T HE original cause of infidelity is doubtless inherent in the moral constitution of man of man fallen by breach of covenant with God. The carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. But there are occasions, furnished in holy and sovereign providence, where enmity to God is manifested by special hostility to his revealed will. Among such occasions, may be noticed the obstinacy with which ministers, and other professors of the Gospel, resist the evidence of God s word against slavery. The just God, who loveth righteousness, denounces judgment against all oppressors.
Slavery is complicated oppression in body, soul, substance, relation, reputation.
The ingenuity of divines, in concert with politicians, has been exercised for a quarter of a century to defend the lawfulness of this inhuman system. By wresting the Scriptures, attempts have been made to prove that the God of justice and mercy ordained the relation between master and slave. For the God of the Bible, as portrayed by the advocates of slavery, is not the same God revealed in the volume of creation. Another occasion, which ungodly men eagerly seize upon to confirm themselves in unbelief, is the facility with which ministers of the Gospel change their ecclesiastical relations. Unhappily, the visible body of Christ is rent asunder by manifold causes in our time.