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ANTI-SABBiTH    CONVENTION. 


TO    THE    rRIEI¥DS    OF    CIVIIi    AWD    RELIGIOUS    MBERTY. 

The  ri<rht  of  every  man  to  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience  is  inherent,  inalienable,  self^ 
evident  Y^et  it  is  notorious,  that,  in  all  the  States,  excepting  Louisiana,  there  are  laws  enforcing  the  rehg.ous  observance  of 
tl  p  L  BAV  o.  TH.  WE  K  A  THE  Sabbath,  and  punishing  as  Criminals  such  as  attempt  to  pursuc  the„- usual  avocat.ou. 
on  thtday.-avocations  which  even  Sabbatarians  recognise  as  innocent  and  laudable  on  all  other  days  It  .s  true,  some 
^c^plnsare  made  to  the  rigorous  operation  of  these  laws,  in  fKvor  of  the  Seventh  Day  Baptists,  ^^ws  an  od.rs  w  o  Ue  p 
the  seventh  day  of  the  week  as  the  Sabbath;  but  this  freedom  is  granted  in  condescension  to  the  scruples  of  pa.t.cula,  sects, 
as  a  privilege,  and  not  recognised  as  a  natural  right.  For  those,  (and  the  number  is  large,  and  steadily  ma-eas,ng,)  who  beheve 
that  liirkabbath  was  exclu:ively  a  Jewish  institution, -"a  shadow  of  good  things  to  come,"  which  vamshed  eighteen  hundred 
years  a^o  before  the  light  of  the  Christian  dispensation,  and  therefore  that  it  constitutes  no  part  of  Chr,st.an,ty,-«Aere  rsna 
i::  ;L  >»  ..  ,««««,  of  me  la.  ,•  but,  shoum  they  venture  to  labor  even  for  bread  on  that  day,  or  be  gu.lty  of  what  .s  ca  led 
"Sabbath  desecration,"  they  are  liable  either  to  fine  or  imprisonment!  Cases  of  this  kind  have  occurred  m  Massachusetts, 
Vermont,  Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio,  within  a  comparatively  short  period,  where  conscientious  and  upnght  persons  have  been 
Ir  t  in  o  prison,  for  an  act  no  more  intrinsically  heinous  than  that  of  gathering  in  a  crop  of  hay,  or  selhng  moral  and  p  n  an 
thropic  publications.     There  is,  therefore,  no  liberty  of  conscience  allowed  to  the  people  of  tins  country  «nrfe^Ae  lajsthereof, 

in  regard  to  the  observance  u,   nun  ul nu.n  nf  iho  fu.l  du,  uf  ih.  uc.k  a.  a  huly  duy>     cf  ^  ^  "-^^t;^.    L^.'^n,. 

In  addition  to  these  startling  fivcts,  within  the  last  five  years  a  religious  combnmt.on  has  been  formed    n   h.s  land,    tjhn 

itself  'THAMEa.cA.  a.o  Foante.  Sabbath  Un.o.,"  whose  specific  object  it  is  to  impose  the  Sabbat.cal  yoke  yet  mo, e 

av  ly  ot"the  necks  of  the  American  people.     In  a  recent  appeal  made  for  pecuniary  assistance  by  the  Execut.ve  Commtttee 

U  i  is  stated  that  "the  Secretary  (Rev.  Dr.  Edwards)  has  visited  twenty  of  the  United  States,  ^^^  -veiled  more 

th-tlhty  thousand  miles,  addressing  public  bodies  of  all  descriptions,  and  presenting  reasons  vvhy,  as  a  nat.on  we  sho  dd 

e    t      Sabb«th--all  secular  business  travelling  and  amusement  be  confined  to  six  days  in  a  week-and  all  people  assem    e 

L  Sabbath,  and  worship  God."     A  "  permanent  (?)  Sabbath  document"has  been  ^^^^^^"^  ^^^^'T^^^^  ^ 

has  already  been  done  will  put  a  copy  of  this  document  into  more  than  three  hundred  thousand  famtbes.      Stdl  g.eatei  effotts 

ni-P  to  be  made  bv  the  "Union"  for  the  furtherance  of  its  object. 

