of others, especially when it required either labor or money.
Then, again, the dishonesty that was developed was indeed surprising. A measure of this was expected to show itself among the violators of the law and their defenders, because those who are so greedy for gain that they are willing to live by destroying their fellow-men do not often hesitate to do anything for filthy lucre. But of the advocates of prohibition better things were expected. But last year during the campaign the fact was brought out that the chairman of the Prohibition party’s State committee had been and still was printing retail price lists for a wholesale liquor store in Chicago. And from the size and character of these lists it was evident that they were made to be circulated in a Prohibition State—which State was Iowa, of course. Things also came to light which quite plainly indicated that the liquor interests were contributing money for the “Prohibition party” campaign expenses. They did this to divide and defeat the Republican party, which would insure the repeal of6prohibition. For it would seem self-evident that if the prohibitionists could not enforce the law while having absolute control of the dominant party, they could not expect to draw enough strength as an independent party to succeed.
During this same campaign a woman who is a very able speaker said publicly: "I was a member of the National Prohibition Lecture Bureau, and staid in that work until I received a personal letter from 'The Anheuser Busch Brewing Company,' offering me seventy-five dollars per month and all expenses to continue lecturing for prohibition. Then I thought it was time to stop and consider what I was doing."
These are striking evidences of wickedness in high places. Put with all this the bold recklessness of the saloon element, and the readiness with which it resorted to violence and bloodshed, and we have a most marked fulfillment of prophecy. Truly perilous times have come, for men are lovers of their own selves, covetous, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, and despisers of those that seek the welfare of others, and evil men are waxing worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. See 2 Tim. 3:1–5, 13. Our Lord said that at his coming it would be as it was in the days of Noah. Matt. 24:27–39. But at the time of the flood "God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Gen. 6:5), and by drunkenness, revelry, and licentiousness did he gratify his lust. And so surely as God withdrew his Spirit from man in the days before the flood, so surely do these things show that he is again withdrawing his Holy Spirit, and leaving mankind to be led captive by Satan at his will. When thus led, Satan will be ready to carry out his plan of anarchy, violence, and bloodshed, ending in total ruin. 2 Thess. 2:9, 10. "But the Lord will be the harbor [margin] of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel." Joel 3:16.
Scriptural Statements Concerning Its Origin and Use
By Elder E. W. Whitney
MUSIC. NO. 2.
Scriptural Statements Concerning Its Origin and Use.
In the preceding article attention was called to the intimate relation existing between religion and music. This will still further appear as we examine the testimony of the Bible relative to its origin and use.
The earliest use of music we have recorded is in the words of the Lord spoken to Job from the whirlwind, about the laying of the foundations of the earth. He says, "The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." Job 38:1–7.
How appropriate that at the time of, and in connection with, the beginning of the work which was to result in the establishment of the perfect harmony of the universe (see previous article) a science should be originated and given to man based upon, and expressive of, the grand principles and prominent facts connected with such a work? It seems reasonable that just this was done by God at the time referred to above. Some interesting features of the science of music, showing how it may embody such an expression of principles and facts, will be presented in a subsequent article. I simply mention the idea here as a help in understanding some of the uses of music referred to in the Scriptures.
If music has the origin suggested above, then we should expect that whenever or wherever the plan of God became the most fully understood and coöperated in, by created intelligences, there the use of music would be the most highly appreciated, and its power most manifest. What is true of these intelligences considered collectively would also be true of them individually. The individual who has the most complete understanding and appreciation of the plan of salvation, and is heartily coöperating with it, is "filled with the Spirit," the fruits of which are "love, joy, peace," etc.—is filled with the melody, the harmony, the music of God.
A few references will illustrate various points in connection with the subject. Of Satan it is said, "The workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created" (Eze. 28:13); but after his fall, "Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols" (Isa. 14:11). The language in these texts indicates that he was created with a highly musical nature, but that when he rebelled in heaven against the purposes of God, discord took the place of harmony in this exalted being. Thus music and concord are represented as prevailing among the heavenly angels, while the opposite is true of the hosts of evil.
