The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1860-12-11

ABOLITIoEISM ABLY DENOUNCED FROM THE
PUIPr.-In the City Of Churches, over the East
river, where SO many of the Wall street mer-
chants have their residences, the pulpit has been
turned into a political engine to overthrow the
Institutions Of the Southern States, to dissolve
he Union and TO fomcnt civil war. Among
tho most noted of the abolition preachers in
Brooklyn is Henry Ward Beecher But 1t is
creditable to the sister city that she has far
ADLER preachers Of the opposite stamp-conser-
vative men, who believe that it is not the mis-
sion Of ministers of the Gospel to employ their
influence to subvert the civil government of the
country and 10 infame one portion Of the peo-
pie against another.
Among these preachers is Rev. DR.. LittlejOhn,
of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Trinity,
and Rev. Mr.. Vandyke, Of the First Presbyterian
church, whose admirable sermon on Sunday
evening last we published yesterday at full
length. With rare ability he maintained and
illustrated the four following Positions
l. Abolitionism has no foundation in the
Scriptures.
H. Its principles have been promulgated
III. II leads, in multitudes of cases, and by
logical process, to utter infdelity.
~. 1t is the chief cause Of the strife that
agitates and the danger that threatens our
country.
In his Introductory remarks Mr.. Vandyke
shows with great force and point that there are
two classes of abolitionists-those who de-
nounce slavery at safe distance, and whose
faith is without works; and those who, like
John Brown, 60 into the very midst of the al
legged wickedness, in order to set the slaves
free-and he goes on to Observer
for decide who of these the truest to
their principles. II Ia not for 10 decide whether
the man who breaches THIS doctrine IN brave words
amid appauding mutudes in the city Of Brooklyn, or
the who IN the stiffness OF tho night, and in the face
Of the laws terrors, goes to practise the preaching at
Hayper's Ferry Is the most consistent aboonist and
the most heroic man 1t Is not for me TO decide which is
the most important part Of tree; and II the tree be
sonous, which the most injurious, tho root, or the
branches, the fruit But am here tonight, in Cod
name and by His help to show that this tree OF aboi
tonsm Is evil and only evil, root and branch, tower
and leaf and fruit
1t is fortunate that, whilst moral and political
poison is disseminated from one pulpit, the anti
dote comes from another. Mr.. Vandyke
shows from the Holy Scriptures, and even
from the commentaries Of learned anti-slavery
writers, that the founder Of Christianity and his
Apostles not only did not assail slavery as a
sin, though they attacked all other sins, but
gave II their tact and sometimes their express
sanction. One Of these commentators, DR..
Wayland, undertakes to excuse Christ and his
| Apostles for not speaking out their opinion
against slavery "for fear of a servile war;
That consideration, il seems, has but little in
Guence on many Of our Northern clergy. Their
! aim is rather to produce servile war. But
it is very absurd to say that those, Apostles who
denounced idolatry and every fern of sin by
| name, and died as martyrs in consequence of
the boldness Of their preaching, should, from
prudential motives, spare slavery alone, If il
was, as modern ministers of the Gospel affirm,
'the sum Of all villanies." Their practice was
to 60 among the sinners and tell them their
SINS not like some Of our Brooklyn divines
who attack not the sinners who hear them
but those who arc a thousand miles away. The
logical deduction, therefore, is that Christ and
his Apostles did not consider slavery sinful; for
it is certain that the institution existed every.
where they came, and that st. Paul exhorted
slaves to obey and honor their masters, and, in
stead Of running them of, sent fugitives back
| to the service 10 which they were bound.
Sc5pons like that of Mr.. vandyke are cal
| culated to do great good, and If the conserva
tive clergy generally had only come out il
time against the infdel abolition fanaticism, the
country perhaps would not be reduced to the
deplorable political condition in which we find
1t to-day.
The IRREPREssrBLE CONFLICT AT HoxE.-I