The United States in the Light of Prophecy: Or, an Exposition of Rev. 13:11-17Smith, Uriah
Religion
The United States in the Light of Prophecy: Or, an Exposition of Rev. 13:11-17
Smith, Uriah
Bible. Revelation XIII, 11-17 -- Prophecies
"_Resolved_, That, in view of the controlling power of the
Constitution in shaping State, as well as national, policy, it is
of immediate importance to public morals, and to social order, to
secure such an amendment as will indicate that this is a Christian
nation, and place all Christian laws, institutions, and usages in
our government on an undeniable legal basis in the fundamental law
of the nation, specially those which secure a proper oath, and
which protect society against blasphemy, Sabbath-breaking, and
polygamy."
By Sabbath-breaking is meant nothing else but Sunday-breaking. In a
convention of the friends of Sunday, assembled Nov. 29, 1870, in New
Concord, Ohio, the Rev. James White is reported to have said: "The
question [of Sunday observance] is closely connected with the National
Reform Movement; for until the government comes to know God and honor
his law, we need not expect to restrain Sabbath-breaking corporations."
Here again the idea of the legal enforcement of Sunday observance stands
uppermost.
Once more: The Philadelphia _Press_ of Dec. 5, 1870, stated that some
Congressmen, including Vice-president Colfax, arrived in Washington by
Sunday trains, Dec. 4, on which the _Christian Statesman_ commented as
follows (we give italics as we find them):--
"1. _Not one of those men ivho thus violated the Sabbath is fit to
hold any official position in a Christian nation_. * *
"He who violates the Sabbath may not steal because the judgment of
society so strongly condemns theft, or because he believes that
honesty is the best policy; but tempt him with the prospect of
concealment, or the prospect of advantage, and there can be no
reason why he who robs God will not rob his neighbor also. For this
reason, the Sabbath law lies at the foundation of morality. Its
observance is an acknowledgment of the sovereign rights of God over
us.
"2. _The sin of these Congressmen is a national sin_, because the
nation hath not said to them in the Constitution, the supreme rule
for our public servants, 'We charge you to serve us in accordance
with the higher law of God.' These Sabbath-breaking railroads,
moreover, are corporations created by the State, and amenable to
it. The State is responsible to God for the conduct of these
creatures which it calls into being. It is bound, therefore, to
restrain them from this as from other crimes, and any violation of
the Sabbath, by any corporation, should work immediate forfeiture
of its charter. And the Constitution of the United States, with
which all State legislation is required to be in harmony, should be
of such a character as to prevent any State from tolerating such
infractions of fundamental moral law.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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