A History of State Law
TimeWatch Editorial
August 25, 2016
It took a while before the newly established Colonies of the United States embraced the concept of Freedom of Religion. In the book entitled “American State Papers Bearing on Sunday Legislation” compiled by William Addison Blakely of the Chicago Bar, a record of the early Colonial Laws can be found. This work was published in 1911 by the Religious Liberty Association; in Washington D.C. William Blakely was a Doctor of Philosophy and Lecturer on Political Science and History in the University of Chicago, Member of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. In the Introductory Chapter on page 30, Dr. Blakely said the following.
“A perusal of the early Sunday laws of the American colonies will demonstrate how little acquainted were the first settlers of this country with the genuine principles of religious liberty and separation of church and state. And an examination of the numerous Sunday laws upon our statute books at the present time, a list which is constantly increasing, will show how the old error of a union of church and state still clings to the country, and the weapons of persecution still remain for the convenient use of the bigot as occasion may suggest or arise for their wielding.” William Addison Blakely, “American State Papers Bearing on Sunday Legislation,” page 30
Notice then, that according to the above statement “the weapons of persecution still remain for the convenient use of the bigot as occasion may suggest or arise for their wielding.” The record of the past is evidence of the attitudes that exist. Even though many years have passed and legislation like the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights has appeared to calm the storm of animosity, Dr. Blakely wisely states the following.
“So long as the idea prevails that there must be some legal connection between church and state, — that the state cannot exist without religion, nor religion without the state, — we may expect that such laws will remain upon our statute books. So long as men read history so little, or to so little purpose, as not to learn that any union of religion and the state any prescribing of men's faith by human laws — is a dangerous experiment, and an illicit and contaminating alliance, and, in the end, can result only in evil, we may expect to see a repetition of the bigotry and intolerance which have disgraced the history of past ages. And so long as men who profess to believe the Bible, read it so little, or to so little purpose and profit, as not to learn from the record of the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage and oppression, the three Hebrews from the fiery furnace, and Daniel from the lions' den, the lesson that God abhors religious intolerance and oppression ; that with religion civil government can of right have nothing whatever to do further than to protect liberty of conscience; and that, as Adam Clarke says, " the church which tolerates, encourages, and practices persecution, under the pretense of concern for the purity of the faith, and zeal for God's glory, is not the church of Christ, and no man can be of such church without endangering his salvation ; " — so long as this is so, we may expect to see professed Christians making use of the power of the state for the furtherance of their ends, and for the suppression of views not in accordance with their own.” William Addison Blakely, “American State Papers Bearing on Sunday Legislation,” page 30
In the year 1911 William Addison Blakely saw the danger of the consistency of the desire to control the thoughts and actions of people. He therefore gave an outline of this sort of thinking as he listed a number of states and their restrictive laws. Observe the record of America’s first Sunday Law passed in Virginia in the year 1620.
“Every man and woman shall repair in the morning to the divine service and sermons preached upon the Sabbath day, and in the afternoon to divine service, and catechizing, upon pain for the first fault to lose their provision and the allowance for the whole week following; for the second, to lose the said allowance and also be whipped; and for the third to suffer death.” William Addison Blakely, “American State Papers Bearing on Sunday Legislation,” page 33
Blakely notes that these are the real “blue-laws." They are not taken from the “Peter’s Code," but from the legal codes and original statute books as indicated by the references given. One can easily see the direction of any return to enforcement legislation. The future is clearly defined by the standards of the past. We can see the path that is before us. There is an accurate definition found in Signs of the Times, May 6, 1897.
“Trial and persecution will come to all who, in obedience to the Word of God, refuse to worship this false Sabbath. Force is the last resort of every false religion. At first it tries attraction, as the king of Babylon tried the power of music and outward show. If these attractions, invented by men inspired by Satan, failed to make men worship the image, the hungry flames of the furnace were ready to consume them. So it will be now. The papacy has exercised her power to compel men to obey her, and she will continue to do so. We need the same spirit that was manifested by God's servants in the conflict with paganism.” (Signs of the Times, May 6, 1897)
Be warned.
Cameron A. Bowen
