Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1858-12-11
SALEM, COLUMBIANA

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saveholdng provided always. according to th'
2 new discovery, he docs not defend it out Of III
Bibte, does not put forward his Christianity tt
sanction it.
. Now this discovery is just good for the de-
fence of those Old School Presby terian churches
charged by the recent Report of the Board as be
ing guilty of departure from the first elements o
T Christion morality in maintaining system o
slavery that offends the moral sonse of the Chris
tan world, aDd makes Christ the minister of sin
And how dare the Board, and its defenders and
special pleaders in behalf Of such an immortality
in its own churches, accuse the Presbyterian
churches of gross wickednes in q thing which the
churches of the Board are practising, under the
excuse OF prudence, necessity, and benevolent ex
pediency? 1t is manifest that the Presbyterian
churches practise it in the same way. The
churches of the Board do not monopolse the slave
holding piety any than they do the Statehood.
ing.
The Presbyterian Churches practices slayehold.
ing under just the same authority of benevolence
and piety, and both the board and the Presbyter
ians maintain that it is Christian pie.y based up
that Presbyterian Shareholders are any more IN the
habit Oi defending their saveholding out of the
Word Of God, than the Shareholders of the Ameri.
can Board theirs. And il to the sin of the Amer
lean Board in practice, they added also defence
of it from the Scripture, it s very difficult to say
which would be the greatest heresy, an iniquity
practsed and received into the Church, and iusti.
fed, achtout the Bible in the sery teeth and eyes
of it, the Bible being all the while acknowledged
to bo against it, or, the same iniquity practiccd
and defended dy the Bible, in alleged sincere
conviction and belief that it is an institution there
appointed aud sanctifed of God
1t happens unfortunately for this line of defence
that the missionaries of the Board took their def
nitiOns Of slavery, and the principles by which
they resolved to be guided in regard to it, from,
tie Presbyterian Confession Of Faith. They said
in effect, I'VE will do just as the Presbyterians
do; their standard in regard to this sin, and the
reception and treatment of it in the churches
shall be ours" And we have now before us a tes
timony, under responsible signature that ore of
them declared, in this very city, that they ,could
receive all the shareholders into the churches ohoa
they could get.
Now this quite explodes the new discovery as
useless; the proposition will not take will not be
accepted, that while the Old School Presbyterian
slavebolding is both beresy and sin, being defend
ed from the Bible, New School and missionary
slavehp1ding is the climax Of self-denying benevo
lepce, having need O: the Bible. Wonderful
discovery! that slavery as defended out Of the
Bible is rank heresy, but practscd and defended
as right and just in ITSELF Christian virtue
The only question 20 be proposed to the slave
holding sinner admission to the Christian
Church must be this, do you, or do you not, jus.
tfy slavery out of tho Bible ?" II the candidate
answers, II do not believe the Bible forbids it.
but practice it as Christian virtue, with private
good intention, and Cor the good of the slave
then you must say, "Comc in, thou blessed of the
Lord! And praised BE his name that thou art not
tainted with that dreadful O,d School Presbyterian
heresy We have no objection to the sin we can
manage that, can sanctify and swallow that, being
in the concretej bur the heresy is an abstract wick
edneSs, quite as bad as technical abolitoniSm.
just with drunkards. "You drink rum, do
your" "Yes, but with private good intention,
and justifcatory circumstances" but you do
not justify it out of the Bible do you? ?" 20 no
God forbid should do that l maintain that it is
a sin by the Bible. | am not drunkard in the
abstract, but only in the concrete, and do not
justify rum by the Bible neither DO | drink rum
per Sc, in the abstract, but ouly under the circum
stances and with good intentions" "Ah them
very well. you can come in. We can get along
very we'll with the sin, SO long as you don't com
nit tic heresy."
just SO with Polygamists. Here is man with
thirty'seven wives and he desires to join the Chris
tian Church. If he defends his Polygamy in the
abstract and out of tie Bible, he must be kept out
Of the church, for that is a rank heresy but il
his Polygamy is only concrete and he keeps his
wives with private good intention, and does not
justify it out of the Bible, ne may come in ; 1t Is ,
merely sin, but not heresy. If you will only
abstain from defending it out of the Bible, it is
sancti6ed by conversion, by piety, and you may
make your church harem and glority God in SO
1oiDp