The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1865-09-17
Political Preaching.

sIR-H has probably been the experience
Of many of your readers, like myself, to have
been greatly terrified in the nursery by the
utterance of these awful words 'Jee.f far
flfn, smell the blood of an Englishman (
For my part l confess that the tale con-
| nected with those three words had given
them a sort of direlul, though underlined,
significance, insomuch that for long time
it was only necessary to pronounce them TO
conjure up in my mind legend of horrors
But in process Of time, observing that they
were employed on the most ordinary coca
sions, the charmed words lost their power,
and as familiarity lent the courage to in
quire into their meaning l soon found out
that their only purpose was to occupy the
attention of children. 1t is very much the
same with a party catch word, and as the
one at the head of this article has been we'll
used by the secession and copperhead party,
it seems to be time to give it a definition
And here you find, as in many other ques-
tions, that it is much easier to say what po-
litical preaching is not, than what it is For
instance, as the late convention of quondsm
secession ministers have declared against
it, we may reasonably suppose that it does
not mean preaching to fashionable body
Of Shareholders the well-paid- for sermon on
the text servants obey your masters"
Neither does it compromise exhortations to
the slower classes" to defend the lives and
chastity Of their wives and daughters from
the ruthless invader; to fight for all they |
hold most dear, to wit, slavery, which has |
beed indeed the dearest Of all possessions to |
them.) Nor can we think that the Rev. |
Bishop Andrew would teach that the Con- |
stitution is merely a compact between SOW
ereign States, if he believed that to be "po- |
litical preaching" The truth is, the clamor |
on this subject has been raised almost ex- |
clusiyely by the advocates of humsn slavery, |
and commenced with the agitation of that |
great question. The political issue was, |
whether the friends or the enemies Of "the |
sum OF all villainies" should rule this coun- |
try. A great moral question was brought |
into the arena of politics, and then, forsooth. |
the teachers and guardians of morality must /
not allude to it 1t did not SO appear TO min
listers who believed that their vocation was |
to inculcate plain aud p,actieal truths
truths which men Of all degrees miobt /
apply to theirdaily affairs, either Is a guide
Tor their future conduct, or warning and re-
proof for their offences. They saw that /
slavery was gaining ground under the infa-
nous teachings Of its advocates and thetim-
idity of its opponents they saw that the
people, who in the time Of Jeffer
son felt the injustice of the institution and
deplorei its existence, now We're unit in
its defence and propagation; tn ey saw that
many OF the people of the free States. cor
rupted by the power and patronage of the
national Government, were Joining hands
with the oPPressers, and they nobly raised
their voices against the enormous and ran
idly increasing evil.
That IL the political preaching which has
been and is complained Of, and men who
are guilty Of the audscious blasphemy of
uttering from the pulpit their praises of the
hell-begotton monster slavery, are among
the noisiest in those complaints. lam one
Of those who believe that it is the dufv of a
minister Of the gospel, as well as his sacred
right, to discuss the topics of the day when
they directly involve moral questions Of the
greatest Importance to our present and
future welfare. Nay, more, 1 believe that
one sermon having reference to current and
ordinary affairs OF life does more good than
a year Of metaphysical and doctrinal preach
ing.
VI course there are questions, both politi-
cal and otherwise, which do not involve a
moral principle, and such are neither prop-
er nor.wise subjects of religious diseoBrse
There are also questions Of political expe-
diency, about which it is doubtful where
the right reiides, and 10 discuss these in
sermon would seem to be neither appropri-
ate nor judieious, because it is equally dan
gerons to the influence Of minister 70 on
pose himself 70 party spirit, or to appear 10
be actuaied by it himself. It is only when
a doctrine maintained BY political party is
plainly and pslpably l0rong that il beeorn.s
his duty 10 attack IT, The principIes oil
right and wrong are "a immutable "a the
laws Of arithmetic-iu the hearts Of all
men who are wholly deprsyed, there il
voice which, with more or less mower and
assurance, applies them. But there IA a
class Of men who seem to consider that the
cede Of morals is very much like cam
mon law, (less settled 10 be sure,) deriving
All its force from the consent Of the naiori,,,
and liable 70 be changed according n c;r
Tosush men good moral
character is, like a talent for stump-
'peaking, an advantage, inasmneh "a Il
helps one TO get Office, and if one Of them
happens to be a ma erialist, 10 him spcb
erms as extension Of Slavery 4aboi-
lon Of slavery" may mean, for instance.
rottins horse,' on one Of which he must
take his pile. Naturally, enc Of these
would md fault with a minister who id
hot preach his doctriEe, though il were in
pired by the evil one himself and accord
ngiy politicians Of the eoppsrhead persua-
non eannct speak Of an abolition preach
r. without foaming at the moath. But
here are others who are willing to compro- ]
hise between their eonseienees and their
political principles. Such are the ministers I
Fso viii nos raise their voice asainsl erro-
leous opPressioa and injustice, when. like
lavery, il happens 30 BE- eonnectsd with
'olit.cs. They ssy they ar content 4to
oreseh Christ sad Him esuci6ed,s and they
'onsider this duty fulfilled on such general
opies IS Virtue and Vice, Pisty and IRE
igioa in the abstract, without particular
sing, forgetting that while they iaelnds {