The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1850-05-16

ownership 1t violates fundamental principle o.
Gods religion, Love TO our neighbor as our.
selves and il involves positive duty on ouI
| part Remember those in bonds as bound with
them Heb. xiii, 3. "Do unto others as you
would they should do to you;p and at the judg,
ment day Christ will say to those who neglect
his representatives or his creatures Inasmuch
as ye did il not to one Of the least Of these my
creatures, THAT is as the context shows, acts oil
mercy1 yedd it not to me, Depart, ye cursed, into
everlasting FIRE, prepared for the devil and his
angels" Ii is at the peril Of our souls salvation
to neglect to plead and labor for the oppressed
IL is religious duty Pure and undefled reli.
gionn says James, is TO visit the fatherless aud
the widow in their affection, and to keep our
selves unspotted from the worldp Every man
knows that ii is rs much our duty to visit the
motherless in their affection, as the fatherless
But the design in the teXt is to take specific ca.
SEES the fatheress and the widow, as illustrations
| Of general principle-mercy or love--and there
by show that religion consists in two things acts
of mercy to man, and purity before God, answer
ing to what is taught in other places that religion
| consists in love to God and love TO man. 20
plead for the oppressed Is then religious dry
| g. Christians do not excuse themselves from
duty or responsibility on other questions, merely
| because they may have also a political character
or aspect. The observance Of the Sabbath, dram.
selling, adultery, theft and murder, all these are
political questions-the Legislatures have passed
laws concerning them. But do Christians and
churches plead that they have nothing to do with
these questions, because they are political ques-
tions2 Will the preachers be silent, and will
the churches refuse discipline on these questions,
because the Legislatures have passed laws con-
corning them1 No! And they would not refuse
to speak and act this question of slavery, were
fN,, vttb
some, false notions of religious duty.
We have frequently noticed that some Of these
preachers Christians, and churches, do not refuse
action when they have a chance 20 please public
sentiment, promote the interest Of the master,
and rivet tighter the chains Of the slave. We
awfully fear that some of these Christians are
not dealing faithfully with their own souls, as
web ~ nsglectjng GOd'spOOr
The religion of Christ, as illustrated by him.
mI, Casts it nee our Ssst:5 80 - * -E
other SIDE as the Priest and Leyite did but TO go
to the suffering man, pour in his wounds the oil
and the wiue Of comfort, place him upon our own
beast, take him TO the Inn place where his
wants Can be supplied, thrust cur hands in our
pockets and defray expenses until the robbed
and bruised man is healed This Is the religion
of Christ
18th. "Welln says another, {" believe slavery
is a great sin, and that the church ought not TO
fellowship it, but these divisions and discussions
cause so much fuss and opposition that think
they do more harm than good-peace is best"
True, peace is best but to be lasting, and &C
ceptable to God, il must be on right princi-
pies. James says "The wisdom which is from
above is first PURE, then psaceabls-full Of mercy
and good (rrus, without panidlay and without n.y.
pocrisy.o James ILL., II. Butte sustain churches
practioing or sanctionng :" the most atrocious Of
ri -. III
stealing, extortion, adultery, aud fornicstion--is
from above, and recorded in I Cor, v, TO- IL, -,
aud Tim, l. lO7 Brother, good as are your in
tentions and much as you think il religion, IL is
the prompting of selfish ease, the policy that
cries. ga little more folding Of the hands to
sleep n-of the sloth that sleeps well fed from the
mangled carcasses of others
Yes, reader, at the present time, in our own
State, and in all the States of the South, the
slave.coles may be seen marching in sad process
sion along our highways. The groans Of inno-
cent men and women, sold by members Of our
be i beard il and ss
need but read the journals of the day, or open
your eyes and look around you, TO be convinced
of the fact And all this without n single word
of rebuke or admonition from the churches. Yes,
brother, your ease Is bought by the smothered
groans of fathers, the wailing of mothers, and
the shrieks of innocent children-the crushed
rights Of three millions Of slaves, and the damna-
tion of masters mistresses, sons and daughters
tormenting each other with death-groans. viii
you ask for peace upon such conditions
And do you expect to expel such an enemy
without struggled Can you extract a tooth Of
many fangs without pain, or dig up the sturdy
oak of the forest without blows2 And when an
institution like American slavery has shot Its
roots Deep entwined around the interests and
prejudices Of men, pervading every department Of
society, entrenched behind law, feigRedly sane.
toned by religion, and halowed by time-are we
TO expect such an institution TO be removed with
out commotion2 Those who do, declare at once
their own faint hearts or a want Of reflection.
Let not our ecclesiastical bodies any longer boast
Of the ease with which they disposed of the claims
Of three millions of saves-of the lullabys they
sung, and the harmony they enjoyed in rejecting
the piteous cry Of the poor bondmen.
There were those in olden time who cried,
"Peace, peace, when there WAS no peace" And
shall a Christian now ask for peace when the
stone out Of the wall and the beam out Of the
timber is ready to cry out-when the public
mind is surging like n troubled ocean, and the
crash of falling churches, daubed with untem-
pered mortar, is like the sound of coming earth
quaker He is faint-hearted physician that
can't probe the wound to the bottom, and bring
out the fostering cause.
Also, the Saviour has told us that he {" came
not to send peace, but n sword" Math, K, "a.
That is, although the Gospel itself Is pure and
gentle In its tendencies, yet those practicing in
iquitous systems or wrongs Of any kind will OPP
pose it, even to the sundering OF father and son,
mother and daughter. See Yer. 81 And
mans foes shall be they Of his own household"
But mark, ale that loveth father or mother
more than me, Is not worthy Of me and he that
oveth SON or daughter more than me, is not wor-
thy of me0
And let us consider the example of Christ who
left the peace and glory which he had with the
Father, came down to earth, and in his labors Of
doing good, suffered privation, hardship, persecu
ton, and shame. Yes the ehaaisemsni Of our
peace was laid on himn And shall not we, who
have freely received, freely giye7
SO long M we wear the name Of Christ, Of
Chistian, let us blush for shame, IL We ever again
ask for peace whilst q single slave plteously
groans beneath the CALLING yoke or the clsnking
chain. JOHN "a. FEE.
Cabin Cr>ek, R1aHeky.
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