The same loss of peace and harmony was experienced by man when he sinned in Eden, but after the plan of redemption was made known, he was enabled again to acquire a knowledge of music through his inventive faculties. It was necessary for him to study the plan of redemption; it was also necessary for him to study the science of harmony, which was based upon it. Though but rudely understood at first, perhaps, it has become more highly developed and appreciated in proportion as the plan of God has become so understood.
That music should have an intimate connection with the work of God among men, but that it is perverted to evil uses by those who do not regard that work, is shown by a contrast presented in Isa. 5:12, where he says of the wicked, "The harp and the viol, the tabret and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts; but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands." In other words, while using and delighting in music, which should express regard for the work of God, they utterly fail to understand its import, and debase it to an evil use.
Whenever the work of the Lord has prospered, and his people have walked in faith and obedience, music has been a prominent feature of their worship. When Moses led Israel out of Egypt and through the sea, "then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation." Ex. 15:1, 2. Whenever the cause of God has languished, it has had the opposite effect upon the people. The Psalmist writes: "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; . . . saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" Ps. 137:1–4.
A remarkable effect of music when produced by one under the influence of the Spirit of God is given in the case of David's playing before Saul. Of David it was said that he was "cunning in playing, . . . and the Lord is with him." "And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took a harp, and played with his hand; so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him." 1 Sam. 16:18, 23.
Perhaps no more wonderful example of the power of music, when used to God's glory, is upon record than that given in 2 Chronicles 20, where Jehoshaphat was forced to go to war with the children of Ammon and Moab. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel in the midst of the congregation, and he told them that they need not be afraid, for the battle was not theirs but the Lord's, that they would not need to fight, but only to stand still and "see the salvation of the Lord." As a preparation for this Jehoshaphat had proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah, and he and the people had earnestly sought the Lord. Under these circumstances the record we have of the battle is this:—
"As they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth forever. And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten." 2 Chron. 20:20–22.
From these circumstances we may learn that while prayer is the proper means of seeking and securing the wisdom and help necessary to victory, the victory itself is realized only when by faith (which is the substance of that hoped for) it is claimed and accepted as a reality in the spirit of praise and song. When this is the case, the victory is actually assured to the rejoicing soul or people before he or they can see how it is to be accomplished.
The circumstance of the deliverance of Paul and Silas from the prison at Philippi is also a striking illustration of the power of music. They had been placed in the "inner prison," and secured, besides, in "the stocks." But in this condition, with no apparent possible chance of escape, they rejoiced in the liberty they had in God through faith. "And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God; and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's hands were loosed." Acts 16:25, 26.
The foregoing examples are sufficient illustration of the potency of music when used in connection with an appreciation of and coöperation in the work of God. As to its designed prominence in the worship of God, reference need only be made to the large proportion of the Scriptures themselves designed for song. A large proportion of the psalms are expressly dedicated to this particular use. Indeed, what words could more strongly express the acceptableness of musical worship offered to the Lord than those of the last psalm:—727
"Praise ye the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
Praise him in the firmament of his power.
Praise him for his mighty acts;
Praise him according to his excellent greatness.
Praise him with the sound of the trumpet;
Praise him with the psaltery and harp.
Praise him with the timbrel and pipe [margin];
Praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
Praise him upon the loud cymbals;
Praise him upon the high-sounding cymbals.
Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord.
Praise ye the Lord."
(To be continued.)
THE BIBLE READINGS AT BREWER'S. NO. 2.
By M. B. Duffie
DURING the week Mabel had made good use of the time, and when the different members of the family, with some of the neighbors who had been invited to attend, had assembled around the little reading table in the cozy sitting room, she had her notes all ready to begin the study of the subject decided upon for that evening, namely, "The Fate of the Wicked."
"Those of you who have your Bibles," said Mabel, "will kindly turn to the fourth chapter of First Peter, and read the seventeenth verse. You see that the end of those who obey not the gospel of God is there spoken of, and that the punishment of the sinner is not to be forever and ever in conscious misery, as Mr. Bronson has always maintained in his sermons."