That  t"s  citation  is  animated  by  the  spirit  of  religious  bigotry  and  ecclesiastical  tyranny-the  spn.t  whtch  banished 
the  bS   ff  om  Massachusetts,  and  subjected  the  Quakers  to  imprisonment  and  death    in  the  '^^  ^f^^J  ^ 
countiT-ndmits  of  little  doubt.    It  is  managed  and  sustained  by  those,  who  have  secured  the  enactment  of  the  penal  law. 
"n  t  Sabi  bil    ng,  (all  that  the  spirit  of^he  times  will  allow,)  and  whose  disposition  it  manifestly  is,  if  they  can  mcrease 
tlSpower        obtain  th    passage  of  ye\  more  stringent  laws  against  those  who  do  not  "esteem  one  day  above  another,    lu 
em  "e  'e  y  dav"-who  are  not  willing  that  any  man  shall  judge  them  "in  respect  of  a  holy  day,  or  the  -^  ™oon  oM^ 
SaZh  "-    tKl  who  tneau  to  "  stand  fast  in  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ  hath  made  them  free,  and  not  to  be  entanglec  again 
wththe  yoliof  bondage."     Its  supporters  do  not  rely  solely  upon  reason,  argument,  persuasion,  but  also  upon  brute  fo.ce - 
:  rpenll  L;  ^^d  tl.-us,  in  seeking  to  crush  by  violence  the  rights  of  conscience,  and  religious  liberty  and  equahty,  their  real 
«nin,  is  revealed  as  at  war  with  the  genius  of  republicanism,  and  the  spirit  of  Christianity. 
'     BelLvin^  that  IL  efforts  of  this""  Sabbath  Union  "  ought  to  be  baffled  by  at  least  a  correspondmg  energy  on  the  part  of 

'''  ^::f  ^l:S:  iS^Sg  t:;;i^wish  scriptures,  was  given  to  "..e  cM^en  of  W,"- a.o  to  .ooTHEa  ..o^- 
.s  "  JX„" Itween  them  and  God,  and  terminated,  with  all  the  other  Mosaic  rituals  belonging  to  the  "  ™ra«^on  of  dea^h 
L.2\L  E.eaAVE.  t.  SXO.SKS,"  on  the  introduction  of  "THE  Mt«tsTKAT,oN  or  the  SPtKtx,"  and  the  substttut.on  of    a 

^"^s:;;i;:i;:;G::Zs":o:';;i:^::j':ny  particular  day_is  not  a  speci.,  .oiated  pe-~e-^^7- 

<:  come  by  observation  "-but  is  purely  spiritual  in  its  natttre,  and  comprehended  m  a  cheerful  obedience  to  the  wdl  of  the 
strong-hold  of  a  merely  ceremonial  Religion  ;  — 


That,  in  the  hands  of  a  Sabbatiziug  clergy,  it  is  a  mighty  obstacle  in  the  way  of  all  the  reforms  of  the  age,  — such  as  Anti- 
Slavery,  Peace,  Temperance,  Purity,  Human  Brotherhood,  &c.  &c.,  —  and  rendered  adamantine  in  its  aspect  towards  bleeding 
Humanity,  whose  cause  must  not  be  pleaded  and  whose  cries  must  be  stifled  on  its  "sacred"  occurrence;  —  and  believing, 
especially. 

That  all  penal  laws  respecting  the  religious  observance  of  any  day  as  the  Sabbath  are  despotic  and  anti-christian,  and 
ought  to  be  immediately  abrogated  ;  — 

Tliat  the  interference  of  the  State,  in  matters  of  religious  faith  and  outward  observances,  is  not  only  unwarrantable,  but  a 
usui-pation  not  to  be  tolerated  ;  — 

That  they  who  are  for  subjecting  to  pains  and  penalties,  all  who  do  not  construe  the  Scriptures  in  their  light,  in  legard  to 
a  religious  observance,  are  actuated  by  a  mistaken  or  malevolent  spirit,  which  is  utterly  at  variance  with  the  spirit  of  Christ, 
which  in  various  ages  has  resorted  to  the  dungeon,  the  rack,  the  gallows,  and  the  stake,  for  the  accomplishment  of  its  purpose, 
and  which  ought  to  be  boldly  confronted  and  rebuked  ;  — 

We,  the  undersigned,  therefore,  invite  all  those  who  agree  with  us  essentially  in  these  views  of  the  Sabbath  question,  to 
meet  IN  CONVEN'l'lON,  in  the  city  of  Boston,  on  Thursday  and  Friday,  the  3d  and  4th  days  of  March  next,  to  confer 
together,  and  to  decide  upon  such  measures  for  the  dissemination  of  light  and  knowledge,  on  this  sultject,  as  may  be  deemed 
expedient. 

