The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1879-05-22
THE STANDARD.
MAY 22, 1879.
N. Y. SUM-
Abraham in the Nineteenth Century

"And it came to pass after these things
that God did tempt Abraham, and said
unto him, Abraham and he said Be
hold, here l am And he said, Take
now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom
thou lowest, and get thee into the land
of Moriah and offer him there for
burnt offering upon one of the noun
tains which 1 will tell thee of. !
If Elder Brown preached from this
text to the little Second Adventist con-
gregation of Pocasset, the fact is not vet
rate Charles F. Freeman, the young
shoemaker from Lynn, pored over this
passage in the Hebrew Scriptures until
the thought got full possession of him
that he was also called upon to offer
similar sacrifice. 1t was revealed to him,
as he fully believed in his mad fanati-
csm, that the the victim whom God re-
ouired at his hands was his little daugh-
ter, the idol of his heart His obedience
was as prompt as Abraham's He com
municated the revelation to his wife At
first she pleaded with him for the life of
her child, but in short time the fanat-
ic's delusion got the better of the moth
ers heart She took their other child
from the side of her sister, carried her
into another room and went TRANQUILITY
To steep. 1uen freeman SIaDDeu the
little one, his darling, to the heart.
There can be no question that, in COM
mitting this atrocious deed, Freeman
firmly believed that he was obeying the
divine command, and that his daughter
would either be restored to life or visibly
translated to heaven, to the confusion Of
the unbelievers and to their conversion
to the true religion as preached by Elder
Brown. There can be no question that
his wife shared this belief There can
be no question that it was honestly shar-
ed by some at least of his coreligionists
of Pocasset-notably by Undertaken Da-
Wis, who, standing over the grave that
was to receive the small body, avowed
his purpose to offer up one of his own
children in the same way 1t is reassur-
ing to know that undertaken Davis is in
close custody, and that the Cape doctors
have been invited to pass upon his men
tai condition.
Abraham's faith, we are told, was count
ed to his righteousness. Ereemar's faith
is likely to land -his in the Massachu
se1Js State Prison or Massachusetts In.
sane Asylum for life
We take it for granted that no jury
will bring him in guilty of murder in the
first degree, and thus consign him to the
gallows. Murder in the first degree is
the premeditated, deliberate taking ot
human life. Freeman did, indeed, take
the life of his daughter; but he did it in
the belief that she would be miraculously
restored to life by the God who, as he in
his horrible delusion believed, had com
manded the deed for His own glory and
the eternal good of mankind. Murder
in the first degree involves the murderous
intent; and in this Pocasset case the
murderous intent is wanting.
But in mercy to themselves, their chill
dren, and their neighbors. these Pocasset
fanatics or maniacs should be put under
lock and key. Society cannot afford tc
tolerate the Abraham business at this
day of the world, or to leave the would
be Abrahams at large.
Some of our esteemed contemporaries
seem disposed to try and fix upon Second
Adventism the responsibility for the
shedding of this innocent blood Tha
is as foolish as it would be to hold al
those who preach and believe Calvinisn
responsible for the many weak Drained
persons of both sexes whom too much
pondering on the mysteries of the divine
DEGREES has brought to the madhouse.