M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1862-04-17
sPIRITs-GOoD AND EVIL.
The Church a ''Peculiar People.
RELIGION AND POLITICS.

RELIGION AND POLITICS.
"Ay Kingdom is not of this world. Had my
Kingdom been Of this world, my serVaats OouLd
hare fought, and should not have been deliver
ed to the Iews."
"a royal rrisSthOOS-e holy Natlon-a pecu.
liar People. t
These words of our Saviour aad of
Ills Apostle Peter, clearly indicate
that the Church, which is CErist's
earthly kingdom. should be actuated
BY q spirit, not of this world, but OF
Heaven. That professed Christians
should Constitute, and maintain, a
higher order Of spiritualism than that
which actuates mankind in general
And wheu that spirit becomes dor
mant, and ceases to exercise it's health
iul influence on society, the Evil spit
it, the Prince OF the Air, increases in
activity, and soon becomes dominant
in the land.
The great evil Of this, our day, is,
that the Priests have almost entirely
neglected the doctrines and precepts
OF the New Testament, and relied mp.
on the Old Testament for authority to
justify their interference in State af
iair. When quoting authority to jns.
tify the use Oi the sword, or the law
to ebforse morality-they 60 to the
Prophets-but when coniounded with
these old Prophets, with authority TO
justify the holding of slaves, they
abandon the Old and rely upon the
New Testament! These qu;bbles,
so disgraceful 10 diSputants on any
subject, are dOubly so IN preachers,
and have served greatly to weaken the
cause Of the Bible among men,
The Government of the Israelites
was a Tbeocracy, | suppose. These
people asked God to give them a king,
like those oil other nations, which
greatly displeased the Sovereign oI
the universe. lie was their king
and by His own word, or the mouth
OF His prophets, had commanded
them in all things needlul. But He
selected kings tor them, and thus they
were ruled until the appearance Of
Christ. The kings of the Jews were
never like unto those ofotler nations.
They were anointed of God-and the
Jewish kingdom was emphatically a
typical institution, prospective, Of o
kingdom not oftbis world, which was
to be under the special Government
of Ills Son and Heir. Hence, al au.
thority drawn from the Old Testament
JuStitying the interference of the
Priests in political or secular concerns
Of life, is obsolete-that authority has
been abrogated by the appearance Of
the Son and Heir, who is Head ofthe
Church, and Supreme Ruler over his
spiritual kingdom on eartl. Thele-
fore, lis claim, that for wag,ng war, for
using the civil power to promote re.
liglon-fof and co. operation OF Church
and State, there must be special,
Divine warrant from the Lord Jesus
Christ, recorded in the New Testa.
menl! What the God OF Abraham
did by Abraham, by Jacob, by Moses,
or by David, as his Vicegerants, un.
der the old dispensation, before God
gave up the sceptre to His Son, is Of
no binding authority now, The very
basis ofthe Christian Religion is, that
JESUS CHRIST is now the Lord and
King of both Earth and Heaven
Then how extremely ridiculous is it
for LovejoY to get up in Congress,
and quote the Old Testament in favor
OF warl Or for Bcecher and Cheever
and Tying and Conway to be calling
up the dealings of God with the old
world, to teach our new Abraham how
to deal with the States of this Union
Their course is just as nonsenical as
for the shareholders ofth South, to
call up slavery under Abraham to
justify them in holding bond women.
But the New Testament positively
afirms that Christ's kingdom is not
Of this world; that all legislation by
His authority is spiritual, and lie ex.
pressly commands His subjects to be
obedient to the civil power. And ex.
enption on the part Of the State from
the spiritual control of the Church in
the management Of its own offairs, is
necessarily implied in the very pro-
position, that the authority which
would interfere is spiritual, and that
the matter interfered with is not.
These propositions do not interfere
with the opinions held by many, that
the rule Of action between man aud
man, which is prescribed by all good
government, is derived from the Com.
mandments deliverG to the Jews
And ] .laim tina; DEMccRAoY and Re.
LleIoN are twin sisters-each distinct