Communications: Letter From Rev. Mr. West

NO. 7. Monroe, Mich. 21st Aug. 1843. To the edilors Sig. of Liberty, Jlnn Arbor, Mich. Ge.vtlkmen:- In the six letters airead) addressed to you, I have reniarked upon th misrepresentations and abuse, as found in sev eral numbers of your paper, published with reference to the late General Assembly, bul especially with reference to myself. And alsc upon the true reasons moving the uwjority ol that Assembly to decida as they did on thal been careful to avoid construing the Editora of the Signal of Liberty as the primary authors of the articles I have alluded to in that paper. And I hope I have used no Iar.guage calculated to irrítate; nor do I mean to use any such language in this letter. I have adopted the course I have pursued in writing under the hope of bein the humble instrument of our ministers and churches in this State, and all other enlightened readers into wliose hands your paper might have come, or yet may come, that what has been written affainst the Assembly and mysclf, has not been üeserved. And from the i same classes of readers I respectfully bespeak attention to, and i careful perusal of, what I present before them in this letter, as it wil! be my Jast jn the subject under corsidoration for the jresent.I will now, according to promise, rcfer to the spirit and principies we should, as christians, possess and oct upon, in relation to things whereiii we may difier.' I will lay t down, as a fací established by joth scripture and historv, -that uñcharitable contentions aboul any cause sought to be promoted, tend to the ruin of that cause nnd in the deslruction of the influence and character of those engaged in such contentions. Contentions are of two sorts, civil and spiritual. Civil contentions relate to men in their lives, liberiics, nujnes and estates. The libertiesofmenis the subject about which.you, gentlemen, in coramon wlth others equally sincere wilh yourselves, coniend.. Huw to contend about a subject of such ponderous importance as the liberiics of men. is a matter worihy of the most patiënt, deep, and searching inquiry, in order to oscertain the truth: because liberty itself includcs in it, life, name, arid estáte. And because the destruction of liberty includes in it the destruction also of all things worth contenciing'for in name, es tate or this life. Charitble contentions are those where love is in the lieart, kindness in the tongues and pens, and a sweèt carriage of behavior observed among those who .difTer. Uticharitable cententions ire those where rancor, pridc, rcvenge, and a thirst for victory lie hid in the hearts and where rudenes.1?, reviling,and abuse iiüw Trom i he tongues and pens of the contending parties. Now no contentions, carried on in the latter described manner, can succeed, other than in thedestrucfion of the influence, and of the character of the parties contending, ana perhaps in the total less of the very subject soifght to be attained. This is proved both by scripture and history. By scripiure, "Their heart is divided, now shall they be found faulty." What divided their hearts? "They had spoken words, swearing fulsely - they had plowcd wickedness, and reaped iniquity." -I. ivüipiSSpBSaiSBS Howcouldtheybeotherwise tban divided, if ar# of the rigliieous were among them!- 'Every kingdom divided against itsclf shall be brought to desolatjon.' And 'every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.' Undoubledly destruction is in íhat división which is caused by unholy means and unholy motives, 'Bui if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of nnother.' Here ugain we see that biting and devouring contentions end, if not repented of, in consumption and perdition. This is proof enongh frora the scriptiire. Let us naw look at history for a moment for a proof of the same fact. [t was their wicked contentions and divisions which made the Trojans fall a prey to the Greeks. The same kind of animosities brought the Greeks under bondage to Philip. The fcuds and discords among the Atssyrians brought in the Persians. The like amoug the Persians ciused their ruin by the Macedonians. Opposition to each other amongAlexonder's successors subjectcd them to the Romans. Tie contentions and scandalous discord of the Jews caused them to fall under Tilus Vespaxian. When the eastern and western branches of the Roman Empire engaged in hot contentions against each other about their Bishops and Images, the Golhs and Vandals destroyed the one balf,and the Turks and Saracens ruined the other half of the ponderous Empire, and itfeli! The intestinal broils among the Britons brought in ihe Romans; and divisions eíTecled by the Roman power made the natives again the prey of the Saxon3. And, so T might go on, were it necessary, through all history, whethér sacreS orprofane, to show by facts the fearful resuhs ofindulging in bitter contentions about things wherein we may differ. Bitter denunciations, and rash and headlong conclusions weaken the confidence olherwise reposed in those whomake use of such means; destroy love, the only true cement of society; prepare for desperate action sooner than suffer final deíeat and, in the genera], ultimately terminale in the desfruction of the influence and character of such contenders, if not also in the loss of the cause they seek to defend and build up. The use, gentlemen, I wish you to make of the preccding remarks, is, that the wholesale abuse which has lately been heaped upon those whether in or out of thechurch, who may !f S "j "frper.and who may now thinl ït proper to decline aclmg m any fnmg on the subject of sla very, which the political abolitioi press may díctate, only serves to vreafcen' public confidence in the sincerity of the moliveg of the political abolitionists, to damp the zeal of thousands of true Antislavery men,to divide the sum of moral forcé employed against cornpulsory oppression; and, by the use of such judged and ill-directed zeal.in the end defeat the accomplishment of the very objct soht to be advarced and ccnsuninal cd! Men, who have not been raised up in the world as the public revilers and slanderers of those who m?y diflbi from thcm, will be careful to keep ou: of thecompany.and society of those who recklesely follow such practice, To prevent si-ch slandering and revilinnr in future, to enlist all the Fceling possible in a cause so nol y ana so.noble a? one which contemplates the liberty of millions from compulsory opprossion; and to accelerate so mighty anrachievment, the following