Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1866-08-14
A Lawyer'g Ietter to q olerg1man.


The clergy have preached politics somuch
as totully justify the lawyers in occasionally
turning aside from their profession to teach
theology. We publish the followingextract
ola letter of Judge Black, of Pennsylvania,
which many of our leaders viii doubtless pc
ruse with interest. 1t is addressed to the
Rev. Alfred Nevin, D. D..
Coming to our own country you find Mas
sachusetts and Connecticut, in colonial times,
under the sole dominationtof political preach
ers. Their treacherous wars upon the In
dams for purposes wholly mercenary; their
enslaying of white persons, us well as red
ones, and selling them abroad or sswapping
them Tor blackamoOrs )" their whipping, i'm
prisoning and killing Quakers and Baptists,
Tor their conscientious opinions; and their
base treatment of such men as Roger VIII
Hams and his friends, will mark their COY
eminent in all time as one of the cruelist and
meanest that ever existed.
Political preachers have not behaved apv
better since the revolution than before
About the commencement of the present cen
tury they were busy in their vile : oeation all
over New England and continued it for many
years. The wiilful and deliberate SANDERS
habltualiy uttered from the pulpit asains-
Jefferson, Madison, cad the friends who sup
ported them, Wera disgrace to human ma
tQre: Fhe 1inmediate effect of this was the
Yankee Plot to secede from the Union, fol-
lowed by corrupt combinations with foreign
enemy to betray the liberties of the country.
its remoter consequences are seen in the
shameless rapacity and bitter malignity which,
even at this moment, are bowling sfor the
property and blood of an unarmed and de-
fenceless people.
You and | both remember the political
preaching which ushered in and supported the
reign of the Know Nothipgs, Blood Tubs
and Plug Uglies when Maria Monk was a
Saint and Joe Barker was Mayor of Pitts
burg; when pulpits resounded every Sunday
with the most injurious falsehoods against
Catholics; when the public mind was de-
bauched by the incubation of hypocrisy and
deception when ministers met their political
allies in sworn secrecy to plot against the
rights of their fellow citizens.
You cannot forget what came of tI1is-riot,
murder, church burning, lawless violence all
over the land, and the subjsgation of several
great States to the political rule of party
destitute alike of principle and capacity
l could easily prove that those clerical pol
iticlans, who have tied their churches to the
tail of the Abolition party, are criminal on
grander scale than any of their predecessors.
But forbear, partly because have no time,
and partly because it may, for aught l know,
be sore subject with you. would not ex-
cite your wrath, but rather ''provoke you to
good works."
Apart from the general subject there are
two or three special ideas expressed in your
letter from which venture to dissent
You think that, though minister may
speak from the pulpit on politics, he ought not
to indicate what party he belongs to. It
strikes me, that if he has party. and wants
to give it ecclesiastical aid OF comfort. he
should boldly avow himself to be what he
is, so that all men may know him. Sincerity
is the first of virtues. 1t is bad to be a wolf,
but wolf in sleeps clothing is infinitely
worse.
..s.,Y You represent the church as an unfinished
structure and the State as its scafFoding.
think the church came perfect from the
hand of its divine Architect-built upon
rock, established, finished, compete-and
every one who comes into it by the rights
door will find a mansion prepared for him.
1t needs no scaffold. Its founder refused all
connection with human governments for scat
folding or any other purpose.
You say Gin substance) that without some
times taking political subjects, a minister is
in danger Of falling into vague, indefinite
anu hoh-cOmmlttaI style, which Will do no
good and bring him no respect. The gospel
is not vague, indefinite, or non committal upon
the subjects of which it takes jurisdiction,
and upon them you may preach as loud as
you please. But [ admit that in times of
great public eXcitement-an important elcc-
ton or a civil war-meu listen impatientIy to
the teachings of faith and repentance. A
sermon which tells them to do justice, love
mercy and walk humbly before God, is not
an entertainment to which they willingly in
vite themselves. At such a time clergy
man can vastly increase his personal conse-
quenccs, and win golden opinions from his
audience by pampering their passions with
highly seasoned discourse on politics The
temptation to crafty them often becomes too
strong for the virtue of the preacher | fear
that you yourself are yielding to it. AS
mere layman have no right to advise Doc
tor of Divinity, but I hope I am not pre-
sumptuous when I warn you against this spe-
cious allurement of Satan. All thoughts of
putting the Gospel aside because it does not
suit the depraved tastes of the day, and max
ing political harangues to win popularity in
bad world, should be sternly trampled down
as the suggestions of that Evil One; "who
is a liar and murderer from the beginning"