The Cadiz Democratic sentinel. [volume] (Cadiz, Ohio) 1854-1864, 1861-03-06


Presbyteo principles belief in the unity of the
race descent from Adam. aud representation thro
him. put it on the ground Of diversity Of color
aud inferiority Of race. Either Of these positions
weuld overthrow his entire system of helief-he
knows that God hath made Of one blood all nations
of men. The logical consequence Of his Piles then
is for the enslaving Of the white, much the
black; but would he dare to say this? What is
the ground OF right which he plants himself?
This he has not told us We would be curious to
hear an explanation OF this point.
But, am asked then, what the nature Of
Hebrew servitude? | answer, voluntary con-
tract entered into between two parties, and only
two, upon the ground Of value received and SER
vice performed, so hedged about with careful and
just enactmcnts that the rights Of both parties
were fully secured. Born in the house" f" bought
With his money" possession" inheritance"
possession forever" etc, are idiomatic phrases,
and can not by any process Of pathological or crit
lcal torture be made to mean slavery while all
laws and regulations which | have cited, and |
have but glanced at points capable of indefinite
expansion together with many others justas fore
ible, make it absolutely certain that no such sys
TEN did or could exists. Men will not believe, all
arguments will not make them believe, and are
thankful that they are not permitted to believe,
that the God of Heaven authorized one man to
live on the unrequited toll of another. That is
injustice, there is law written upon the heart,
and the only effect which such arguments produce
is to shake mems faith in the inspiration Of the
Scriptures. The very light Of nature in man gives
the lie to all attempts TO prove that one man has
a right to the labor of another to whom he gives
equivalent If Mr.. Van Dyke pronounces an
appeal to the light of nature nidclity, he may go
and settle it with Paul and the Westminster di-
vines.
We come now to the New Testament! We con-
fess our astonishmeut that he did not shrink back
atfrighted at the monstrOus character of his
tions and differences. Slavery he afflrms was Just
as common in Judea in the time of Christ as to-
day in South Carolina! That Christ was familiar
with the laws of Roman slavery! That no man,
having any pretensions TO scholarship or candor
would allege that these laws were as mild as the
very worst statutes Of the slave-codes of modern
timesl That the Saviour acquainted with the
law that gave the master the power of life and
death over his slave and with all the vast abuses
of the system, and that nevertheless, there is no
rebuke denunciation of the system That while
all other sins are freely and fully condemned this
is never mentioned but in terms of the utmost re-
spect. Of course, there is but inference-He
approved. Christ then approved q system that
gave the master the right to put his slave to death
at his pleasure, q system never matched in atroci-
ty except by that prevailing among Us, one which
the writers of that age mention only to excite ab-
horrence of period that could endure such wick
edness, one which has called forth the most indig-
nant bursts of condemnation from all modern wri-
teTs who have treated of that epoch, and which
more than any other cause, perhaps more than all
other causes, contributed to the overthrow of the
proud fabric of the Roman Empire. 1t remained
for the Christian ministry of this land to find this
loWeSe uetp VI hbIi HcINeEsipH. dbu to bdptlEe
this horror of the centuries with the sanction of
Jesus Christi!
1t is not difficult to detect The mnnstrous fallacy
Of the position, The assumption that slavery ex-
listed at that time in Judca is wholly gratuitous;
the statement is without the shadow of proof: on
the contrary, forbidden as it was to Israel there
is every reason to conclude that it did not exist
there in any form or degree, aud that Christ did
not come in contact with slave during the course
of his ministry. viii Mr.. Van Dyke tell us what
Df Il, a.; oh
prove? Roman slavery, he says. What then had
become of Hebrew scrvitude? When did it disap-
pear? When did the other atrocious system take
its place in Judea? But who does hot see the fal-
lacy of the attempt to sanction, from the silence
of Christ in the New Testament, system not only
so opposed to all principles Of natural justice but
so directly III the face of those tremendous denun-
ciatious against oppression in the Old Testament
The sect of the Esseues existed in the time Of
Christ. Yet they are not even mentioned; no al
luson to them even by him or his apostles-ex-
cept very obscure references to this sect be al
lowed in one or two passages, are we, therefore,
to conclude that Christ approved of their peryer-
sons of the Scriptures and their denial of the doc
trne of the resurrection? Christ does not meu-
ton idolatry, did he therefore approve of idol
worship? He does not mention or allude to
the gIaditorial combats; are they therefore, di-
vine institution? But the apostles spoke of these
things says ohicctOr. They spoke nothing Of
the Essences or, at any rate obscurelv, and if any
thing, respectfully; so Of the gladatoral contests.