In  publishing  this  call  for  an  A.nti-Sabbath  CoNVENTiOiV,  we  desire  to  be  clearly  understood.  We  have  no  objection 
either  to  the  first  or  the  seventh  day  of  the  week  as  a  day  of  rest  from  hodlly  toil,  both  for  man  and  boast.  On  the  contrary,  such 
rest  is  not  only  desirable,  but  indispensable.  Neither  man  nor  beast  can  long  endure  unmitigated  labor.  But  we  do  not  believe 
that  it  is  in  harmony  with  the  will  of  God,  or  the  physical  nature  of  man,  that  mankind  should  be  doomed  to  hard  and  wasting 
toil  six  days  out  of  seven,  to  obtain  a  bare  subsistence.  Reduced  to  such  a  pitiable  condition,  the  rest  of  one  day  in  the  week 
is  indeed  grateful,  and  must  be  regarded  as  a  blessing;  but  it  is  totallj'  inadequate  wholly  to  repair  the  physical  injury  or  the 
moral  degradation  consequent  on  such  protracted  labor.  It  is  not  in  accordance  with  the  law  of  life,  that  oiu'  race  should  be 
thus  worked,  and  only  thus  partially  relieved  from  suffering  and  a  premature  death.  They  need  more,  and  must  have  more, 
instead  of  less  rest;  and  it  is  only  for  them  to  be  enlightened  and  reclaimed  —  to  put  away  those  things  which  now  cause  them 
to  grind  in  the  prison-house  of  Toil,  namely,  idolatry,  priestcraft,  sectarism,  war,  slaver}',  intemperance,  licentiousness,  mo- 
nopoly, and  the  like  —  in  short,  to  live  in  peace,  obey  the  eternal  law  of  being,  strive  for  eacii  other's  welfare,  and  "  glorify  God 
in  tiieir  bodies  and  spirits  which  are  his"  —  and  they  will  secure  the  rest,  not  merely  of  one  day  in  seven,  but  of  a  very  large 
portion  of  their  earthly  existence.  To  them  shall  be  granted  the  mastery  over  every  day  and  every  hour  of  time,  as  against 
want  and  affliction ;  for  the  earth  shall  be  filled  with  abundance  for  all. 

Nor  do  we  deny  the  right  of  any  number  of  persons  to  observe  a  particular  day  of  the  week  as  holy  time,  by  such  religious 
rites  and  ceremonies  as  they  may  deem  acceptable  to  God.  To  their  own  master,  they  stand  or  fall.  In  regard  to  all  such 
matters,  it  is  for  every  one  to  be  fully  persuaded  in  his  own  mind,  and  to  obey  the  promptings  of  his  own  conscience  ;  con- 
ceding to  others  the  liberty  he  claims  for  himself. 

The  sole  and  distinct  issue  that  we  make  is  this :  —  We  maintain  that  the  seventh  day  Sabbath  was  exclusively  Jewish  in  its 
origin  and  design  ;  that  no  holiness,  in  any  sense,  attaches  to  the  first  day  of  the  week,  or  to  any  other ;  and  that  the  attempt  to 
enforce  the  observance  of  any  day  as  "the  Sabbath,"  especially  by  penal  enactments,  is  unauthorized  by  Scripture  or  reason, 
and  a  shameful  act  of  imposture  and  tyranny.  We  claim  for  ourselves,  and  for  all  mankind,  the  right  to  worship  God  accord- 
ing to  the  dictates  of  our  own  consciences.  This  right,  inherent  and  inalienable,  is  cloven  down  in  the  United  States,  and 
we  call  upon  all  who  desire  to  preserve  civil  and  religious  liberty  to  rally  for  its  rescue. 

By  that  infallible  test  of  conscious  rectitude  which  Jesus  gave  to  his  disciples,  —  "  Whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should 
do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them," — let  those  who  Sabbatize  on  the  first  day  of  the  week  be  measured.  At  ])resent,  they  con- 
stitute the  majority,  we  the  minority,  in  this  country;  —  hence,  the  legislative  power  is  in  their  hands,  which  they  do  not 
scruple  to  use  for  the  purpose  of  binding  and  coercing  our  consciences.  Now  let  the  case  be  reversed.  Suppose  this  power 
were  in  the  hands  of  those  who  do  not  Sabbatize,  and  they  should  proceed  to  enact  penal  laws,  forbidding  the  observance  of 
any  day  as  the  Sabbath  —  would  not  the  Sabbatarians  cry  out  against  such  laws  as  vexatious  and  tyrannical,  destructive  of  the 
rights  of  conscience,  and  a  disgrace  to  the  Statute  book  ? 

We  are  aware  that  we  shall  inevitably  be  accused,  by  the  chief  priests,  scribes  and  Pharisees  of  the  present  time,  as  was 
Jesus  by  the  same  class  in  his  age,  as  "  not  of  God,"  because  we  "  do  not  keep  the  Sabbath  day  ; "  but  we  are  persuaded,  that 
to  expose  the  popular  delusion  which  prevails  on  this  subject,  is  to  advance  the  cause  of  a  pure  Christianity,  to  promote  true  and 
acceptable  worship,  and  to  inculcate  strict  moral  and  religious  accountability  in  all  the  concerns  of  life,  on  all  days  of  the  week 
ALIKE.  If  we  are  "infidels"  or  "heretics"  for  this  belief,  we  are  content  to  stand  in  the  same  condemnation,  on  this  point, 
with  Tyndale,  Luther,  Calvin,  Melancthon,  Roger  Williams,  John  Milton,  Penn,  Fox,  Priestly,  Belsham,  Paley, 
Whitby,  Archbishop  Whateley,  and  a  host  of  others,  who  are  everywhere  lauded  by  the  various  sects  with  which  they  are 
identified  as  among  the  brightest  ornaments  of  the  Christian  Church,  and  who  are  essentially  agreed  with  us  in  the  opinion, 
that  the  Sabbath  was  a  Jewish  institution. 


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