Character and Aims of the Papacy
477
the power and prosperity of the church have in all ages been esteemed
lawful by the papal hierarchy.
The roll forbade labor from the ninth hour, three o’clock, on Satur-
day afternoon, till sunrise on Monday; and its authority was declared to
be confirmed by many miracles. It was reported that persons laboring
beyond the appointed hour were stricken with paralysis. A Miller who
attempted to grind his corn, saw, instead of flour, a torrent of blood
come forth, and the mill-wheel stood still, notwithstanding the strong
rush of the water. A woman who placed dough in the oven, found
it raw when taken out, though the oven was very hot. Another who
had dough prepared for baking at the ninth hour, but determined to set
it aside till Monday, found, the next day, that it had been made into
loaves and baked by divine power. A man who baked bread after the
ninth hour on Saturday, found, when he broke it the next morning, that
blood started therefrom. By such absurd and superstitious fabrications
did the advocates of Sunday endeavor to establish its sacredness.
[577]
In Scotland, as in England, a greater regard for Sunday was secured
by uniting with it a portion of the ancient Sabbath. But the time
required to be kept holy varied. An edict from the king of Scotland
declared that Saturday from twelve at noon ought to be accounted holy,
and that no man, from that time till Monday morning, should engage
in worldly business.
But notwithstanding all the efforts to establish Sunday sacredness,
papists themselves publicly confessed the divine authority of the Sab-
bath, and the human origin of the institution by which it had been
supplanted. In the sixteenth century a papal council plainly declared:
“Let all Christians remember that the seventh day was consecrated by
God, and hath been received and observed, not only by the Jews, but
by all others who pretend to worship God; though we Christians have
changed their Sabbath into the Lord’s day.” Those who were tampering
with the divine law were not ignorant of the character of their work.
They were deliberately setting themselves above God.
A striking illustration of Rome’s policy toward those who dis-
agree with her was given in the long and bloody persecution of the
Waldenses, some of whom were observers of the Sabbath. Others suf-
fered in a similar manner for their fidelity to the fourth commandment.
The history of the churches of Ethiopia and Abyssinia is especially
significant. Amid the gloom of the Dark Ages, the Christians of Cen-