Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1855-09-22
THE NEW SCHOOL PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH.

A pretense is sometimes set up by members Vi
the New School Presbyterian Church that 1t is an
ti-slavery. True it requires no small amount oil
brazen-faced falsehood, to make the claim. iet
what will not pro-slavery theologians dor one OF
its organs, the Christian Observe" of Philadelphia,
in q recent article attempts to purge the sect oil all
suspicion of abolitionism. 1t does 1T eiiectuaily.
Its facts, as far rs we know are reliable, and the
New School Presbyterian Church stands forth
without the least suspicion of desiring or seeking
Justice for three and a half millions Of onslavcd
human beings, thousands of whom are owned ,and
robbed, and logged, and bought and sold by her
own church members and ministers. The. New
School Presbyterian Church is with the slave mas
ter and not with the SLAVE. Its christianity repu-
dates the peculiar dogma of the Abolitlonlst"-
that all men are brethren, are entitled to equal
Justice. Lot it be remembered that it is true as
they affirm of themselves; ours is not an abolition
Assembly and an abolition Church." 1t is a pro
slavery Assembly and a pro-slavery Church. Hear
the Observers proof, of the truth Of this disgrace
full fact, in which it has the degradation to
glory;
"Some of our brethren in Missouri advise III
that the action Of the last General Assembly Oh
the anti-slavery memorials, is doing them q grea
injury. The Assembly, it will be recollected
merely re-afirmed, without repeating the testimo
ny of previous Assemblies against the system o
slavery. Old School men, as they call themselves
and ipartizans of different denominations, hay
seized upon this re-afirmation of former testimo
MES, as q proof-which it is not-that ours is a
abolition assembly, and an AJoltion Church J
And they 90 among families connected with on
Church, repeating this slanderous charge as a
argument for Withdrawing from our denominatio
to unite with them.
"In answer to this idle charge, we must say i
few words-that it is a sheer partisan .tabricatio,
1t is not true. Our Church is not an Abolitio
Church, in the technical sense of the term. 1t n
doubt regards the existence of slavery rs an evi
as it did in l8l8-and as it ever has. This ha
t always been admitted at the South as well as
C the North, by Christian men. But the peculii
dogmas of abolitionists are repudiated even |
those who drafted the testimonies, now cited
convict us of the errors of abolitionism. The pril
ciples of aboliti onists are not in our standard
d nor are they avowed by many who approve of IL
testimonies in question.
"But if it were shown that these tcstimoni
were abolition in spirit and sentiment, it couI
merely indicate that such were the opinions of Il
assemblies adopting them; it could not convict /
10 Church of holding such opinions, The opinion
he of a General assembly are not the laws of I
Church; they are not her doctrines; they are not
some cases, even her opinions; .hey bind no on
Even those who vote for them, are at liberty
il disclaim hem. They are merely the opinion
those voting for them.
81 "'Thc truth is, the great majority Of our Presl
VI teries have never sent q request to n General
~ sembly to take any action on the subject of 81
III very. In 1855 there were perhaps nine Presby
OF ries out of los, asking for action, and in Is
~ about ten, less than one-tcnth part; and we reg
by that the last Assembly did not dispose of the G
'r tire subject, by laying it upon the table, as W
done by its predecessor in 1854. We speak /
Vs. fos o%thers-but simply state our own views of
Ia matter in these remarks-believing as WI do, Il
u' it is not wise to agItate the whole Church W
re- such a subject, to meet the wishes of less than
III tenth of her members"