The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1859-03-03

sion in right Ask that church therefore bishops aud
teachers, whose followers undersigned their faith with
the blood Of martyrdop Ask those who pously gath
cred the traditions OF that church and as faithfully
boarded the teachings OF that faith Ask your fathers
ana they VIII show you--your elders, aud they will
teach YOU that the doctrine which they received on
this subject from the hands of the Apostles that doctrine
they delivered To their people in the SUGGESTIONS of time
They will teach that they received and nolie they
taught OF peremptorr character, against the fact
right OF slavery but especially that none did they
esve on teach, which marked it with the brand Of sim
or OF violation OF either covenant Gospel law
Now, sir, as all are agreed in admitting the first fonr
centories to the fifth age of the Christian church,
periods Of authority in matters OF .ith shall pass,
sir, through that period cursorily the subject win
allow. and among other authorities Invoke tat of
Of the fathers doctors, and saints the great lights and
able esponents of the creed for the doctrine of
slavery in connection with the permssions inhitions
OF the law of God In the teachings and exborat;ons
OF these fathers OF the faith, see much that ust
hes slavery as normal condition OF social life much
that appeals to the charities of the master in regard OF
his slave much that adnonscs the slave that he owes
to that master tho service of his body bat nothing
not ono word which distinguishes the institution by
The characteristic Of sin.
In the foremost rank OF authority sr r,cet with the
name Of Ignatius bishop Of Antioch and of the
est fathers CT the church When say in the foremost
fsnhs, do not mean that his teachings invested
with more authority than those of his cotcmpora
ries and successors All of them alike entitled to
credit and faith But | to say that the logic of
lardncr and Norton stands still mprcgnablc; and that
all the sophsttics of Strauss Feurbach have not
yet succeeded they succeed in tlrusting
him from his ''locaI habitaton and living teaching
action in the Apostolic age IT the one sir who
not only nnsered when the voice of the Apostles still
gs In the of the faithful but one also whose
Voice was the echo Of Peters the first appointed shepherd
OF the Christian hocS from whom he had learned not
that slavery is sin, but, the contrary, that the
slave is ny tie law OF God, subject to his master wt
sil FEAR II you cast sir, retrospective glance at the
then existing condition of things, you will find that
orgctul OF the declaration of the Divine Master the
Roman worldthat. sir, had got bc the whole world
the, Roman world, say, unhccdng his words, 'sMy
Kingdom Is not of this world " deemed that he had
70 oVertnrn the existing order and substitute Tor il
crial organization Of power. As st Paul had been
sailed with questions all looking to supposed change in
the social order and affecting the relations Of husband
and wife, of parent and child, of and woman, of
master and slave, in the arrangement of human, legal
society," his SUCCESSORS Piled in the course Of
time with inquiries all tending the ends for de-
cis'on. Hence You find the good Bishop of Antioch,
among the anxious inquiries of his flock aveTting to this
question of domestic slavery writing to poycarp, and
through him, recommending to the Christian slaves, by
whom he was surrounded just ST. Paul had done to
those OF his missionary Provinces to be obedcnt to their
masters In the flesh, and still more faithfully and adu
o,sly to scrve for the very that they hi cte
in the faith. ask You, SIR to ead the import Of his
words AZ thc slaves beleve-cum creslbiuint-so the
r'crc ARA they bound TO their masters in the flesh
Plus donias carnaIibs dbereo And where sir do
you find this imperative command? Is it in the eyiden
ccs of mere human spcculaons Is it Ia the delivery
OF mere human opinions which may, may not, work
conviction in the human soul Why SIR it is in book
of testimonies drawn up by of the original teachers
OF the faith drawn up ty trained to immediate con-
tact with the Apostles and charged by immediate
mission to teach to The ock whatever essential thing of
that faith they had received from The masters lips
Proceeding in this inquiry which, repeat, is intended
to show that northern antiChsts pervcrtcrs Of
the primitive ft when they say that the doctrines of
the Saviour proclaim slavery to be SIM find, in the
middle of the second century, legion of missionaries
starting from the shores of Asia Minor from those
shores where the teachings of the true creed had been
delivered by ST. Paul to the frstlings of the Christian
faith find them, sir, coming out OF the people, whom
John the Evangelist at later period, addressed without
rcbuke, II not in praise for that they OF the two
congregations that had received and still retained the doc
trnes OF truth find them coming from the very spot
where renGs had been trained to the knowledge OF that
truth by Polycap, the Bishop of Smyrna, in the vndica
ton Of which the good bishop set up his testimony of
martyrdom. Yes sir, under the lead OF Pottinls and
Ienaus find these witnesses OF the truth of the doctrines
OF the Christian church, in all its relations with social
life vending their way from the shores of The Enxinc
and the Ecan to the businesses of WESTERN Gau to pull
down the dolmen of the druid and in its stead the
altar of God Ito dispel the falschoods Of heathenism
and fash the lights of Christianity For that purpose
sir they went to those provinces in which the general
powers OF Rome pressed in every form of cnormity.
Provinces 10 which the institution of Roman bond
aSe-a fearful system, sir, 1 free to confess
exhibited its harsbcst features in the right of con-
quest and the usage Of slavery combined. These
missionaries like northern fanatics, missionaries
oi hate INSTRUMENTATION, and boodshed but mlssiona-
ri,s of love, duty and obedencewc find, sir preaching
self denial and patience The conquered tribes To the
rural slaves find them holding up the duty of obc-
diencc in the of the Redeemcr. Those men were
his representatives. They could not sir dispaHge the
of their mission belle the truth OF the doc
trne which they had raditionay received from his di
vinely uncring lips The testimony of history is still
cxtint to tell that those provinces OF both Csalpne
aud Irans,lpnc Gau swarmed with herds of paupers
and muudcs of slaves--slaves, recognised both by
the prccxstng usagts of the tribe and the subsequent
law of conquest And these, sir in contact with few
very few provincial masters, the majority of whom were
actually cmancpaed slaves themselves They grccdily
clustered around the strange hcralds OF strange
creed to them. The hopes of that crecd--thc prom
ises of its s,lvation--wcrc rendered to them But
nothing taught them that could affect their so
cih condition, which 1t not within the scope
Of the divine mission to touch. They clustered around
these 'heaven-a lghted heraIds of spiritual veal. We
have, sir the record of the history of those days for
the fact that they asked easement from their estate of
bondage and you have, sir, the also OF thofc
men peace and Justice The carly representative Of
that church which claims that it cannot because it
claims to lie under the guidance and the presence OF its
founcronc of the living and successive echoes OF the
teachings of the Apostle Peter caught from the lips o
tnt founder and of the Apostle Paul, mlIacuonsly IN
ated into the secrets of His will Iennus has but one
answer like St Panls, for their anxious nquirings Scr
ros cr,drt Ilus doiais errnalibus sep're debre
Slaves for the very that you believers for
the very that you have been redeemed from the
darkness OF pagansmfor that very yod still
bound To tribute service to your masters And,
sir, is this doctrine of Irepnus Were the ears
The Gallo slaves the first that had been addressed
y this doctrine of submission involved in the doctrine
i. hall .t.