"So far so good," said Mr. Brewer; "but go on, Mabel, and let's have the benefit of your researches. I have noticed that you have been quite diligent in the study of the question the past week."
"Well, pa," said Mabel, "if we turn to the twenty-third verse of the sixth chapter of Romans, we will learn there that the wages of sin is death, not life in eternal misery. Webster defines the word 'death' 'to cease to live; to expire; to decease; to perish.'"
"That is no doubt the case," said Aunt Amie, as Mrs. Westmore was familiarly called, "but I have always feared, from the construction which has been placed upon the language, that the wicked would be eternally tormented, although it does almost seem an insult to the Lord to accuse him of taking delight in the never-ending anguish and misery of any of the subjects of his creation. If there is any Bible proof to the contrary, I shall be glad indeed to know it. So let us hear further upon that subject, Mabel."
Thus encouraged Mabel continued:—
"The Saviour says if we do not repent we shall perish. Let someone read Luke 13:3,5."
Mrs. Brewer read the passage in a clear voice, and, as she reverently closed the lids of the sacred volume, she was heard to soliloquize:—
"Surely the word 'perish' does not mean to continually exist."
"Now, pa," said Mabel, "it is your turn. Let us see where the wicked go after they have received their deserved measure of suffering. If you will read the twenty-fifth, twenty-eighth, and thirtieth verses of the tenth chapter of Proverbs, I think you will find that it says the wicked are to be no more, anywhere."
"That is the way it reads in my Bible, daughter," said Mr. Brewer. "There is no question in my mind as to its meaning, either, and I believe, though I have never made any pretensions to Christianity, that the Bible is true, and that it means just what it says."
"Here is another text upon the same point," said Mabel. "You will find it in the first verse of the fourth chapter of Malachi. You will see that it declares that a day is coming which shall burn up the wicked, 'root and branch.'"
"It surely does not seem as though there would be much left for the fires to feed upon, if they are to be as fully consumed as that passage would seem to indicate," said Mr. Brewer; "and how much more sensible such a view is."
"Yes, David," said Mrs. Brewer; "but does it not seem a little bit gloomy to think that our children whom we have laid away must stay all these years in the grave?"
"Perhaps it does, at first sight, Maria, but the Bible proves them to be unconscious all this time, so the passage of time to them is nothing; a thousand years to them is but as a day, a second, of time. Let us look at it in another light. Suppose, for instance, that Tom here had committed a murder, and had paid the human penalty of his crime upon the scaffold, would it not be more comforting to us to take this view of the case, that he is unconscious, awaiting the punishment of his crime till the last day, than to think he is even now being stifled, smothered, and tortured in the smoke and flames of an orthodox hell, which Brother Bronson has been using so long to scare folks into his fold."
"I never thought of that feature of it before, David, and must say that I like the Bible view the best; but does it not seem too bad that men like Brother Bronson, men who have spent so many years in the study of theology, should prove themselves so terribly ignorant as to what the Bible really does teach?"
"For my part," said Tom, "when I find that a man is inclined to take the bits in his teeth, if I may be allowed the expression, and go off on a tangent that way, so entirely at variance with the book he attempts to teach, I can never have very much confidence in him. Why isn't he just as liable to be mistaken in other points which he is teaching as truth?"
"You are right, Tom," said Willie. "That is just what I was thinking of. But we are interrupting Mabel's reading."
"It is a good thing to consider these points, boys, and we will now turn to further testimony on this point. We will find in the sixteenth of Obadiah that it says that the wicked shall be as though they had not been."
"To hunt for them, then," said Will, "would be like looking for the hole in a doughnut, after the said doughnut had been eaten up."
"Quite an apt illustration, William, my son," said Mr. Brewer.
"Now, Aunt Amie, it is your turn," said Mabel. "Please turn to the tenth verse of the thirty-seventh psalm, where it says that after a little while the wicked shall not be."
