Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1854-03-25
Communications.
METH0DIsM AND sLAvERY-REPLY TO
MR.. WRIGHT

prOtraced meetings in our place, during the winter
months, by our Methodist brethren, with the us
ual tendency upon the morals Of the peoplo,) we
have been led to investigate the relations of the
churches, and more especially the M. Il. Church
to slavery. As sincere endeavors should always be
! assistcd and the ministry are the last to give
light upon this subject, for the benefit OF young
converts and old ones, such occasions espcclay'
disintcrested and Christian motives, we think, will
+ bo readily adduccd for whatever Of interest may
r have been manifested.
For the above reasons and others following, we
hone YOU will allow brief reply to some assertions
! made by the leading spirit (Nlr Wright) against
r "AJolionists ala mode and positions taken Ad hb-
ifum to free the church from the responsibility of its
I, guilty relation to slavery and himself from honest
and anxious inquiries. This request wsud not
have been made, but that all endeavors have proved
insufficient to secure a reply Of ten minutes even
at his lectures. On one occasion, IL was un-
dorstood that the meeting was to be free but after
it was reported that ian inGdc from Salem had
stopped in town." it was happily suggested that a
text be read from the Bible at the opening of the
discourse. And an attempt to ask if n reply rould
be admitted to what said, vain, so it could
not be heard the threatenngs Of the law "lfyou
don't take your scat"() In butone instance have we
? been more successful namely: After the fourth Of
j an hour had been aboriously filed demonstrating
the relation Of the church to slavery, and after ask
= ing pardon by saying that had not certain indi-
ydual in the audience, and others, reported to the
Is annoyance Of some that the Northern wing of the
e. NJ. f. Church held slaves aud that their discipline
had provisions in it for slavery, &C., he should not
have called the people together on this occasion
n tlOuph hp Oppt IN
Sc tnuc probably for three evenings yet he had now
y at this time said all he had to say and in one sim
10 gle half hour, at some other time or if We would
remain Of choice a few minutes longer, as the
t. roads were bad, he would finish tho whole course
y Now, it was agreed to remain, and 60 VIC got all
n three in one short lecture.
m After granting pardon for his indvidualizing, II
2, was asked if question would be admitted. Ans
!, wcr, No, unless it be in explanation" 1t was
70 then requested that lie explain, first whether he
wished to defend the anti-savory character Of the
* church, Or second that slaves were not held in it
~ (for no one had undorstsod from what he said) OF
So thirdly, did he wish to deny what had been said
u the discipline? To these interrogatorcs we did
~ obtain reply, such it was II was first by ad
~ y mitting that slaves were perhaps held in the
,s church. say perhaps one hundred; that the discip
ID line Of sanctioned it, but then turning
to his discipline and reading among other things
the golden rule Hhatsoeer ys coud hare Others do
&c INTO you, do 90 10 them" after showing that
this was binding upon each member Of the church,
f he thought every one must Sec it was an ex-
is press provision Of their discipline. lie then stop
ped to ask if any did not see, If all did not
'e see that if sldres cere held in The church. they must
20 be held in conformity to this requirement. Of e Scrip
lis lures u and if so, then what intelligent person
a would gainsay its being right C)
ad Being referred to that part Of the discipline
,re which specifies how slaves shall be treated by
cy members Of the church, he quoted from BishoI
lIedding and referred to others TO show that thi.
clause, taken together with the golden rule, is com
patibe with Christian prccept and principle. We
shall see hereafter what Bishop IIedding says with
The others. We admit that what has not been done by
u, 20 Bishop lIedding Mead and others, to reconcile
civ slavchoding with the golden rule or Christianity
to viii most probably never be done. But now Mr..
ks, Wright, as We have made assertions which We
we have thought best VIC feel impelIed to give oui
he reasons for what we have said. We shall proceed
we first to show that provisions are made for the hold
nc ing Of slaves in the Methodist discipline from tn,
ed the discipline ITSELF 1t says: ave declare tina
70 we are as much as ever convinced of the evil o
y slavery therefore no stakeholder shall be elgib
ss 10 any oGcioi station in church hereafter, whei
nd the iacs of the State in which lie lives ioW perm
as "s of emancipation, and permit tho emancpate
s slaves to enjoy freedom"
to Cd. "Whcn any travelling preacher becomes th
re owner of slave slaves he shall forfeit his NH
eu isteyid character in church, unless he exeeut
MS II practicaJleQ Q) legal emancipation of sue
nc slaves con(ormable to the laws Of the State
in which lives"
me Sd. All our preachers shall pyudenay enforC
me- upon members the necessity Of teaching TlIEI
cat SLAVES TO READ the word of God and to a
md low them time to attend upon the public worsh
Ion y, of God on our regular days of worship"
to This is what the discipline has for slavery Dot
iee it contain provisions for holding slaves2 We thr
' hs' no comment is needed From the second We leai
crv that minister forfets his ministerial character
the the church by holding slaves, unless it be as
lers local preacher; Il member Of the church he
,en, fully recognized. From the third we learn til
. 10 preachers are required prtdenay to enforce h
Re proprety Of members teaching their slaves to re;
Zap the Bible, and the allowal Of time to attend chur
on the Sabbath Tor regular meeting days.) OF 1
the first We shall speak hereafter But it will be
Easy that nothing is required by the discipline
him n'e"ipo'S Vi uo '"uiS"' p", 'm"' ','en s"'oS
ing taught TO read inc Dlple ana allowed time TO 60
5 Of mecting They may be whipped, starved, worke
tortured in short all their rights NAV be trampl
n nI' upon with impunity, with this exception, and
en- it is not unchrstian the master is fully recognz
tor as n member in this body
,, But we may be charged here of overlooking IL
fore part of the discipline which requires of its me
still bers that they Do unto others all things what
por ever they would have others do to them" tn
~ NJ conditions changed. have said above that \
,ets Wright has referred us to Bishop IIeddng n
city Others to show that that pert Of the discipline p
his yihino for the holding of slnves and the noL