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THE KING’S BUSINESS
most numerous in Alexandria, Asia Minor, and the East. Rome never had any influ ence over them. Bardesanes himself lived at Edessa, in Mesopotamia, 2500 miles east o f Rome, on another continent, under another nation. 2. This sect was numerous in the East as early as A. D. 150, or fifty- five years after the death o f John. So we have Sunday-keeping not only at Rome, but all over the East as early as. A. D. 150, hundreds o f years before there was any “ Pope” at Rome. No exception to this can be found whether orthodox or heretic. All observed the Lord’s Day. Even Sabbatarians are compelled to admit this. Elder Andrews says : “ Those Fathers who hallow the Sab bath do generally associate with it the fes tival called by them the Lord’s Day.” Yes, while some did, for a while, keep the Sabbath, yet even they, in every instance, also kept the Lord’s Day. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDR IA . - Clement was one o f the most celebrated o f the Christian Fathers. He writes about A. D. 194. He says: “He, in fulfillment o f the precept, keeps the Lord’s Day when he abandons an evil disposition, and assumes that o f the Gnostic, glorifying the Lord’s resurrection in himself” (Book VII, Chapter X II). The Lord’s Day, it will be seen here, and all along, is the resurrection day. Clement lived, not at Rome, but in Egypt. So Sunday-keeping was not simply a Roman usage, as Adven tists claim. Adventists seek to discredit Clement’s testimony about the Lord’s Day by -saying that he was influenced by Greek philosophy as taught by Plato, Socrates, etc. But this is easily answered by the fact that neither the Greeks in general, nor any o f the Phi losophers, ever practiced, or taught, any observance o f Sunday. They never knew anything about a weekly day o f rest or worship. The weekly calendar was unknown to them till taught it by Chris-, tians at a iater date. (See Chapter V ). Hence, whatever else Clement and thé
Church at Alexandria gathered from Greek philosophers, they did not get the Lord’s Day from them. When they adopted Chris tianity they accepted the Lord’s Day as a part o f it. Heathen Gnosticism knew noth ing o f any weekly rest day; hence, Chris tian Gnostics could not get their Lord’s Day from them. TERTULLIAN OF AFRICA Tertullian was one o f the most noted of the early Fathers. Was born A. D. 160. He was highly educated, bred to the law, and very talented. Brought up a pagan,- he was converted to Christ and vehemently opposed heathenism ever after. Radically severe in his principles, opposed to all con formity to the world, the laxity o f the Roman Church drove him to withdraw from it, which he ever after hotly opposed. So he was not a Romanist, nor did Rome have a particle o f influence over him only to drive him the other way. He was strictly orthodox, in faith and a lover o f the Scriptures. Hence if it were true that Sunday-keeping, as a heathen institution, was being introduced into the Church by Rome, Tertullian is just the man who would have opposed and fearlessly con demned it. Johnson!s “ Cyclopedia” says o f him: “ One o f the greatest men o f the early church.” He “joined the Puritanic sect o f the Montanists. They were orthodox in doctrine, but stern1 in spirit and discipline.” “ He remained true to the faith o f the Cath olics, but fought them vehemently on mat ters Of morality and discipline. He was also a representative o f the African opposi tion to Rome.” The “ Schaff-Herzog Cyclo pedia” says o f him : “ One" o f the grandest and most original characters o f the ancient Church.” “Greek philisophy he despised." O f his great book they say: “ One o f the magnificent monuments o f the ancient Church.” Anthon’s “ Classical Dictionary” says o f him : “He informs us more cor rectly than any other writer respecting the Christian doctrines o f his time. . Tertullian was held in very high esteem by the subsequent Fathers o f the Church.”
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