Alexandria gazette, commercial and political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1812-1817, 1812-11-30
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,her they ought to obey man, ra'asr
than God. The supremacy OF the o''
vine authority is the dictate OF reason asA
we'll as revelation. But though It be,
rue. that whenever the commands si
the deity, ind of man shall come In col
,isiss, the latter ought to yield to the
former; ye, perhaps, it is not well con
sidcrsd by many good kind OF people,
that human authorizes resolve theIh-'
selves under parents and laws, or the
representative ofthe laws the magistrate
and that the principle and habit OF ooe
dience TO this Law OF God, must be o!oi.
narily generated in the inverse order OF
the obligation. When parents, and ma
sistra,es leach and command directly or
indirectly to disobey God-she moral or
der Of the hu man and divine relations is'
,ubyertsd. Then it is, that under Inc
mast clear and firm conviction ott"e ne
ces.ity Of the case, good sen may Win
caution and prudenc, follow the oiS''S
law, though they saould be Obliged ny
necessary consequence to disooey Pa
rents and magistrates; though TINS lni-
portant step should never be taken un-
se-a .upposltion that the sovereignty oil
the 6iviue lay, supercrdes the hGcessi-
~ Of restoring the influence OF parental
aud legal authorities proper degree OF
INFLUENCE subordinate to tho divine Will,
SC.
The obligation of obedience is FIRST to
Gad-seco9d, TO the laws, and lastly to
parents. The order and progress OF
obedieucs inversely, to parents, t" the
magistrate, TO @ d-Tnis ordsris found
ed in physical necessity. 1t being i'm
possible, however impsrious the divine
authority may be, that child can con-
ceiYe of it, or submit to it, before he
.abats to his parents and his govern
ors. All experience proves, that the
number Of those who can be brought to
feel the force Of the abstract Obligation
to obey God, rather than man, and a.
succeed in reducing the conviction to
practice, IL opposition TO tae Influence,
and authority Of parents aad magistrates
ia comparatively small, and that Whale.
yer NAV be the merit Of maStvldom, the
true martyrs in every age have been but
little fock. An age of maity:dom
mast need DC a corrupt ard degenerate
one. Il We coeld be certain that the re.
iigion OF tie middle ages SO called was
the idea,icalreligion taught by the Apos'
tics, We should feel no hesitation In de-
claring, that the church was then IN
more flourishiDg state, than in the prl.
.aitiYe times, or since the reformation
for then tina order and obligation Of what
was believed tn be obedience to Gad
,eem.,o have bsen generally understood
and admitted. Parents and magistrates,
did net suffer ta>ir children to remain
as ignorant and untrsctble as wild ass
colt under a pretcnC' Of making them
the filter sub jects for the divine com
mands. But lfin those days the will Of
God was not unaers:sod-if religion bsd
degenerated from its primitive purity,
power, &c.-then the retormcr did well
in net hearkeningt to ths Voice Of parental
and legal authority, which supported
such q state Of religion more than to the
voice of the pure original gospel. Un-
fortunately for the reformation species
Of philosophical inEdeli,y entered the
bis,s as il, wcrc) with it. THE philosophy
not only assumed as, FIRST principle
that there is ne such thing as original
sin, and that the first motions of the hu'
man heart are always right, but they
succeededini leading many of the reform
ed to act as though there is 10 such
thing as original ignorance, and that the
first ideas Of an mfant are as correct as
his feelings, All the superstition and
hypoericy in the uNtscrse were attIibut-
cd 10 the artful, and " annical influence
exercised over the Intellectual faculties
uaGer pretence of religion. This splen-
did system so fa,terjng to the pride ct
man was ysadilv embraced. Children
aud subjects were no longer to be held
under the obligations ct hial and legal
obedience. Innocence & wisdom were
henceforth to be propagated by natural
generation. The progress of public o.
pinion in favor OF the liberty of truth and
rind SO insidiously promoted by in6de-
!jty, induced parea,s and magistrates ell
Their frem necessity or choice to become
neutral, but by no means impartial spec
ta,ovs of the controversy thus LET, to the
priest and the philosopher. The latter
now appeared no longer as the modest
friend to truth and freedom, but the
fierce enemy of revelation and The fol-
r,er was reduced to the insignihcance
oi tt.orist During the progress OF the
speculative controversy. generations OF
men grew up in ignorance and in
Standardization, and victory on either
side could do but little more than
Rs,,er the pride of party, without
producing any practical influence g.
vcr invetela,s hakit The resul, was to
use the ideas, if not the words Of Con-
aereet, Europe awoke in establishment
and found itself nation of dsists. Would
m oaf he a,ore proper To Say thai the dc.