The Ebensburg Alleghanian. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1865-1871, 1869-05-13

such, and does not assume to give laws to
States or to regulate the various govern
mcnts among mankind. Nor does it con-
tam even one single expression anywhere
IN It's writings touching upon the question
IN dispute. But it distinctly recognizes
two other religions or dispensations as also
divine, and which were its predecessors
| or precursors. The first of these is the
P&triarchal, and the second the jewish
The first contained this command: "Who-
50 sheddeth mans blood, by man shall his
blood be shed, for in the image of God
made lie man" The second contained a
Ike command. The Jewish or Mosaic law
has, however, passed away. At any rate,
whoever maintains the Jewish law regard
ing murder to be in force must be an ad-
yocate Of stoning to death, not of hanging,
for such was the punishment that law pre-
scribed. We have no more liberty to vary
the punishment than to abolish it, If one
Of our sheriffs, instead Of hanging a con-
demned criminal stab or shoot him, he
would be guilty Of the highest form Of
murder. The Governors warrant to hang
would avail him nnthing t. Io,l'~-
those who advocate hanging by virtue of
the law given to Moses to show by what
authority choking is substituted for sto-
ming. That same Mosaic law prescribed
death for stealing a man and selling him.
Our law does not do so. Can any one show
why the Jewish law relative to murder
should be binding, and that relative to
kidnapping not Again, it must be re-
membered that the Mosaic law had juris-
diction over the Jews only, and was ex-
pressly given to them and to no other
people. Paul says Of it that ''it was al
ded because Of transgressions till the seed
should come to whom the promise was
made" The promise here spoken of was
that made to Abraham, and the seed is
Christ Here, then, he defines and limits
the time, by express words, during which
the Jewish law was in force, showing it to
have passed away more than eighteen cen
turies ago.
But long before the time Of Moses, God
gave to Noah the command or law hereto
fore quoted The command then given
was imposed equally on all the inhabitants
of the earth. True, there were only eight
of them. But whether given to eight or
ten billion, it was given to all to bind all.
We shall briefly recount the circumstances
attending the PRONUNCIATION of that law.
First, then, God himself was the immedi-
ate governor of the world. Because Of its
wickedness, He had just destroyed the
world, with the exception of eight persons
These eight were for second time about
to take possession Of the earth and to re-
people it. At this juncture, God, the
governor, appears to make known his will.
He authorizes the use of flesh of beasts
for food. He prohibits the eating of
blood He orders death to be inflicted on
the murderer. Are these commands still
in force, especially that relating to muir
dxs2 If not, then there is no clear di-
vine warrant for Furnishing a murderer
with death. As they were given to the
entire human family, it follows that they
are still binding on that family, unless
they have become void or have been re-
pealed The including of the command
against the murderer in the Mosaic law
could not repeal it, for the Mosaic law was
given to the Jewish people only, while
the command itself was given to al peo-
ple But admitting, for the sake Of argu-
ment, that it was repealed by Its incorpo-
ration in the Mosaic law, then on the
passing away of that law it was revived,
according to the weil-known rule that
where two statutes cannot stand together,
the first shall give place to the second !;
but the second becoming void, or being
repealed, the first is thereby revived. But
! has God ceased to be the governor of the
ri - l-a e.
the vHgll world IS n longer .'~-a- .
flyt u.a raaea.le ma H.
as ia-- ,4tla 10 tae Pie us
81 -g MA -r.-... = ~, ..-1 81.