Vermont telegraph. [volume] (Brandon [Vt.]) 1828-1843, 1838-04-18
fsuch. M. Editor. has been my own expe-

. .
sion at which we naturally arrive is indeed
a startling one-which is, that the church is
+awfully guilty Of the blood Of souls, and in-
slrumental in making mole infidels than the
open opposers of oGr holy religion! This is
truly hard saying; but who Twilltake upon
himself the responsibility Of proving it iaIse7
I these things are so, is itnot time the alarm
was given, aud truth, In voice ofthunder,
proclsirned from the walls Of Zion, and re-
echoed through every street. and at every
corner, till the very graves shall open and
dead professors shall be reused from their
shmbers Of DEATH -a.,..-..., 4
Now let Us suppose, for an illustration of
our subject, that young convert comes for
ward aud connects himself with a church 10
the condition Of the one described above
What, I ask, would most probably be the his
tory Of his future life7 Simply this: IL he
was not thrown Immediately upon the fear
full breakers of unbelief, and his faith al once
-shipwTecked, (Which is often the case he
would suppose he had mistaken the
church, aud setting out on pilgrimage, GO
the rounds through every christian deDomi-
nation, seeking in vain Him whom his soul
lovelh, and settle down at length disappoint-
ed and dIsheartened, and waste away with
sort Of spiritual consumption. Instances of
this kind are numerou; and were it neces-
sary, could point you to many within the
limited circle Of my own acquaintance, who
were once members Of churches, and bid fair
FOR usefulness, but now are Uuiversalists or
soothing infdels. Shall be told that ";hese
were not Of US, and therefore they went out
from usq' reply, this may be the fact in
some cases; but have every reason to be-
lieve that the greater part of them were, at
the time Of their entering the church, honest
hearted, and if not real converts, as they ap-
peared, were at least real seekers OF religion,
and had the church done her duty to them
and 10 God, would now have been as much
celebrated for their piety and good works as
they are now for iniquity and opposition 10
Christ and his cause. Look at the vast
multitude of nominal christians within the
pale Of our ownde denomination, who are mere
spiritual skeletons, with scarcely breath Of
the life Of Christ remaining in them! And
why Is Il so7 ] answer, the church has neg
lected their eternal interests; and like an un-
natural mother, she has left her tender babes
exposed to cold, and hunger, and the wild
beasts Of the forests, till they are either dead
or so crippled and mulilated that they are
unfit for labor and Improbable 10 the world
All! could we see, as God sees, the awful
guilt Of such injdnticide, would it not fright.
en- US into our senses-lead US TO humble re.
pentance, and TO conduct more consistently
with our high profession2
Think not, dear Brother, that / have a
disposition to End fault, or that il is with a
design to bring reproach upon the church Of
Christ, that have spoken thus plainly. Nc
Sir, lore the church, and il is because
love her that use such plainness: for the
only method BY which we can make mer
see and abandon sin, iss to hole il up before
them in all its native deformity, that they
may behold its exceeding sinfulness. Fo
this have the authority Of Scripture anC
the example Of all good men in every age o
the world. With what boldness-with wha
plainness-wiih what Sc rerity did the ProPh
cts and apostles reprove the church in an
Client times! And you, Mr.. Editor, have il
this respect followed their glorious exam
4 pie. This, Sir, is not time Tor aattely; no
does Il become US to cry "Peace, peace, whel
!. there is no peace" Do we not know-yea
have we MOI felt that the church is awful.
, guilty-that she has left her first love al,
: gone after strange gods, It'll her strength |
wasted and her holy influence upon tn
world ia great measure lost ? Can it b
said Of her now, that she is " terrible as al
army with banners7' Doth not iniquity ex
alt iiselfin her presence, and THEFT, robbery
+ and oppression, as exhibited in the sY sten
OF American Slavery, Gee to her for protec
toni But there are some churches whic
DO not uphold slavery-such, then, will no
feel hurt BY this reprooE-( that part OF It,
mean, which relates to slavery -"'
In our efforts 10 convert the world. sur
pose We should succeed, and all should be
come just such christians as the great mas
Of professors now are: how much bette
would be IheircoDdition than il is now?7
{ Would they not want converting over agar
Q before the glories of the milIeoial day coul
: De nshered in7 l think there can be
3 doubt. -.r sd.
81 | do feel, Mr. Editor, that il is time
acry aloud and spare not to show the PEI