THE following excellent letter, dated 10th October 1924, by the Rev. George M. Robb, Moderator of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of America, was addressed to President Coolidge in connection with the presidential call to the observance of Thanksgiving
Day in the United States. We take the letter from the “Reformed Presbyterian Witness”;—
“Hon. Calvin Coolidge, President of the United States, Washington, D.C.—Honoured Sir,—I write to ask you to duly recognise Jesus Christ in your forthcoming Thanksgiving Proclamation, and in so doing I represent the sentiments of an earnest body of Christians. Few of our Presidents have had the moral courage to call the nation to the performance of religious duties in the name of Jesus Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and men.
“The Jews and a few skeptics and pagans are all who lay claim to conscientious convictions against it, and these are a very small minority of our people. In contrast, there are multitudes of true Christians, and multitudes more who are in sympathy with Christian ideals, who would approve of such recognition, and who are wronged by the omission of the only name by which they have access to the Father.
“All our national blessings come through Christ, and it is eminently fitting that He should be recognised when we express our thanks for them. Moreover, it is the right thing to do in view of Christ’s expressed declaration (John v. 23): “That all men should honour the Son even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent Him.—Yours sincerely, GEO. M. ROBB, Moderator.”
Britain Losing Its Sabbath.
THE concern with which the present trend of Sabbath desecration in this country is viewed by serious-minded people, even by those who cannot by any means be charged with narrow, puritanical views, is indicated in a quotation taken by the “Lord’s Day Quarterly” from the “Methodist Chronicle” (23rd October 1924.) “Great Britain,” says this paper, “is in danger of losing the Christian sabbath. To multitudes the danger gives no concern, and by many its passing is hailed with joy. For years there have been deliberate and organised assaults upon its religious observance. The rankest atheism has always regarded it as the stronghold of the Christian religion. The most aggressive atheists have boasted that the war against Christianity would be won if the Christian Sab-
bath could be destroyed. They have made sport of its conventional distinctions, railed at its puritanical tyranny, and ridiculed its hypocrisies. The devout smiled in a comfortable sense of security. They imagined the sanctity of the Lord’s Day impregnable, and so it was against the direct attacks of unbelief. The coming of the bicycle initiated a revolution. After the bicycle came the motor-car, secular concerts, “Sunday” newspapers, political meetings, and sport on the Lord’s Day. The War suspended the Decalogue. War knows no Sabbath, and Bishops gave their blessing to Sabbath toil. Since the War, pleasure has annexed the day, and turned it from a holy day to a weekly Bank Holiday. Even among the devout the old distinctions have disappeared. There is little or no difference made in reading, music, conversation, and dress. The sense of shame has gone from those who openly give the day to sport and pleasure. Men in flannels and women with racquets pass churches and worshippers unconcerned. The young folk go to games as the old folk go to church. The roads are full of motor-cars, char-a-bancs, and motor-bikes. The villages have lost their Sabbath quiet. There is no need to enlarge and labour the obvious. The revolt is open and complete. There are many explanations of the change, but the chief cause is spiritual, and the most serious aspect of it is the effect upon the religious and civic life of the nation. There is reason for grave alarm to all who care for the moral and spiritual welfare of the people. The difficulty is increased by differences of opinion in respect of the obligations to keep the Day holy. There are churches that encourage sport and recreation on the Lord’s Day. . . . The Evangelical Churches have always insisted upon the Lord’s Day being observed as a day of worship, religious service, and rest.”