Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1868-04-14
A POLITICAL CHURCH,

Losing sight offits missionu as the great
pioneer in the work of reformation and re-
demption, the Methodist Episcopal Church
of this country has become a political ma
chine through which radicalism receives Its
warmest support, and from which Jacobinism
derives its greatest strength. Forgetting the
teachings of the Divine, Master who proclaim
cd that s' My kingdenais not Of this world
the representatives of this church avail them
selves of every opportunity-and not unfre-
quently they MAKE the opportunity-to give
expression to their devotion to the radical par
ty, and to throw the weight of their mighty
influence in behalf of oppression and despot-
ism Inflated with wealth, and intoxicated
with its numerical strength in the North and
West, it is now reaching out its strong arms
to get possession of the government, the bet
ter to enable it to carry out its schemes of
plumber and ACKNOWLEDGMENT. Its conferences,
which il the days of Asburg and Roberts,
were the gatherings Of devout men; to. fur
Their the interests of Christ and proclaim the
principles of his gospel throughout the land,
have in these latter days deprecated into
political conventions, where SUPERFICIAL hypo.
critics pour out their peans of praise to mighty
Grant, through whose gigantic efforts their
church has been enabled to dabble in cotton
contracts and appropriate the silver-ware of
the defeuceIess people Of the South. But they
do not stop here-their rapacity is not yet
satiated.
WELDING an influence and mastering a
host that is almost countless, they expect to
hold the balance of power in the coming
Presidential election, and they are bold
enough to dictate terms, and to name the cam
didate of their choice for the Presidency.
Gen. Grant, whose military reputation is
reared upon eighty thousand skulls between
Wilderness and Cold Harbor, is their favor
lite, and from Conferences they are sending
out their edcts to the Republican nominating
convention. This expression OF partiality for
the quandam circus rider was not enough to
crafty their hatred of conservatism and at
test their tealty to the great "loil' party, and
u step in advance is taken. Resolutions de-
handing the impeachment of President j Ohm
son are passed without dissenting voice,
and all that is necessary to place the Church
in full communion with the party that has
destroyed the constitution, and boosted that
its legislation has been outside of that instru>
ment, is gone through with. The programme,
though not religious one, is fully performed,
and the devout actors will 60 among the
people to preach Grant and him exalted,
instead of 20 Christ and him crucifed." In
stead of keeping themselves separate from the
world, and having "One Lord, one faith, one
baptism" these servants of the devil, clad in
the livery of Christ, will 60 up and down the
earth, singing their psalms of attachment to
Stanton and Grant, and other Judas Isca-
riots through whose treachery the govern
mcnt has, been crucifed.
No political organization that has had an
existence in this country, or that has dis
graced the annals of history since the expul-
sion Of Adam from the garden of Eden, was
ever more hurtful to the interests free gov
eminent, than the Methodist Episcopal
Church of the North under its present coz
troll. Pure religion and unde6led, finds no
resting place in its, sanctuaries.