THE SABBATH.

Thames Star, Volume XV, Issue 4934, 1 November 1884, Page 1

THE SABBATH.

(To the Editor of the Evening Star.) giE, —What a dust has been raised lately about Sabbath breaking. It started with tbe Ministers excursion iv the Hinemoa on a Sunday, which caused a severe rebuke from the Sev. Mr fteid, aud was followed up by a party of preachers at Christchurch sending a petition to the Premier about Sunday excursions. One thing has always surprised me, and thai

is, that those great Bible readers should be so ignorant about what the book teaches. Here is a specimen of their ignorance about the Sabbath. There is only one law in all the Bible about the Sabbath, and no one observes it—neither Jew nor Christian. The law is very simple and plain. It is this : the seventh day is the Sabbath, on it thou shalt do no manner of work; and in order to have no mistake the apostle goes into detail. He §ays~ they "Rave not to kindle a fire in all their congregation, and the penalty for the breach of this law was they had to be stoned to death. I think it is too bad for some preachers to make such a fuss about Sabbath breaking, when large bodies of Christians, such as Quakers and Moravians, who do not acknowledge that there is such, a sin as Sabbath breaking under the Christian dispensation, that Christ never ordained one, and he broke the old one. As the late Rev. Mr Edgar put it, Sunday was wisely appointed by man for a day of rest, and if they

wanted a rest every fourth day they ought to have it, which I think they ought to vjbaye. But lam pleased to leave this in : '^ithe hands of the people, yet I have a great that this power should be in the hands of the Puritans to what is Sabbath-breaking and owhat is not. It would then be wrong to Whaye reading rooms open on the Sunday, 'hare any excursions, or sing moral songs, or to whistle, or think onr own thoughts, or-; speak our own words on that day. They would mak^.it a dull miserable day ; all'we would be allowed to do would be gcrto Church, sing psalms and hymns, and look very serious. Mr Hobbs thinks that if the members were allowed the Hinemoa for a pleasure trip they could anchor on Sunday ; what a splendid idea. An improvement on that would be to pass a law that all ships out on the sea on that day should strike anchor. If God would only stop His work on that day too, aye, even stop everything from growing on it! —■I am, &c, Uncle John.