The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1860-08-29

from these improper assaults upon the teelnSS ana
rights of others. Rest assured, that the men found
busy in this work of discord not worthy of your
confidence and deserve your strongest reprobation"
BY request
Our Moral Teachers---Who Are They?
1t is favorite hobby with very many Learned"
minds and few of the press, that all moral teaching
belongs alone to eccesastics or the church. But let
US look into this question little further than is Gus
tomary with the superficial eXternaist
To get at great broad, infinite princples-truths-
we must dig deepyin the inner soil Of life. The human
mind is daily-hourly we might say-expanding, and
therefore requires enlarged liberal views and it is in
that broad open field of research would ever wander
for the flowers of truth and wisdom.
Were the church what it should be--were its own
morals better-so many of its ministers not slaves
custom and appetite but living acting reformers-then
might with proprety be regarded and claimed as the
great head of all reformation But what great principles
do the clergy put forth? They entirely to overlook
the fact that principles not to be discarded; that
they must and will rule atno distant day Worship is
purely natural element in all its human bearings, but
how seldom the church-going wOrshpers actuated
by the promptings ofunsuied nature and reason.
'The true church has God in all its thoughts; it
Him in each opening flower, in each swelling bud, in
each sparkling deWdrop, in each form of animal life 1t
knows of no place where He is not But where do we
find this church? Is there such order? Is it diScov
cradle in the catholic protestant mahometan church?
Do the dvines labor for its establishment? Have their
thunder-tones peaed forth in condemnation Of the
wrongs which bear heavily upon the unfortunate and
degraded? Have they used their Godgiven powers for
the adjustment of single barbarous penal law? DO
they teach their congregations how to promote health
Of body and mind and how to avoid the incident
bad conditions? Do they teach that worship should
bear no fumes Of tobacco or the dramshop? that to
convert or purify the soul that the stomach must first
be converted? that cleanliness is next to godness Do
tha of tbpir
kind except to take text and preach from it? Do
they visit the haunts of vice and point the way of
salvation" to the suffering thousands? What they
doing to reclaim the morally afflicted? 1t is true they
preach long and loudly, sometimes eoquently, on given
scripturaI points once or twice during each Sabbath
but when the scrutnsng, intelligent eye peers through
the fimsy veil of hypocrisy into their minds and mo-
ves it at once discovers eyesinge to the loaves
and shes-making salvation wholly commercial affair
for it is well known that large mass Of the clergy
are regularly paid salaries Of one two three five, six
and even twelve thousand dollars per annum to preach
not the word of God, but words of contradiction In
proof of this latter let simply suggest perusa Of
the holy bible as follows: Read Genesis g and VII &;
Ezekiel xviii 2 Exodus Xxx, 3; Leviticus Nix, l3 Exc
dus iii 81 -; Genesis iii 8, 10; Exodus XIX 10; John
v 81; do "a; Lamentations iii, 49, Chronicles XVI,
Il; Deuteronomy vii and H. l6; l Samuel v 8; Joshua
x x And so on, ad infntum, might ill whole
pages But this is sufficient for the investigating mind
would earnestly invite all to get the good book
and examine these passages for themselves. 1t is GER
tanly clear to every rational being that the bible
although containing many great truths and good and
noble maxims-s by no OF nfallibe origin God
being perfect the churches and 'divines contend,
and which all pure minds agree n it snot to be infer
red that He could have authorised the errors and
tradctous which appear i'll what Is called the sacred
text And yet in the very face of all these papabe
errors and contradictions great body OF the people
of our country and few of those connected with
the press kueel and Uruce before these dogmas and
annually contribute large sums OF money to have them
spread before the unenHghtened! And these doctors
of the divided churches are pointed to by seemingly
intelligent minds moral guides!
Again: Let us candidy inquire what the church has
ever done for mankind? Has it, in any stage of the
world ever done real tangible service for any one in
broad moral sense? No! 1t is not to any of the
churches that the world is obligated for its onward
march For its enlightenment and development thus
alone indebted to the arts and sciences and tera
ture For eighteen hundred years the church has done
little but preach about hereses and heretics ndety
and nfdes erect inquisons, burn persecute torture
oppress and build great mountains of prejudice in the
minds of the ignorant masses. For eighteen hundred
wears the church has been trying to the world
How has it succeeded? Has it really accomplished
anything! Has it proved savior No! With slight
changes and notifications here and there it stands just
where it always stood; and as the receptacle OF 'od
theology it never can make further advancement 1t
lacks all the essentials of moral teacher But let us
reioice The night of superstition is passing into the
dawn of progress the is rising; and, thanks to
progressive science and pure system Of knowledge,
ssPriests and creeds are retroeeding;
Men the guide within are needing,
Every one his garden wedding,
Headlong bigotry is hurled,
Love upspringng, hate is dying;
Men rejoicing knaves signing;
Deadly curses fast are flying
From renovated world"
And "old theology like 'physc, Wis being thrown etc
the dogs" A new social dispensation with a train o
natural attendants in the shape of real education, phi
lanthropy healing and nursing is about being founded
Mere pretension and sophistry have had their day
| TIE new order-a bona fde mother-is nurturins
! her offspring for coming events Men, womel
and principles the lead the way, and the ''moral,
depraved" and all things else will be under her naura
guardianship. The hungry will be fed and the naket
clothed free press will then proclaim It's independ
ence and speak calmly and canddly upon all subjects
An equitable commerce viii move smoothly on, and
commonwealth will be asubstantal reality. Knowedg
will assume progressive attitude and the great hu
man family will grow lovingly harmonious and marcl
/ steadily on towards perfection n. 0. Mirror.
The Memphis Enquirer says intelligence of the mos
reliable character corroborates the opinion aread
pretty general in this quarter that neither Douglas
breckenridge can possibly carry Mississippi. The dc
mocracv had but seven or thousand votes to spar
! before and the determination Of the two wings" t
crush each other is unAinehing and unchangeable
resident of Mississippi well acquainted with the state
the parties states that in districts there is carce
Breckenridge man. while in others there is scarcely
sinoIe Douglas nan and partes in both partsn afirr