Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1847-06-17
New Religious Movement on the Sub
iect of Slavery,

At the close of the recent session Of the General
Assembly Of the Presbyterian Church, in Cincinnati
Convention was called to form anti slavery Presby-
terrain Church. Rev. John Rankin, of Ohio, well
known in the west, called to the chair. The fol-
lowing the remarks of Mr. Rankin as published in
the Cincinnati Herald:
Lest it might be supposed that he was acting from
prejudice of education, he would state that he was
born in slaveholdng State educated as slave
holder, was baptized by savehOlding minister and
licensed by slavehodng Presbytery. He had form
ed Anti-Savery Societies in Kentucky, and had talked
aboltionisn there So that he was acting from no
preudiced educaton from no sectional antipathy.
He then took his text from Revelations, lS As.
"And heard another voice from heaven, saying
Come out OF her my people, that We be not parakers
Iot her SINS and that receive not OF her plaques for
her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath
Imembered her lnqultles'"
He did not mean to say by this that the Presbyterian
Church was guilty, the body of whom this was
spoken, but he selected this text to show that there
were commands of God which called on his people to
come out from certain churches 1t represented chill
dren of God as being, by some reasons, members OF
corrupt Church; as being among those who were in
curably erroneous; and it called upon them to come
out from such a connexion He then went on to give
clear exposition Of principles, in accordance with
which it was at times necessary to Withdraw from
churches, and from any Of the organizations.
He showed TINT the Presbyterian church of the Uni
ted States, associated with those who were guilty of
sins; that orIanzaon they refused to against
those who in the practice of sin; that by contin
uation in the body, there would be necessity of meet
| inc in common with those who held Slaves and that
it 50 corrupt 50 much in error, that the command
| Of God applied to this with peculiar force.
! He showed that the course Of the General Assem-
bly, Of the Presbyery in regard to slavery had been
bad from The beginning, and vas growing worse con-
tinually showing that the common argument of stay
ing in church to reform it, unsound. The CONT
nu9d influence Of great body would like the water
drip the rock at last away the fresh and free
spirit Of him who subjected himself to its influence and
he might strive and toll and cry aloud and spare not
the adverse influence Of evil would be too strong and
the chances were, that he would become silent and
cold, before the organization would become pure and
Iaoy. He drew a vivid picture Of slavery rs an ns-
utlon to show hlt it could not be tolerated without
mourning guilt, and concluded by saying that because
the Presbyterian church tolerated these things be-
r cause its course was evil and only evil continually,
3, therefore it has been determined by few of those
who would not that this sin should rest on their heads
to set up new church, which would not be portakel
!, Of this guilt.
The following declaration was adopted, to be prefix
, ed to the form Of government Of the church.
= |. God has made of one blood all mtions Of men,
It consequently all human beings, endowed with ration,
g ality have an equal righht to freedom.
II. The holding Of human beings as properly, is de-
sructive Of all the ends for which man was created
: and endowed with rational powers, and consequently
+ one the greatest evils that be inflicted upon human
IF nature, highly mmlral, entirely inconsistent with
n christian chlacter and profession.
- ILL., No person holding slaves, or advocating the
" rghtlulnoss of slaveholdng, be member of this
't body.
e ". That no Church Presbytery nor Synod tolerat
h ing Shareholders the advocates of savehoding in
its comnuniou, be constituent plrt of this body