Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1846-06-25

Mr.. EDITOR Every member of an evangelical or
christian church is, by virtue of his covenant enlisted
in perpetual and exterminating warfare against all
sin; no quarter be given, no compromise made
with the enemy-nor we conceive of any outward
or visible form, either Of individual organic sin
which is not violation of the christian covenant-a
trespass against me an indvidual-heason against
the christian commonwealth. rebellion against the
Head Of the church, her only rghtfu sovereign which,
if not repented of and forsaken must incur, not only
the disNpprobaon of the Head but also the forfeiture
of membership and communion.
Now shall assume without stopping to prove, that
to own slaves, to commune with to vote for slave
holders, or prosavery men, Whose official power car
bear for or against the slave are palpable and prov
able offences over which the church has rghu iuris-
dction which every member is bound by covenant to
prosecute and against which the church is bound to
pass sentence of accommodation. Ii this be contro-
verted will endeavor to sustain it the Freeman can
find room.
But no individual, nor number of individuals in the
church, can rightfully protest against the church on
account of the wckedness of other individuals, until
the action of the church, or her refusal to act shall
sustain that wickedness.
To protest against and withdraw from the commun-
ion without laborng with the offenders, and preferng
charges against them, would be like taking up arms
against the government instead of pursuing the thief
who had stolen my horse.
When the anti slavery minority shall have done
their duty and the prosavery majority shall refuse to
do theirs, public protestaton and remonstrance and
withdrawal from communion by the minority, will all
be in order And if their number should be only two
or three see not why their receiving the sacrament
at tire hands of some faithful antslavery administrator
would not be an orderly and scrptural transaction-
Or, when convenient they might show forth the Lords
death by occasional communion with other churches
not contaminated with the sin of slaveholdng Or,
circumstances might make it their imperative duty to
organize anew without waiting at ALL tif you please,)
for accommodation or discharge.
Your aged and respected correspondent will reco-
lect that did not say, in my former communication,
that we should suspend communion with all christians
until communicated from our proslavery churches
Nor would refuse to obey their citation to answer to
charges preferred against me for my protest my alb
sence from theirs For, if my position be tenable and
UNSUITABLE before God it must be deensble before the
church-or, at least before the candid antislavery
world-so that when accommodation comes, if it
ever come it will be an honorable discharge-much
more honorable than certificate of dismisson and re-
commentator from proslavery church; to ask whch,
would be to reduce our own character to the same
common level with theirs
In case of the wrong action of the church in the
settlement of heretical, slaveholdng, or prosave
ny minister, the antislavery orthodox minority should
protest and suspend communion, and perhaps set up
separate communion; still holding themselves ready to
answer charges preferred against them and although
in this, or in other alluded to- they should be ex-
communicated, their discharge will be honorable, for
there is no comeoutism in all they have done. They
have not seeded from the church, they still stand firm
on their original covenant unbroken and unlmpalred-
unbroken by themselves, thong violated by majority
of their brethren, whom the minority have virtually ex
communicated by their protest and withdrawal from
communion, and now, at length, by indicating their
course in answering 70 the charges preferred against
them, have absolved themselves, Though the church