They spoke also of slavery. The law Paul re-
minds Timothy was made for man stcalcrs, an ad-
vice not unnecessary in some quarters at the pres
ent time; at an yrate nothing could be more de-
ligbtful than discourse from Mr.. Van Dyke upon
that declaration. Fancy now this reverend apollo
gst for slavery attempting an argument with some
distinguished champion Of "thc ring" he COM
mences by calling prize-fghting unnatural, cruel,
brutual, wicked, or by whatever other epthet he
may find most expressive of his abhorreuce and
detestation of such brutality. Stop moment, if
yIa thn t,lt hoaH
philosopher, cropping my way by the feeble glim-
merings of the light Of nature. no modern inidel
appealing to the corrupt and tickle tribunal of hui
man reason; plant myself upon the Inspired
Word; nv motto is To the law and to the testi-
mony.' Where in the New Testament, either by
Christ or his apostles. is my calling forbidden2"-
While Mr., Van Dyke is thinking up his passages,
our champion turns upon him, every body knows,
sir that it is no sin to knock man down under
certain circumstances; as to its cruelties, they
nothing compared to what occurs sometimes in
families; there is sir as you have stated, child
in an orphan asylum in Brooklyn, who was thrown
by its father into the fire and almost roasted to
death; better save your tears and shrieks' for
children, and leave men to take care of them
selves. So far from being iuhuman, as YOU repre-
sent it, we the very best of friends; besides
the Scriptures flways speak of it in terms most
respectful; you don't consider yourself better
than the Apostle Paul do you, Mr.. Van Dyke2-
Hear what he says, so fight I, not as one that
beateth the air. Il keep my body Under clear
reference to our abstemious habits, when prepar-
ing for the combat. More than this sir he com
company which assemble to witness our manly
sport, Therefore, seeing we also are compassed
about with so great cloud of Witnesses These
things, too were spoken in the time of the Roman
games, much more brutal than ours, and every
scholar and man of caudor must admit, before the
amcioratng influences of the gospel had pro-
duced so marked change upon our pursuit!"
Where is the Rev. Apologist in such an argument?
But, then, was Christ silent? answer most
positively that he was not All things which he
said is not recorded for the simple reason that the
world would not contain the books; but, did he
not constantly appeal to the Old Testament Scrip
tures2 Are we in order to please few contempt
ible shareholders, to suppose that he omitted
those passages which deuounce oppression? And
if those passages did not condemn Roman slavery,
for what purpose were they writteng What is
oppression if slavery is not? But, again. the great
principles OF his teachings are Numerically op-
posed to all such iniquties and, men to prac-
tce them, American slavery would terminate be-
fore to mcrrow's sun shall sink in the west Thou
shalt love thy ueighbor as thyself," words quoted
almost literally from the Mosaic law with refer
ence to men of another race one Of those two
commandments upon which hang all the law and
the prophets. Does the stakeholder love his
neighbor as himself? Can the toug slave oocy
this divine command? | am sure | could not were
in his place, and my neghbor interpreted to
mean my master or overseer Christs first
mon abolition discourse, from nm incendia.
ry publication called the Prophesy of Isaih, an
anti-slavery book Of the Oh Testament. The
text which he selected was this memorable pass
age, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, be-
cause he hath anointed me TO preach the Gospel to
the poor to heal the broken-hearted 10 preach de
liverance to the captves, and recovering of sight
to the blind to set at liberty them that are bruised
'Therefore, whatsoever ye would that men should
do 60 you, do ye even so them, for this is the law
and the prophets" But what is the great sum of
Christ's tcachingy Love to man and to God
What the groat end, but to fill the earth with lsve
and peace? As far as the east is distant from the
west, as far as light is from darkness, as heaven
from he'll so far arc the teachings Of the divine