Circular Letter: The Kalamazoo River Baptist Association To ...

DearJy Belovfdinihe Lord: - We joyfully embrace the opportunity ol'addreesingyou by our anntial epistle, by which we wish to stir ip yonr pure minds to the things thüt pernin to the holy and peaceful religión of our Saviour Jesus Christ. We were happy to'atldress you on the proper organization of a Gosjel Church, in our last, nnd our views of cliurch fellowship being restricted to those vho in our judgment welk orderly and after the tradition of the Apostle. However dignified any man, or body of men, may be, we are commanded to withdraw ourselves from them, ifthey walk not nfter the apostolic 01der. The purity of the church is inseparabiy connected with such a course, though it has j never failed to draw down upon us the censure of the world and of other denominations. - Our Saviour said to his disciples - "in the world yc shall have tnbulation, but in me ye Bhall have peace." In every age w hen the Church has sought the peace of Christ, in preference to the peace and honor of Ihe world, she has been the salt of the earth, the light of Ihe world, the ground and pillar of truih. We know her sons and daughters have been killed all the day long, and have been counted aseheep for the slaughter - ihey have fed the flamee, groancd upon the rack, and expircd in the dungeons; yet a b'essod snvor has gone up befare the Lord and they have been held in cverlasting remembrance. It rejoices our hearts to hear that the Lord has visited thechurchesof this Association,in miich mercy, reviving the hearts of the humble, and bringing sinners lo the knowledge and love of the truth. The recent accesbinns to our churebes in this State, and in othcr paris of the country, sbould awaken gratitude and urge us to activity in the causo of mercy, and we should also feel onr reaponsibility to mould and discipline sucii a mass of mind thatwe miy send forth a uealthfu) iofluence in favor of truth, juatice and humanity. It is very picasant to contémplate our order embracing the faith of Christ and maintaining the ordinances of the church in tlieir primitivo simplicily; vet we ought nol to refuse to pomt out any error in doctrine or practice, which moy have been introduced among us os a denomination, or to direct the minds of the saints to stich a coursc as may counteract the e vil, and if this cannot be done, at any ratc to deüver ourselves from the participation of crime. However painful the duty, we feel constrained by the love of Christ who hath redeemed us by his precious blond, to cali your attention to a highly important subject, which has produced mucli evil in our precious Sion already by woging war with every principie of justice, truth and humanity. V e allude to the great sin of American Blavery.- It is supposed that the Baptist denomination has one hundred thousand slavcs in the relation of church-members; not only hearing th image of God in creation, but the image of Christ in redemption. Yet by an arbitrary Biatut e, in opposition to ihe la w of nature and of Christ, they are converted into mere things, goods and chattels This monstrous usurpation against justice and humanity, is in opposition to the faith of this whole nation, which proclaima to the whole wor)d, "all men are bom equal." No one will say that for light and transient evils, a separation from bretbrencould be justificd. Yet cardinal evite, practiccd a great lengfh of time, with great obstinacy and a manifest determinalion to resist all kind remonsírances of brethren, deomnd decisive act ion. The lime is come in which we onght to orise in the dignity and majesty of truth, and though our voice be feeble, it should be uttered in favor of the poor, suffering and degraded slave. This Aasociaiion ond other religieus bodies have passed resolutions expressing their abhorrence of stavery, and the Baptist Convention, at its lasi session, passed the following: "Resolved, That in the opinión of this body the particpation of christians in the system of American slavery, by buying, seL ing or holding human beings as property, o any way approving the eatne, is a deplorabl deri lection from thoBe sacred principies whic require men to deal jusily, love merey, an walk humbly with God; and we hereby an iwwmw tn fhpm and to tbc world, tbat w have no fellowship for tbe humnnity obncin and God-dishonoring sysiem." It is a sor affiiction ja our minds io eeparate from breth ren, who have been for a great length of tim identified with us in the cause of Chrisf, buwe view it to be a great incongiuity to disfellowship an act which we denomínate a great sin, and yet fellowship the sinner. Tn view of the above, is il not the duty of our churches to take into serious and prayer ful consideration whether it is not our duty to cease co-operation with slaveholders in missronary opemtions. íst Cor. v. 11 - "But now I have written unlo you not to keep company, if any man that is enlled a broiher bc a fornicator, or covetou.", or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, witli ?uch an one no not to eat. Isaiah lxi. 8 - "For I the Lord love judgment, 1 hate robbery for burnt offering." Dntt. xxiii. IS - "Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the Lord thy God, for a vow." In the foregoing scripture, two important ideas are prorninently held fort'S, viz: That we are to separate ourselves from all persons of ïmmorai practices; Fecondly, that the avaüs of violence and wickedness re not to be brought into the treasury of the Lord. That injustice, oppression. robbery, cruelty, extortion. licentioupness, and many other crimes, are thennavoidable concomitants of American slavery, no man can deny. This conduct God says he hates. And every just man will say as did Jacob - Oh my soul come not into their sncret - unto their. assembly mine honor be not thon united. Should we not wilhdraw froni slaveholders, bccause of tbc great incongruity involved in our union? We profess great concern for the heathen abroad - we send them misionarios and bibles - while we have nearly three millions of poor dcgraded slaves to whom we cannot preach except under onerotis restrictions, and in some parts we must suffer the pains and penalties of oppressive law. if we would give a poorslavo a bible.