Christian Nation Vol. 18 1893 - Rparchives.org

CHEISTIAN NATION.Volume 18.T h e GhfistiaD liatioDWEDNESDAY, JAN. 11, 1893.New York.THE SUNDAY PAPER; WHAT SHALL WEDO WITH IT?Synopsis of an address by Rev. T. H.Acheson.The Sabbath bears a vital relation to thewhole structure of truth and morality in theworld. If the Samson of Sabbath desecration•hall succeed in wrenching this pillar from itsbase, we do not see what sball keep the templeof truth and morality from crashing down thehill.And the Sabbath is attacked. "We meet,tonight, not simply to perpetuate the Sabbathand broaden its influence, but to protect itfrom the onslaught of foes. Among these foesis the Sunday newspaper. What shall we dowith it, and concerning it?1. We should recognize it as cne of the •mostdangerous evils that menace the cause of theSabbath.We need not mince words about it. It isunmistakably a direct and fall-fledged foe ofthe true Sabbath. It is not a necessity. Byno twisting or distorting of argument can wemake it such. It is not necessary for businessor pleasure, or religious instruction. It is notnecessary for large cities. Toronto has none,or at least had not recently; London, withfour or five million people, has none, unlesslately. Neither is the Sunday edition necessaryfor the general success of the dailypaper. The Philadelphia Ledger, the PittsburgCommercial Gazette, and the ChicagoNews-Record have no Sunday editions.We wish to hurt no one's feelings. Someexcellent people morally, may think the Sundaypaper not much out of place. But it is amonster of iniquity; not in itself, perhaps, butis such in connection with the holy day whichit tramples under foot. It violates divine andhuman law; prevents good, produces evil;robs men of time, rest and the opportunity ofworship. It is a piece of Satanic machinery;a hammer to break down the carved work ofthe sanctuary; a bird of prey, that sweeps overthe land and fluttersinto many a home to defile»nd destroy the quiet purity of the Sabbathmorning.Are there many Sunday papers? How widelyspread is the evil ? We are told that in l883there were 456; in 1892, 660, a gain of 204 in9 years; but in the last two years the gain hasonly been 10. Of the 650 in 1890, 151 issued7 numbers in the week; 205 had Sunday editions,but no Monday paper; while the other394 were weekly papers dated on Sabbath, butmsually printed, and sometimes sold, on Saturday.Perhaps the Sunday journal reaches one-•ixth of our population.2. We should not recognize the Sundaypaper as an institution thai has come tostay.We should not say: "Well, it is here, now;we'll have to put up with it." No! It isn'there to stay. And for us to admit this is tolose part of the battle at the start. The Sundaypaper may stay along time. It is stronglyintrenched. We make no boasts of how soonit must go; but it will go. Christ's kingdomis going to be established. The stone cut outwithout hands will become a great mountainand fillthe whole earth, aud by that time, orbefore it, the Sunday paper must go. Slaverywasn't here to stay. The Louisiana lotterywasn't here to stay. The saloon isn't here tostay. The brothel isn't here to stay. Why,we have prayed since childhood: "Thy kingdomcome;" and part, at least, of that petitionis for the setting up of Christ's kingdom in theearth.3. We should not countenance the Sundaypaper, nor compromise with it in any wayor degree.Don't buy it. If it is wrong to inake it, it iswrong to take it. Don't read it. Studiouslyavoid it. If we read it, we are yielding ground.Don't buy it on Sabbath to read it on Monday,or don't buy it on Saturday to read it on Sabbath.Don't allow it to enter the home. Itwill work mightily to destroy the home Sabbath,if it gets in. Never let it reach thefamily sitting room. Don't advertise in it. Itis a curious spectacle to see a man going to thesanctuary on Sabbath ; while, perhaps at tbesame hour, the newsboy on the street is shoutinghis papers in which appears a page, or halfpageadvertisement, of the worshipper's businesshouse. Such a man is trying to build upthe temple of God with one hand and tear itdown with the other. Again don't take for sixdays in the week, any paper that publishes aSunday edition, if you can get any other thatmeets the needs. " Ah but," says the newspaperman, " don't you know that much Sabbathwork is done on the Monday paper?" Nodoubt there is ; but the Sunday paper is publishedand sold on Sabbath ; there is a properplace for the Monday paper ; six days' papersrequire only six days' work ; and no work needbe done on Sabbath for the Monday paper.Once more, don't own any stock in the Sundaypaper. A man may never write a line, print aword, read a proof, sell a copy, or see, on theSabbath a newspaper office ; and yet, if heowns stock in the Sunday paper, he breaks theSabbath througli it. If it is wrong for oneman to do a thing, it is wrong for ten meu, orten millions. And the inconsistency of professingChristians is one of the sad, seriousand discouraging facts that face us. Let ussweep our own door-step ; wash our own hands,if we are guilty in any way.4. We ought openly, squarely and actively,to antagonize this institution.We can't reform it. We can't reform somethingthat has no proper place : that is wrongin itself. We don't propose, or shouldn't, toreform the saloon, the lottery or the brothel.The proper policy is to aim to overthrow, destroy,wipe out.If the twelve million or so of evangelicalprofessors in the land are going to be abashedat the presence of the Sunday paper, then thechurch lacks courage, virility, stamina, backbone.It is true, however, that all professingChristians are not against this evil practically,or even theoretically, but we ought to labor tobring them up to the right standard of convictionand action. We need more stalwartChristianity in the present day ; that standsand holds, and doesn't waver and drift. TheChristian must be, in the proper sense, a gooddeal of a fighter..We ought^to educate public sentiment: suchwork goes deeper thau legislation. Pulpit, press,pew, and church should give ringing utterances.We should enact law ; more and better laws.It is a social, national, health, moral necessitythat we have law ; not to compel men tokeep tbe religious Sabbath, but to protect theirrest, and their right to worship. And weshould enforce law. A nail doesn't drive itself.And then, brethren, let me express myfirm conviction that when the church memberagainst loving, earnest, remonstrance, persistsin owning, publishing, printing, selling or buyingthe Sunday paper, the church, to be trueto her Head and her mission, must say : " foumust cease such work, or go outside of the paleof the church, fou can't break down thegates of the citadel from the inside, anyhow."Self-preservation is the firstlaw of nature.THE BRIGGS TRIAL.-IV.The Briggs Tria^. has ended in acquittal.The Presbytery of New York, a court of Christ,has given as its verdict, not guilty. The courtwent into executive session on Wednesday, Dec.2S, and the decision was reached on Friday,5.30 p. M. Practically, however, tbe sessions ofWednesday were occupied with preliminaries.Bach member of the court, by resolution, wasallowed three minutes to express his views:tnen the vote was to be taken. As there weresix charges, a vote was to be taken on each one.The majorities in favor of Dr. Briggs werefrom six to eighteen.As a resnlt, the liberals are jubilant. Dr.Charles L. Thompson said: "It shows reasonableprogress and freedom of theology: a stepin the right direction. It points out a broaderfield." Dr. Vandyke: "The battle is over andI am entirely satisfied with the result. Itmeans that a man is not to be branded as aheretic simply because be broadly expresses hisviews." And so others. If space permitted,an analysis of tbe vote would be of interest.Tbere is room, however, to say that those whowent from more orthodox denominations to tbePresbyterian, are, with but few exceptions,found on the Briggs side of the bouse.Dr. J. E. Kerr, of Fourth Presbyterianchurch, voted straight tbrough for Briggs.Yet his father waa the justly honored professorm the United Presbyterian Seminary, Allegheny,and his son was a minister in the UnitedPresbyterian cburch for some time. But heConcluded on page 4