Dayton daily empire. [volume] (Dayton [Ohio]) 1850-1865, 1865-10-25
RELIGION AND POLITICS.

week. With sell Importance which has
been characteristic of the most of these
ministerial gentlemen during the last FIVE
years in this country, they have issued 10
the world an oracular "report on the state
of the Country" which find in full, with
an enthusiastic editorial endorsement in the
columns of your loyal cotemporary, the
journal, of this morning, These gentle
men, suppose, are very sincere in their
fanaticism aud doubtless ready with an
abundant supply of sophistries by which to
justify their intermeddling, as an ecclesias-
teal body, with the political issues and
affairs of the nation. In my reading of the
Bible, however, l have observed that
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; and Paul,
and Silas, and Timothy, and Jesus of
Nazareth, each and all of them carefully re-
Trained from everything of the kind tn at
they neither appointed nor served upon
committees on the political Estate of the
country :" that, while enjoining submis--
sion to the "powers that be" they never
ventured TO instruct even the Emperor
Nero in the science of government, and
the rights of man and that the Savior
said "my kingdom is not of this world =
and therefore, have some misgivings
as to the wisdom and propriety Of such
performances.
Tho argument relied upon by these
gentlemen to justify themselves is that
times have changed since then, that the
infant church would have perished had it
made any attempt to change or control
the state of society at that time, but that
now, since the church is established and
powerful, it is bound to throw its whole
influence in favor of what its ministry con-
slider the right and true in all the conflicts
which arise between the great parties of
the country. Passing by the fact that
they can furnish no scriptural warrant for
such an assumption, would remind them
that whenever the church enters the field
Of political controversy it will be hated
by all who oppose the political principles
it espouses, and it thus destroys its last
hope OF obtaining that universal dominion
over the minds of men which it was ordain-
ed by its Great Head to secure. In the Ian
guage of great philosopher, "when re-
ligion founds its empire upon the desire of
immortality which lives in every human
heart, it may expect to rule over all, but
in forming an alliance with political
party, it may augment its authority over
few, but it losses its hold upon the mass.
The church cannot take sides with any
party without being the object of a portion
Of the snimosity which the latter exoites.
The unbelievers of Europe attack the
Christians as their political opponents,
rather than as their religious adversaries;
they hate the Christian religion as the
opinion Of party, much more than as an
error of belief and they reject the clergy
less because they are the representatives of
the Divinity, than because they are the
allies of authority"
1t has heretofore been the pride of the
American clergyman to hold himself aloof
from the dirty pool of party politics.
and to teach men that, compared with
Ohrist's kingdom, all earthly inter
ests were utterly Insignificant. The
slergymen of the olden time taught
us also, that men are not guilty in
the eye of God for any mistaken political
opinions they may profess with sincerity,
any more than they are for mistakes in
sailing a ship. conducting business,
building a house or driving furrow.
That this is sound doctrine. even our
clerical friends Of the present day will
hesitate directly to deny. This, L think,
is true because whens during very excit-
ed period in onr city Of Dayton, the most
eminent minister in the place was pushed
with the question. "Do you believe that