- Yel tlie poor brother must labor and bleed, and of his unreqt:ited toil, missionaries nod I bible are sent abroad to the ends of the earth. ) Such monstrous absurdities how long shall we endure. The slave, in general, is denied, the light of scienco, and under all his embarrassments held np to the world as a beast, and unworthy of being a freo men.Are vve not urged to this coiirse from thc fact tliat we impose an tinreasonable burden on our brelhren in the missionary field; their conecientious scruples render thein unhappy in tbc thought that thcy are supportcd, inany part, by the nvails of American slavery.- They have trials enougli among the heathon, without boinnr burtlicneil uitli the nbatirdities of their brethrcn in American. The story of the Baptist minister from the south, who, on a vtsit to the north, put $100 into the missionarj fund, dcclaring it to be part of the price ofslavo that he eold fot liMOOOjnsl before he eft home, is aoch monstrous incongmity as Us every honest nn vrtth shame; frorn such haritie we wonld my, good Lord deliver ua. hall wo not ultircately be impelled to a sepration, if we would rnaintain the honor of ie Baptist den om i nat ion , Never has tbe Baptist Church been so dis- raced as at this da y in ifs connection witii avery, Fom the very day John the Bapst dtood an the banfís of Jordar?, du ring all ie bloody persecutions f rom the Jews, Rome ajan and Rome pnpa), nnd the Episcopal Church of Protestant England, the Baptists were frm and undaunted friends of liberty ; fieir hearts wcre ever warm with brotherly ovc ond kindness- ever rcady to divide thstr moreel with the hungry, nd ihrow & mantle over tbe fhivering" limbs of the pereecuted and down trodden. We can bal hope tïrat there s yet a redeeming spirit wrthin us, that will arise and rebuke onr apoftacy, and bring us tk to that high and holy ground from vhich we bave departed ; that we may evef rerr.ember tbose that are in bonds, os being ound with thern. Tbere is yet ano t her and ligher motive, and that is to maintain the ïonorofthc christtan. That holy and blessed religión which annihilates caste, proclaimng all one in Christ Jesus. Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted, bnt the rieli in tbat he is made low.The last and not the feast reason we offer ís, xre should fear God. The Lord reigns, Iet the pcople tremble. Where is Babyion, with her golden head, her massive walls and her mighty towers? Where are Persia, Greece, and iron Rome? These fonr great empires have been and are not. The sarrre causes which destroyed them are making raprd progrets in our nat ion. Slavery standa prominent ; it has not only paralyzed every department of Govetnment, but it has invaded the Churcli, t has awed tho ministry who dare not lift their yoice to .sound the alarm, too much resembling tho wnlchmen of old time: "His watchmen are blind, they are all ignorantj they are all damb dogs, they cannot bark; eleeping, lying down, loving to slumter. Yea, they are greedy dogs, which can never hare enough, and they are shepherds that cannot anderstand, they all took to their own way, every one for bis gain f rom hia qnarter." Let us intercede before the Tbrone, and eay, apam t, O LajiiI, and give not thy heritage to reproach.From the Bangor GaZette. Ottr correspondent, Observer, has sent us the following report of the substance of a conversatfon which actually took place a few days since, in a town not a tliotisnrm miles from Bangor. It wili be seen by it, tbat the doctrines of the gospel are quite too radical for some ppople. A DIALOGUE BETWEEN' A MINISTER. AND AN ABOLITIOiNIST. Minister. Good moming. brother, I understand yon have grot emancipated ! Have you wot the hand-ciiiüs off' Abolitionitt. All of?, sir. I do not now support slavery either in chnrch or State. Min. Well, I am at? much opposed to slavery as any body, but yon know we cannot expel slaveholders, unless we alter our charter. Abl. VVho made your chnrter? Min. Wliy, ihe members of the church, of course. Abl. We'.l, cannot those who made the charter amend it if it ia found to be defective? Min. Why, the charter is good enough as it, it works well, do you not sen lliat God is wonderfully blessing and prospering us by daily adding to our numbers? AU. Are not Mormous rapidly increasinjf in numbers? M'tn. Undoobtedly they are, but that ís no fiign that they are good christians. Jïhl. But have you not just quoted that aa proof of the purity of those churches which tolérate and eanction slavery? And if, as you say, slnveholders cannot be expeüed until the charter is altered, and you do not wish to alter it, is it not saying in other words that you do not wish to expel them? Mm. l hope you do not mean to compare our chnrch with the Mormons? Jibl By no means, yet I think sin to be aa inexcusable in one as in the other. Min. But do you not know that you have now lost your nfluence for the slave? Abt. A Minister once told me that if I totally nbandoned the snle and use of ardent spirits I should lose my influencc with the drunkard: and poÜticians have recently told me that I could have no influence with my political fnends unless I continued with them and voted for slavery. Min. Those reasonings were very absurd. Abl. Why not as good oa tho3e just advanred byyou? Min-, O, tliis is a diflerent case. Abl. So said the lawyer when h'ö had learnt that it was kis buil that had killed the farmer's ox. Min. Bilt we are commanded (o subinit to those in authority, thercfore whatever the law sanctions tnust be right. .ibl. Did Daniel, Shadrach, Mcsharh and