Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1865-10-28

= u VI A1NtA ~ a1"Ae@Ng - ~
trine. The sbsiraet theory of church indepen.
dence has produced certain concrete results. sx-
hibitsd in maxins received by men Of all per-
suAsions and in customs existing without the
~formality Of legal ensctments. Thus freedom
Of religious belief, and the right - worship God
- each mans conscience dictates, are
tacitly admitted TO be among those uaturaI aud
inalienable ~prerogratives belonging 70 man BY
virtue OF his Humanity; ana, secondly therightl
OF the condemned felon 10 all the rites and con
solutions Of The religion OF biz choice or profes-
sion has never been denied in any Christian land.
and this, too, without the slightest regard 10 the
e~normity Of the crimes that led 70 his c~ondemns-
ton. There must therefore be, ia the minds Of
al men, q sscit recognition Of the grand truth
that no earthly tribunal may invade those s&-
cred hambers where the soul Of man finds &C
cess 10 and communion with is Creator.
There ia probably no theological organiz ton
IL which this abstract theory has ripened into so
many AID emphatic declarations as in that great
body OF Christians, the Presbyterian Church
From the earlier days Of the Reformation down
10 the General Assembly Of 1861 her noble tes-
timonY, delivered under all circumstance aud
in various forms, has been uniform aud unmis
taxable. There have been occasions when the
fearless deliversnce of this testimony secured the
tercest persecution. aud even the death OF her
members; but the history Of this Church through
those dark days. when tho blood of her MARTYRS
Was poured forth like water in defense Of this
single principle, shows no record more clear than
that Ch-ist wss the only King 10 Zion. The IN
shaken fidelity exhibited bY feeble women when
Claverhoose and his brutal troopers harried the
fair land of Scotland, is 6 part OF the history Of
the times. The choice vas betw cen the test
oath and death (the former less Objectionable 10
all IT'S parts than that legalized atrocity, the Mis-
souri, test OATH and yet in all the cases OF which
we have any account. the latter alternative
death-was deliberately chosen by these daunt-
less sectaries.
Those of our readers who remember the re-
markable exodus Of the Free Church Of Scot
land from the communion OF the national es;ab-
lishment will also remember that no other prin
ciple was under discussion in the great elntro-
versy preceding the separation. The persecution
TO be endured in the Nineteenth century was, of
course, different from that which was legalized
in the times OF the Stuarts. But the secedels
from the Eft ,olished Church had TO choo-e be-
t1ixt permanent and worldly prosperity aud the
direst priyations for themselves and their helr-
less families. The comfortable manses in
which their children had been born, hallowed bv
a thousand hallowed associations, had to be sud
denly vacated, and the unknown horrors OF a
life of positive poverty had to be encountered
Aud all this was dared and endured. because
"a e ~ nAC AANAC was btlOAufI hiUk-UUc
Jesus" On all points OF doctrine aud church or
der they we're at agreement, but in affirming the
supreme authority of Christ they denied the spir
itusl authority of the State, and therefore the
separation was inevitable.
Coming down the long record to the beginning
of the war, We might safely refer to all the Tor
NAL deliverances OF the Presbyterian Church in
America. Previously to the General Assembly
OF 1861, this very influential body of Christians
ar...A "A s.,c 80 H.. e-.I..--.
that was made from time TO time 10 introduce
political questions into the higher courts OF the
Church was met by reference 10 her uniform ties
timony 10 all these subjects. There was nothing
belonging TO this time honored denomination Of
which her private members were more Justly
proud than OF her answering loyalty to Chrisi
while they claimed an inheritance in all the his
tory OF the Presbyterian family-in the Piedmon-
tesc valleys, in Switzerland, in Germany, on the
bleak hills of Scotland, as well az our own highly
favored land And the one In luminous point in
this glorious record is the ever recurring dogma
of the supreme hesdship OF Christ, in HIS church
OF true moral heroism manifested ia irving cir
cumstances, and underlying the whole story OF
her growth and development, history can furnish
few parallels.
Ii is q melancholy truth-snd one that nc
would fam conceal, If is were possible-thnt the
consistent effort Of the Presbyterian Church,
North, has for four Of Ave years been tending in
a precisely contrary direction.
The General Assembly of 1861 was cor yened
in May, 1T the very beginning OF the war. The
Southern Presby teries, with few exceptions. were
not represented in this body. The earnest desire
of the more conservative portion Of this Judica-
tory was, that the Church should not contradict
all her antecedeEts by allowing the questions
which were occupying the minds of politicians
TO be debated on the floor of the Assembly ct
all. Ii will be borne in mind that the separating
lines were not then go distinctly drawn, and the
opinions respecting the right or wrong of the
seeding acts OF the Southern States we're not SO
sharply defined. Certainly, there was no neces-
sity for the expression OF a judicial opinion, ana
all that the minority asked was that the Church
should adhere to her traditions, and avoid The
enactment of q law which, in the nature of the
case. was not only er poet facto, but entirely our
OF aud beyond her province. We speak o; iap
rather with reference TO its moral obi ations.
because the General Assembly was never and
could never ba a law making power, properly SO
called. But being the highest court Of the
Church, the formal announcement Of her opinion
was always considered more or less authorize
tive-a sort of law u~nsccompanied with penal
sanctions, not precisely binding the conscience.
but entitled to respect because of the dignity OF
the body from which il emanated. But a series
of resolutions was presented debated and adopted.
which virtually obliterated the conservative re-
cord Of the Church.
In the succeeding assemblies the radical ele-
ment bad the control of things, and step by step
Ste Presbyterian Church drItted from her ancient
moorings, and was swept away in the political
current. New laws were needed, and they were
readily manufactured; new readings of old texts
on one hand. and q convenient iorge:iulness of
former standards on the other. The most hu-
initiating part OF the sad story IL not that the
pressure OF outside radical politics was constantly
visible in the formation OF Der annual resOlu-
tions, but that the few conservative memoers
that were found in her courts had const ,ntly be
tore then eyes q wholesome dread Of evil ven
geancs if they ventured TO obstruct the course OF
the tide. hat sadder commentary upon the
instability OF human organizations can be mag
iDed than that a stately church, which bad
borne tue buffetings OF q thousand tempests, had
braved the rage OF ancient royal prosecutors,
should at last succumb or quail at the small
OF Simon Cameron aud Edwin u.
The elimination came, in due course, during
the sessions oi the last Assembly To that
body belongs the honor OF the scovery
slavery was a sin against God. There we're
Certain worthless of olcen tim. called Abraham,
Isaac, and Jasob, each one OF whom had been
active advocates OF this peculiar institution. and
in this particular description of property; and
With marvellous Inconsistency, the members vi
his Assembly declared their design and Inten-
hon 10 spend a long eternity in the society of
'hese ancient sinners. But to modern slave
holders they had nothing TO say excepting stern