Monongalia mirror. [volume] (Morgantown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1855, 1852-10-23


sliup sdosddgiltyear, "a a.ii Go5- I'd 1000
4Forione column, minion type, lhyear, 5000
For Announcing Candidates, each name, 2;0V
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'70RIGINALs ARTICLES.
cJa,. nj, COMMUNICATED. s,,AhS3 M
'ia'TRELIGIOU FREEDOM, IN
odAs an clement Of Human Happiness:
so laa'9ia' FNo,al.a lasn, E'aa 7, ;.i. pl3s
as BY religious freedom, we mean mean
freedom to think and act torourselyes
in religion, being gamenable only to
God: freedom secured BY laws so
framed and executed athat the civil CIV
magistrate shall restrain crime, but ln t
never control opinion shall punish
guilt but neverviolate the freedom Of
tlleisoul.p We do not tmeanSthatone
must make no distine ons on account
Of 7oof religious filth Or character, Or that
q religious society may not not dsIpl1i dlseIrplml1il-
.nate.b But we doimean that ciyilgoyi
iernment has noright totlegislate IN
.matterrs Of conscience" orito "puni
ish violations ltii Of the 1f1st table h - 81, ,,s the
L
law" Il,5, ,,ad silf ID ssoisgIiaI
tive do not meant that .the saint, the the
savage or the sage''swhoe worshipsi
Jehovah, Jove or Lord" is alike
enti,ledsto confidence Sand esteem as
"a Theologian, or that because the
magistrate may not punish, the church
must fellowship; but We do = mean, mean,
that heresiies, however gross 1l'a that re re-
gligious opinions, however iupscriptp-
ral,tirrational or abominable, icanlnev-
,ersubiect their unhappy labetters ito
coa6ssations corporeal punishments;
that the influence, the exertions, .'F SF.
the purse Of "a citizen can not be right
fallyiimpressed ints' the service Ola
faith The does not'approye ; or in the
lguuaig language Of the eccentric John Le. I ::
land, that "mankind cannot be justly
compelled to pay toll on turnpike to
heaven, which they do not choose to
trayel.'"i edf--. .si,5sJ 45s,l, ,a#5.4
I'VE do not mean that exemption
from prisons aud5gridirous is equiva-
lent approval7or that a#Christian
Church may not expsl, though a Estate state
maynot banish; but we Do Do I mean e that I1I.
whether citizen adores one God Or
all5the gods of.the Pantheon. Or with
the g foollsaysiin his heart there is no
God, ,p'is4not, a subject tof enquiry in
the administration Of civil govern
mnveent. me- The stubborn Jew, the blind
Idolator, the bewildered Skeptic and md
the mad Atheist, stand upon the same
footing with the most devout and
heayenly-minded Christian with re-
spect to alkthe privileges Of citizen
shin iai biis 100 d31sH q t,ofss1sP
viii not fold thee IN ,lie, warm en-,
brace Of my Christian f' fellowship, lows till
thou hast,he moralIqualities that m'lk make
thee worthy ola place nimyr'ihearti
Of hearts, but will stand up beside
thee as man, and lenizen of our
free domain. Twill walk with thee
by the way, and if thou ll1;.,t art hungry
thou shalt share with my children and
brothers at my humble board. When
thou art sick will watch all night be-
side thy couch, to wetithy feyered'lips
and lift;thee from side to side. iJs
May, more. 1fthy dark soul can
bow and do homage to an id idol ofwosodl sSl
and of,stone; Or if, in the lni madness esss Of '
thy hallucination, thou hast forgotten
to look up and see God in the sun and
stars and in the fetal eclipse of thy
spiritual vision, thou dost not perceive
the stamp Of divinity upon'the sacred =
pages, or behold the ineaable glories
Of the Godhead in the face Of Jesus US
Christ, willliftnot q hand topush thee
of the common platform of IF humanity. lp y an
Twill not bind thee hand and foot aud
cast theelinto prison., or hang thee up
by the neck till thou art dead. No,
Sir. l will pray for thee and sin
ueekness instruct thee,if peradven-
ture God will give thee repentance
toihe acknowledgement Of the TRUTH
That religious freedom is an essen.
t;al element Of human happiness, will