Mrs. Westmore read the text, and said:—
"There can be no mistake about that, Mabel, for thus it reads, but I would like to know at what time the wicked are to be destroyed, and when."
"I think," said Mabel, "you will find an answer to that question in the ninth verse of Revelation 20, where it says that when the wicked all get together and come up around the holy city to take it, the very city which John saw coming down from heaven to this earth, God rains fire down upon them and devours them, the devil and all."
"Do you see that," said Tom, "devours them? If I devoured this apple, there wouldn't be much of it left to divide, would there, Mabel?"
"No, brother, and the wicked, as you see, do not go to their reward at death, any more than do the righteous, but are reserved unto the day of judgment, the day of the Lord, to be punished for their unrighteous acts. It is so stated in 2 Peter 2:9, and also in Job 21:30. Then, with all unrighteousness burned out of it, and everything that would offend cast out, will come to pass the glorious prophecy predicted in Rev. 5:13, when every creature in heaven and earth, as well as those under the earth and in the sea, shall proclaim blessings, honor, glory, and power to Him who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever."
"That," said Mrs. Brewer, "seems to take in the whole universe, and proves to us that the only creatures then in existence therein will be engaged in breathing blessings and praises to God, rather than reproaches and curses. Surely then must be the time referred to in Matt. 5:5, where it says that the meek shall inherit the earth. That this may be the happy lot of all present, is my prayer."
"As these texts, I think, quite fully show what becomes of all unrepentant rebels against the government of God," said Tom, "let us adjourn until next Sunday evening, with the request that Mabel prepare a reading on some other interesting theme."
"I will amend that," said Willie, "by a vote of thanks to Mabel for what we have already heard."
"All in favor say, Yes, and all opposed say, No. Carried unanimously."
(To be continued.)
The Pillar of Cloud and Fire
"THE Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light." Ex. 13 : 21.
VOICES.
By Helen A. Hawley
BY HELEN A. HAWLEY.
"So many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification." Everywhere voices are calling to men, trying to claim their attention, but not all may be safely heeded. The lying spirits did not pass away with the time of Ahab. Some are busy in these modern days. They tell this man that he may speculate with trust funds. They whisper to the clerk: "Borrow from the cash drawer; you can replace it before the week ends." They cheat young men into extravagant and dangerous pleasures. They even dare suggest to the Christian that he may neglect the Bible and prayer without imperiling his soul's life.
"A voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my Son, my chosen; hear him." The safe voice is the one which directs us to Christ and his words. Come when or how it will, it is God speaking to the soul.
Perhaps we need to enter into the cloud, and to fear as we enter in, that, overshadowed and overawed by it, we may turn from earthly voices, and listen to the heavenly.—N. Y. Observer.
"WALK while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you; for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth."
The Saviour here couples the admonition to "walk in the light" with the warning against its rejection. Neglecting to walk in light always leaves one in darkness; and that darkness is all the more dreadful because it so beclouds the moral sensibilities of those who walk therein that they know not where they are going.
The operation of this principle is forcibly illustrated by the Jews. As a nation they rejected Christ, the true Light, and as a result they are walking in darkness to this day, and know not where they are going. After they had rejected the Messiah their minds were so darkened that they could even combine with Pagan Rome to put him to death, and still not know what they were doing, as is attested by that sublime utterance on the cross, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."
Many of those who accepted Christ back there did not continue to walk in the light, but apostatized from the truth, combining again with the Roman power to enforce their man-made dogmas, until the whole world was brought under the withering influence of popery. And what was the result of that rejection of light?—The Dark Ages, during which time the church, aided by the civil power, perpetrated the grossest barbarities known to history. The blood of over fifty million martyrs has written an indelible testimony to the awful fact that the rejection of light brings that moral darkness which causes men to persecute their brethren, and think that such work is doing service to him who said, "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them."
