New-York daily tribune., 1856-07-19


seeming man. who Claimed to be the husoaea o'
TWO wives and maintained that, under the pee lliat
circumstances of his case, be did right to take
second wis-his first being Helpless invalid
would il be wrong in that pastor to discipline tha'
bipamist spd drive him either out of the church OF
| iut0 decencyl
But suppose the law of the land permitted and
sanctioned bigamy, would that excuse the profess
edy Christian bigamst, or any wise affect the pas
tors duty Who says yes?
Every act is either right or wrong, permitted or
forbidden. in the light of Gods law. Or shat law
the Christian pulpit is the exposition Many acs'
permitted by our civil laws are forbidden BY tue
| divine. The laxitY of the former-perhaps wise
and polite, for the State does not attempt to pun
ish every injurious actin no manner requires
corresponding layiy in the application OF the latter,
but rather the contrary
Our State formerly did not punish seduction nor
adultery as such. Now it does, or tries TO- Was
it any lees the duty of clergymen to denounce and
reprobate those ofenses formerly than it now Is
We see 10 solid ground on which the Pulpit can
stand but thai Of faithful fearless, unspsring tes-
timony against every kind of iniquty whether
condemned By the State or not-whether chronic or
casual, corporate or personal, common or peculiar.
If tbs be not the true ground, who will say what
is1 Ii clergyman may wink at certain lRlqures
because they have long passed unquesh0ned, or are
tolerated by the Stare, or are upheld aud commit
ted by respectable people, we apprehend the Church
loo cloak for cherished and
convenient SINS with no more moral power or
saving grace in America than it exhibits IN Abys-
sinia.
OF course the pastor who holds it his duty to
assail every form or shade of moral evil will some
times err and attack as wrong thai which ~
really right lie is not infalllble, and will de-
nounce where he should forbear, or perhaps even
commend. But what them IL stagnation preter-
oble to progressthe calm of despotism to she agl-
tation of liberty Russia and her sister church In
Turkey furnishes tire fsiress example of Chris
tianity which renounces all right to revise or scru-
tinize acts which have the sanction of the civil
power.
~ hold that Po7itco and Religion should be kept
entirely 6istncs" is a current maxim, which we
have heard uttered even IN Congressional deDate
We bold, on the con rary, that mans Religion
and Politics must both be radically unsOuDd when
he wishes to keep them at arms length from each
other. II q man have any genuine Religloo, his
Politics will be apt TO SHOW it if his Polit cs are
what they should be, be will not shrnk from bring
ing the m TO the tese of Religion.
We wish every clergy man in the land would, at
lesst once year, preach sermon on the Moral
Aspects of the Polirica Social, and Economical
questions from time ofime agated in the colatry.
Doubtless, much prejudice, ignorance, misinsor-
nation, narrowness of views and conformity to
local sentiment would be evinced in portion Of
these sermons, but their general effect you'd be
good. The fact that they were to be preached
would compel politicians, in laying their plans and
making up their issues 80 consider and respect tho
religious aud moral element, which too many of
them now utterly ignore. Il would cause deyout
citizens to consider more thoroughly than now
that tAey have country to serve and cherish as
well as souls 10 save. In short, we hold that Re-
lgion MOST benefcent which does not cl ak fash.
jonebe iniquity under an atfecEston of avoiding
Politics, and those Politics most worthy of ac-
ceptance which court aud do not deprecate the
searching scrutiny OF Religion.
-rv,-.uz,.~o-zvr--ss,