Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1858-08-28
A LETTER TO A FRIEND.


HOWE, Sth mo. ooh 1858.
DEAR FRIEND / am in possession of a little
gem of the American Tract Society given from
tiny hand for my especial benefit. l thankfully
receive it and hope to profit by it. 1t is full of
meaning and well calculated to elevate the mind
and arouse the moral nature Of man. But while
| admire the beauty and harmony embodied 10
this little Pear of WisdomI ignore the contemplate
spirit Of conservatism that characterizes and con.
trolls that society. How true the words | COPY
from my present, Tho one true Church is com.
posed of all believers in the Lord Jesus" This
is a truth that is undeniable, it is a truth that is
founded deep in the most sacred principles that
govern the moral universe, it is a truth that should
be studied. adopted in our theories of Religion,
and practiced in all our relations of life. l thank
God and take courage when | behold manly
outspoken expressions of Gods will to man from
whatever quarter they may come.
To say the American Tract Society has done no
good l could not; bat were l to say it had dono its
whole duty | should give my own heart the lie.
1t is good az far as it goes in denouncing sin but it
is like the farmers fence that was built to enclose
his cattle it was a strong fence as far as it went
but a huge gap was left down and his cattle walk
ed out. The late action of that society and all its
former action upon the subject of slavery rises
up before the christian world and thunders its
guilt homo to its own remorseless heart. 1t is
swift to pronounce Gods retributive justice upon
all violations of His law but it reserves the right
to itself to decide what that law is instead of ad,
herring to the plain unmistakable commands Of
Jesus. Alb, here is the fiery test the ordeal Of
;ustica that frina tho stranoth md nuritu of mans
Christianity.
While the religion of Jesus stands as it were
upon the house tops and high hills to proclaim the
Infamy, Despotism, the woes and brutality of
American Slavery, the American Tract Society has
agreed, made a firm unbending covenant with the
Devil, that q death silence shall shroud it, though
humanity bleeds at every pore and mans dignity
as a moral, social and intellectual being be forever
llibelled.
4 That Society like all other professcdly Christian
associations must conform to the revealed law o.
j God, or else be brought to Judgment and tried by
2 that law and condemned as other ~violators of Hi:
v law. 1t needs no argument to prove guilt in thai
r society, for the simple fact that it has sealed itt
G lips with a solemn agreement that it wiW remain
J silent upon the great the most gigantic sin thai
ever existed, is enough to eternally condemn it.
n Give me a full free Gospel untrameled by con
8 ~servatism and bigotry, q Gospel that visits the
|. humblest of Gods children q Gospel that leads
into all truth a Gospel that delights the soul with
g an unbounded uncomfortable fulness Of Gods love
a Gospel that invites the invigorated moral ener
y gies of the soul to mourn with those that noun
. and weep with those who weep, q Goerel that evel
aims TO grasp the good and cast the wrong away
Q and then the wild and guilty fantasy that immor
tai man shall be forever doomed to slumber in thu
dark, thick shades of one eternal mental nigh
j. will pass from the arena of human thought as til,
morning dew vanishes from the presence of
s~oorching sun. Let silence break from its crustet
@ den and carry impetuous sounds upon the breeze
. let q voice 90 forth thereirom that shall awaken
the moral sense of this nation, and prove a pana
. cea for all it's ills. The time has fully come tina
10 professors of Christianity must take a decided
stand in favor of freedom and Of right.
The sun beams of civilization are beating upol
all the SO Jailed Christian denominations so strong
q ly, that no ecclesiastical ingenuity will longe
prove sufficient to find a cover for the basenes
and villainy that is perpetrated there. The lor
ger Justice is disregardcd, and humanity tran
e pied in the dust, the greater and more violent wi
be Gods dealing with His people, We may PR
= Tess to be followers of Jesus, and pass smoothl
rs along life's pathway, but unless our profession
st are stereoty PED upon the field of action, we ar
but mere moving, hollow shells. unworthy of I'll
> name Of Christian. Life itself brings with it
a us q load of responsibility, and it is utterly in
possible for us to escape the penalties of a broke
law, unless we acknowledge ourselves as respons
= BILE beings and recognize a close relationship b.
tween mon and man. and man and his Maker. N
one can occupy a position in the true church and /
1t q consenting violater Of the law of God no or
can belong to that church and knowingly and wi
liBgly agree with the powers of darkness, that til
greatest sin that ever saw the sun shall renal
untouched.
a Our own society 1.-THE Friends) as such has nj
discha rged its whole duty. Though it has lai
ID almost the entire foundation for equalizing th
the races and uniting the human family into on
glorious brotherhood, it now stu mbers sweetly
the soft rms of ropose, while abused and bleec
in ing humanity is imploring it with the most heal
t rending appeals for sympathy, for action. A
. ton is what is needed.
~ The worlds eye is upon US, and no human il
s. genuity can save us from the gulf Of oblivion,
We like the Priest and the Levite pass by on tn
other side Of the sufferer. The Society of Friend
though not numerically as strong as many other
can jar the entire fabric Of despotism in thi
he country, but its silence is used by the oppressC
in as q plea for sustaining his guilty relations wit
IL slavery. Although we as a society have cleare
our skirts Of slavery so far as ownership is col
o. ceTncd, wo arc still called upon for a living, vii
60 orous, active protest against that unmeasured, fail
- oinloss sin. Ny prayer to God is that we as
people may DO led by the light Of truth, and Tu!
ID in Him for good results, but lie will not answG