Vermont telegraph. [volume] (Brandon [Vt.]) 1828-1843, 1836-11-30

Since the time that Jesus Christ said,
60 put I'D thy sword into its sheath"
christians ought not to 60 to war; unless
il be in that most honorable warfare, with
the vilest enemies of the church, and of
mans happiness, revenge, lust, ambition,
pride and the inordinate love Of money
These are our Canaanites, Amorites, Hit
tites and Jebusites with whom we ought
never to make a truce With these we
must engage without intermission; till. !
the enemy being utterly extirpated, peace
may be finally established. Unless we
subdue such enemies as these, we can
neither have peace with ourselves, nor
peace with others He who shall have
conquered foes like these, will never wish
to wage war with any mortal upon that
earth, on which God placed man to live,
and let live, and enjoy the life he gave
Notwithstanding the peculiar excellen-
cy Of the gospel is, that it brings peace and
good will to men; not merely 10 friends
and neighbors, but to men-mankind
yet, astonishing to relate, men protesting
10 be influenced and governed by it, have
been led along, as it were blindfold, BY
custom and example, in the inhuman
practice of killing and DESTROYING each
other. without thinking it crime.
How very instructive, that the descent
Of the divine spirit upon our Savior, was
in the likeness OF the innocent, inoffensive
dove ! what emblem more significant of
its nature and tendencyl and how fully
his meek, unresisting conduct proves its
effect does it influence men differently,
that they, though protesting 10 be his fol-
lowers, governed by this dove-Ike spirit,
can be cruel, wrathful destroyers of each
other2
How irreconcilable, that in one age
christians are recorded TO have been meek
and lowly followers Of their suffering
Lord and, like him, submitting to every
lndignity rather than contend IN another
age. men under the same religious pro-
tesslon. claiming the same cruci6ed Christ
for their leader ; appear in all the horrid
pomp OF military parade, and contend
even at the expense of the lives OF thou
sands and tens ofthousandsl
But, notwithstanding men act as they
do, in killing each other real christianity
has ever been, and ever will be the same
; and must necessarily produce the same
fruits; which an inspired apostle tells us,
are love, Joy, peace, ng-sufering, gen.
tleness. goodness, faith, meekness." Can
any man Possessing these, buckle on the
harness to kill or 10 be- killed ? Let US
) not deceive ourselves, nor be deceived -
God is not Knocked; but whatever a man
soweth, that he shall also reap.
Such indeed are the dreadful conse-
e quences of war, that it is no marvel that
J. the apostle James had 10 declare their or
: igin. From whence come wars and
: 6ghtings7 Come they not hence, even
Y of your lusts? And of all usts, can
e there be any more detestable, than tina,
: which produces the selfish, revengeful
J. disposition to injure others
e cannot conceive how the crime OF
t murder, which is considered of the high
: est magnitude in an individual, can lose
1 its criminality when authorised by the
d rulers Of any people. If man, TO re-
' venge an insult, kill another, the horrid
: deed is resounded through the countI v
= and he suffers death for the crime; ku, II
= chief ruler, under the same pretcxt, viz.
J. insult, for months natures his plans trI
: sEaug her, and by his order thousands ale
= murdered, praises for his $50 Calred) gIo-
e rlouS deeds, are vocIteruttd from shore &c
j. shore. There is, however this differ
;, ence; though both act from the same
J. principle, and are alike influenced BY NAL
o Ice, one Is legalized by government, the
otuer is condemned by the same Blu
!. let 1t not be forgotten, that malice and re-
:. venge are forbidden by high authority
a whether INDUCED by prince or peasant
i Pet. ii. |, and Rom xii. 49,
q AS 1t is the nature of all evil, that it,
% mallgnny increases the more it is extend
h ed; therefore, If it is inhuman, if it j;
4 wicked, for one man TO meet another with
!. q sword pointed at his vita!s how much
1 IS the mass OF inhumanity and wlckednes.
"a increased, when thousands and tens o
thousands meet In the same manner, anC
either stay without mercy or fail withou
J. pity!
3 A man is Justly accounted Infamous wht
steals coat; but If the same man engag
= es in war, and aEer shedding blood, re
. turns from the battle laden with the prop
- erty OF many innocent men, he is ranked
q amongst honest and reputable members 0
! society. lcannot conceive how the infa
e nous practice Of robbing, can lose its in
20 fanny. by adding murder to it, though au
e thorsed by government; unless govern
5 ment has power to remove the CRIMINAL
i ty Of that which God has made crime
= What but wicked custom, justi6es gov
D. D. eminent more than individuals, in robbins
= and plundering!
at
III MISCELLANEOUS