No matter how deep the darkness may be, God always sends corresponding light, which, if accepted, will scatter the gloom. So when the apostasy had reached its darkest hue, the beacon light of the Reformation began to gleam, and through the heaven-born zeal and courage of Luther and his associates popery received a deadly wound; but, instead of walking in each advancing ray of divine light, and presenting a solid front against a common foe, we find Protestantism to-day divided against itself. Realizing their weakness, so-called Protestants are combining with each other and the civil power to enforce the observance of such dogmas as are held by them in common. But it happens that the only dogma on which they have thus far united is wholly a Catholic institution, borrowed from Paganism, viz., Sunday observance. See tract "Rome's Challenge; or, Why Do Protestants Keep Sunday?" Thus by the legal enforcement of Sunday observance Protestants are playing back into the hands of Rome. While in theory protesting against popery, in practice they are unwittingly healing the deadly wound which their forefathers so valiantly inflicted on the Papacy.
While so-called Protestants are thus clamoring for the carnal weapons of civil power with which to compel the observance of a counterfeit sabbath, the Lord of the true Sabbath is letting the light shine in clear, distinct rays on the institution of his own founding, hallowed in Eden, thundered on Sinai, kept by Christ and his apostles and some of his followers from that day to this. But the churches of to-day are rejecting the light on the Sabbath just as the Jews rejected the Lord of the Sabbath. Men making high professions of godliness are trying to blot out the true Sabbath by fining and imprisoning those who dare to observe it. And they no doubt think they are doing God's service, just as the Pharisees thought that they were when they cried, "Crucify him."
Human nature is ever the same. The Jews, while deploring the fact that their fathers had rejected the light sent them through the prophets, themselves rejected the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. The fact that the Jews crucified the Saviour is being deplored to-day by men who are crucifying him afresh, and putting him to an open shame by persecuting his followers for keeping the Sabbath as a memorial of his creative power, which has created us new creatures in Christ Jesus. The rejection of light has again darkened the minds of men until they know not where they are going or what they are doing. "Father, forgive them."
THE RESURRECTION.
By William G. T. Shedd
THE doctrine of the resurrection of the body was from the first a cardinal and striking tenet of Christianity. The resurrection of Christ made it such. Perhaps no article of the new religion made greater impression, at first view, upon the pagan. When the philosophers of Athens heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, and others said, "We will hear thee again of this matter." Acts 17 : 32.
The early fathers maintained the doctrine of the resurrection of the body with great earnestness and unanimity against the objections of the skeptics, of whom Celsus was acute and scoffing in his attack. Most of them believed in the resurrection of the very same material body. Justin Martyr, according to Hagenbach, teaches that cripples will rise cripples, but that at the instant of resurrection, if believers, will be made physically perfect. In his tract on the resurrection he argues that the miracles of Christ wrought upon the body prove the fact of its resurrection. "The same power that would say, Arise, take up thy bed and walk, could say to the dead body, Come forth. If on earth Christ healed the sickness of the flesh, and made the body whole, much more will he do this in the resurrection, so that the flesh will rise perfect and entire."
The patristic view of the resurrection passed into the Middle Ages with little modification excepting that, in connection with the materialism of the Roman Christianity, it became naturally more materialistic. The poetry of Dante and the painting of Angelo powerfully exhibit it. In the Protestant system a real body, and one that preserves the personal identity, is affirmed, but the materialism of the Papal, and to some extent of the Patristic Church, is avoided by a more careful attention to St. Paul's distinction between the natural and the spiritual body.
Respecting the probability of a resurrection of the body, it may be remarked that it is no more strange that the human body should exist a second time than that it has existed the first time. That a full-formed human body should be produced from a microscopic cell is as difficult to believe, upon the face of it, as that a spiritual resurrection body should be produced out of the natural earthly body. The marvels of embryology are, a priori, as incredible as those of the resurrection. The difference between the body that is laid in the grave and the body that is raised from the grave is not so great as the difference between the minute embryonic ovum and the "human form divine," represented by the Antinous or the Apollo Belvedere. If the generation of the body were, up to this time, as rare an event as the resurrection of the body, it might be denied with equal plausibility. The question of St. Paul in Acts 26 : 8 applies here: "Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?" The omnipotence that originated the body can of course reoriginate it.