Plymouth banner. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1852-1855, 1853-07-21
From the Bible Examiner.
"BIbLE JtIvEliIDS."

Such was the name OF Convention
called at Hartford, Conn, June 2nd, by
Andrew Jackson Davis-the great clair
voyant, and leader in spirit manifesto
tions-and Others. The call was of some
weeks standing in the New York Tribune
AMI also in ottes papers. 1t professed
the determination To examine the authen-
ITCHY of the Bible, g., and to give the
believers in it full share of time to de-
fend it if they could 1t was manifest
that the call was gotten up with the
deepest hostility to the Bible; and we
cannot help the suspicion that the design
was TO overthrow lis divine authenticity,
and then to establish spirit rappipgs,"
or spirit manifestations. oil its ruins.
We had 40 idea of attending that Con-
vention. but through the earnest solici-
tation of b. Miles Grant of Winsted,
COhn., we at last consented to 90, two
days before the time appointed for the
meeting. We did not arrive till the
morning session of the first day. Most
of The first day was occupied bv the OPP
poserS of the Bible; though Br. Joseph
Turner. of Hartford, and myself occupied
part Of the time. Mar the close of the
frs: dag, resolution was adopted Civ
ing the stand alternately. for forty min
utes, to the speakers OH the different
sides Of the question This seemed fair,
but as the sequel will show was not adj
hered to by the Anti Bible party. Still
we were not disposed to complain, only
We wished the fact to be known.
A long string of charges was brought
against ihe Bible. by the Chairman, Jo-
seph Birker, OF Ohio. recently from Eng
land. and formerly Methodist preacher
in which he attempted to make out
that the Bible sanctioned all manner of
crimes, &c. He was followed by Henry
Z. Wright, formerly Congregational
minister; once Non Resistant and Peace
man, but now an oppoSer of the Bi ible.-
He opened with the following resolution:
Resolved, That the Bible, in some
parts of the Old and New Testaments,
sanctions injustice, concubinage, prosti
tuition. oppression, war, piunder, and
wholesale murder and, therefore, the
doctrine OF the Bible. as loh0tc. is false
and injurious to the social and spiritual
growth and perfection of man.'
This resolution opened the battle in
earnest. We took he stand and remark
ed, that when any person was accused of
crime. the Iau by which he was to be
tried, should be distinctly stated and
known; else how is it to b. known whe th-
er he is guilty or not. We demanded.
therefore. the lao by which the Bible
was to be tried. This inquiry was ap-
proved by Mr.. Wright, and he undertook
60 define the law, which seemed to be
very indefinite. as it was the sense of
right every man had himself. As the de.
hDition was unsatisfactory, he was press.
cd Tor something more definite. After
much time had been spent in this inaui
~ we asked MIR. Wright, if we were to
understand him that the Law under
which the Bible was to be tried. on his
charges. was Natural Religion. the The
ology of Nature, or the God of Nature?"
10 this he answered DISTINCTLY. Yes. -
we thanked him that he had t last given
a definite law. ami here we ioined issue
with him, and those on his side of the
question. We showed that tried by this
law he could not condemn the Bible.
even IT 1T sanctioned all he had charged
upon II: for the God of Nature swept
away by wholesale murder" Who'll. cit
ies by earthquakes. laying them desolate
IN moment: by foods he overwhelmed
various parts Of the land, ''robbing'' the
laborers of their hard toll; by pestilence.
cholera, &c. he in0icts the most terrible
sufferings and distress: that the God of
Nature, for aught can be made to appear
without the Bible, '-sactions injustice,
concubinage, and prostitution" mas.
much as these practices prevail where .he
Bible IS not known. We affirmed, there
fore. that the Bible. or the God of the
Bible, tried by the law as defined by the