New-York daily tribune., 1859-02-15

such . ,ich ,pecimen of party architects snd party
u.ssiciaps as Van Burep, Buchanan, or a Dcaga'
or upon an eminent Presby terlAh or MeLncNst or
Other s.ctafisn leader
Hasten, God, the coming cf the age OF individul-
i'm that age IN which shal scorn 20 work FOR
party, and 10 be helped by party IN which tsey shs
identity Themselves 9th all mankind sns work 'or al
mankind and aspire TO better 10. IN hs thsn their
individual merits under Heavens bieseDg can earn
for them
/ ssd that ouy regionis.s .,e generally the slaves
OF party. AK them for instance, 70 heip you put
stop to sectarnDism; TO help yoa overcome that mon
ter who drsgs down aDd saris 60 large asaaie ~ he
whole human fsrily-snd you ask 10 vain. Iney
prefer achering to their religious parties anu
remaining in their Baptist Episcopal snd other sec
tsrian measures to identifying themselves with all the
friends of righteousness la word they prefer grs.
iiyga narrow and party spirit tooDe III ats broad ana
catholic. Entres. them 10 help you elect Lawmakers
who will shut the drsmshop, and dtbereby dry the tears
of tens of thousands of wives ard mothers, and make
murder, ard the blssphemies of drunken hps
and other great crimes, comparatively rsre,
and in TIE face of yo1r entfeahes they wiz
cling 20 their political party and vote for rum-rinkers
ard rum.selsrs and rum makers. Or il you entrest
them TO take pity on the fugitive slave, and WELD
their political power against kdnsPpers you wiz una
how uch stronger is their attachment TO party than
to freedom and justice and mercy; ard now much
more ready they in this case, - well as IN Others
TO go with the majority against Christ, than With the
minor ~ for him. These who docrnsl rather than
ChrsBe Christians have great horror of minorities
Their protested Master, when hanging on the cross,
and de serted by ali His disciples was reduced ID mi
Dority Of But these doctrnal Christians have no
taste for this lonely condition. Indeed they Will steer
vice possible Of al minores and for the surest
majority. Christians bent being in the majority
What 8 solecisml The Bible saya Thou shalt mot
follow multitude TO do evil II might cay more. In
this world Of abb undDg wicksdress, the multitude
caLbot be followed without doing evil.
Whist sad exhibition of party spirit among pro-
fessirg Christians there at the lsst election The
religious press and the temperance press on the
people to vote for candidates who were willing TO let
the dIamshop continue ts work Of death, and the KID
napper prow after bis prey through the whole length
and breath of State recollect that one OF the
religious newspapers made an especial ami very urgent
call on praying en- 10 vote for them The excuse Oh
the religious conscience for voting for snch candidates
il, that they be elected, and that candidates who
stand up for God and humanity csnnOt be Will
Christians never learn that instead Of voting for can
cidses who the sice of wrong, they are bound
TO do all they honestly 70 cripple the power and
reduce the influence Of such candidates. Have
bad neiehbor Then it should be rs much my object
to contract the sphere of his aronsness as 10 enlarge
my good neighbours tpheTe Of use.nness. All THIS Is
obvious in the light of q reasonable religion But,
alas, the current religion is divorced IRON reason
A sad spectacle, indeed, was that to which l have
referred SO far a. our State Eas concerned, AL IN
terest in freedom and temperance had nearly died out
Their protested friends had with very few exceptions,
gone into the political parties. They were no longer
protesting TO abolish Slavery; but they were con-
ting then selves with idle talk sganst its extension
They 10 longer proposed to shut up the dramshopi
ard though they did not altogether cease to speak tor
temperance, yet were the words of most OF them
vague and heartess, and ore fitted, and doubtless
more intended to veil their apostacy, and mitigste
their consciousness of it than 10 accomplish any good
for the great REFORM In these circumstances hand
ful aroused themselves 10 cave, If possible, these pre-
cous causes from utter extinction. They taxed them
selves heavily t. hire halls and presses In winch TO
make their appeals TO their cid feow-lsborers. Bat
all in vain. The dram shop and Kidnapping were
never before so Triumphant. The Christianity OF the
State took the eide Of these institutions went eI-
ultirgly with the sweeping majority, and laughed at
ard Ge spsed the little minority But, thanks to God,
such Christianity is counterfeit. Ii 1t were not,
then would the real Christianity be as poor and de-
testabea religion as was ever imposed on human
credubty. $50
referred to the fact that these professed friends of
temperance even while stabbipg II TO the heart, nad
the effropt.ry to talk for it, They talk Tor u sun as
much since the election as they dd before IT, lney
hold meetings and esUve in favor OF the suppression
by Government Of the sale of intoxicating drinks. All
this too with much of an air OF sincerity and so
lemnty os tber votes had always corresponded with
those talks and resolves.
IT, this machinery Of Temperance Societies and lem
perance Agencies, by which these cunning men have
served party purposes at the expense 9i corIuPtns
the great boGy Of temperance men and running tho
cause Of temperance, IS to be kept up. And what 10
more theie cunning men, who study and understand
the public mind would not have dared 10 perse we're IN
their mposltions upon it, had they not been pursqaded
for instance, could gentleman, who spent his me
lsst Fall in electioneerng for rum ticket ana 10 de-
crying the sourdness on temperance OF the temperance
ticket be bold enough to 60 from town to town IN our
county with his proposition for shutting up the dram
shop, unless he had first convinced himself ths, the
people are ready 10 be dufed as he is to dupe
tteml
Whence comes it that these professedly religious
men can behave SO unreasonably and wckedly IN an
election Ii lie largely owing TO the fact that they are
uisled by their religion. Among them are good men,
who really better than their Iehgion-ther dd0Ptel
religion for no man is better thsn his real rehglon
But in the Of all Of them religion has been taken
On trust and s, therefore, an unreasoned and unIes-
sorable thing, nstesd Of being the prec!ons produc'
Of their fee and sovereign reason. Sucn persons sre
ioI the most part ensaved to the Church Instead oi
being the Loros fIeemeD; idolaters Oh the Dioe
rather than worshppers Of God. Whittier the Church
leads they almost universally follow. What ts an
thorized expounders OF the Bible say Is the Bn.e, IS
sufficient TO salty their conscience.
Every mans religion, to be worth anything To BIN,
must stand in bis own judgment. BY his own Jods-
meLt ust his life be regulated. The one standard by
which he is to try his religion must be within and not
without him. To that standardmust he bring the CnIcn
yes, and the Bible also. Gladly must ne let tnem
Inform bis Judgment but he must never LET them over
ride il. Even the Bible was made for man, not man
for the Bible. Even the Bible is the servant and not
the master of human reason. must receive nothing
at the expense OF my reason. To honor H. is dt All
times my highest religious dnty. For reason is the
voice ot GOD within me, commanding what Is rigot,
and forbiddng what is wrong. by my reason only can
know Him.
i do lot forget the plausible objections TO making
reason the standard IN religion. They are only plaus-
iole, however:
F1a. The reason of many man, u not Of most
men, and INDEED Of all men, peent 10 be the
standard. Then is il necessarily incompetent 10
choose the standard For bow, If cannot decide Tor
Itself what il religious truth, can 1t be capable %
choosing the church. or creed, man, or book that
shall decide il Nav make the Bible the ~ sndard