things'ought to be observed and actcd upon. Ailowances should, in tender cha rit y , be made for the difference arising amoosf the friends of benevolent effort inevery department - First, from the many things of importance wherein they. all may agree. - And this is the right end to begin at. The things agreed upon, when considered and de. ducled from the Ihings not agreed upon, will leavc the latter so few and so small os to render coii tent ion about them a sha me. and public abuse concern'jng them very tcandaolus and oulrageous.Secotid, From the fact ihat those who are violent and censorioue, diffcr from others just as faras others differ from ihem. Some good men verily think that a slaveholder under nny circunistonces should not be allowed conimunion m the church of God. Other good men as verily think they should. Some good men think they ought to divide the church to get rid fórever of any contact with slavery. Other good men think as truly there oughl to be no división in the church about things which were left by the npostles in their firs.t indifferences. Now when such as have not otherwise forfeited their veracity, come and say they cannot from their hearts think otherwise than they do; but others cannot comply with tbem in their judgment, whaí so proper a course to follow as the practice of charity, forbearnncr, and love to each other? Will reviling or abuse on cither side perfect a unión of sentiment and efibrt, or remove the difference? Third, From the fact that good men have rnany imperfections yet remaining in them;" especially are they defective in understanding. The case of some good men not allowing a slaveholder iinder any circumstnnces to be a church member, or to continue, illustrates my meaning here. The fault of euch good men is not any whore else but in the want of a better Junderslanding. When this point istested the following Ihings will nppear: i. Did compulsory slavery exist in the apostleB' days? Yes, and as vile a system of sla very as ever did, or ever can exist, if history may be relied upon. 2. Were any slaveholders church members in these days? Yes, the apostle Paul refers to them frequently. 3. Were any debarred communion privileges because they were slaveholders? No, but the unity of the spirit, and the bond of peace, and the fellowship of the saintts were enjoined in the most soJemn manñer, and on every proper occasion. These are simple facts. And besides; the worthy are commanded to commune, although unworthy ones may be there. If any come unworthily, the sin js theis; but. if we come not because they come, the sin is ours. Their faults cannot dispense witliour duty, norshol! our duty be chargcd with their inulta. The first christian slave-dealer that we read of participated in tfie communion at its original institution. He rose up.from communing, and went out and sold the Lord Jesus himself for the very price current of a Roman slave. Ar.d although the Lord knew he meant to do tbis, and that it was the purpose of his heart thus to act, yet did he not deny him'his place at the holy table! Now why did not the eleven apostles separóte from Christ because he allowed Judas to commune? But, the Lord Jesus knew that Jur das was a devil in his heart; he had said so, even before the communion was instituted - John, 6, 70, 71. Realiy, one would at first almost imagine the apostles, on such an announcement, had good Lround to refuse communing with Christ the head of the church, unless he wvuld first expel from their society a person holding collusiori with the very devil himself, and whom he knew lo be doing so, and had announced to be in that awful state ofmind. Who, then, can help but conclude thnt it is a defect in the understanding, which would lead any good man tb separate himself from the church he has solemnly promised to defend,because he'may Ie ieve some unworthy professors are in her bosom? Andhow can sucieties made upon such separations from the church of God, which may take place upon a wrong understanding of the question at issue, prosper? Be it rernembered moreover, that although our Lord did not prohibit Judas from communing, yet he did not deferid him in any one point. The Church of Christ will have to defend the sins of her unworthy members, before her more worthy ones can, with safety to themselves, leave the fold they promised to abide in. And the 6ins defended by thecnurcn must be provecí to be those justifying a dissolution of the bond of covenanted unión then existing, before the separatistscan be sanctioned in their act of seceding. Fourlh, And in all debates great allo wan - ces sheuld be made for diíTerences arising from personal moral failings. The moral failings of the best are many. And Augiistinee could sáy n his coníessions. book 9. Chap.13. Vat etiam laudabili vitae hominum, si remota nisericordia disculiatur. Woe to the most ! commendable ufe of man, if inercy be removed when it is examined. men may áfeo"ugnVniíí'!ra" iHifeflr-ini-ífld ground of diñerences arising from custom - from education - from capacity - from natural temper, and from interest . And all our differences should be managed in the spirit of unfeigned charity. The golden saying, aa it is callod, of Bernard, should be' mutually ncted on by all good men. When any difièrences take place among them, or among any portion of them, they ahould mutually feel and say - Adkertho vobis eiiamsi nolitis: adhereho vobis'etsi noiem ipse cum turbatus ero pacificvs] dabollocum irae, né diabolo dein. Pil cleave j to you against your will,l'll cleave to you even against my ovv will, when you are moved I will be quiet; I will give place to anger, that I may not give place Lo the devil. Thus instead of abuse and rcvilings pn.account of real or supposed fajlings, ánd instead of divisioris and separation óccurring every time a portion of the church cannot be satis - fied in this or that measure, charity would be se en to si pp forward ond cover, not only one or two, but a multitude of sins. That noblest of graces,vhen in plentitude and real exercise in the sonl, won ld be seen to be competent to bear 11 things' (lolerable) 'to believe all thmgs' (credible)to hope all things' (possiMeJ and 'endure all things' (with constancy.) I this way of feel ing and of acting, how much provocation, and wrath, and clamor, and slander, andevil speaking, and evil writing would beavoided! And that excellent conclusión of charity, in its practice. os drawn by a maeter hond, wotild be arrived at - Chantas dicil aliorwii bona certa,m lieora; certu]mala minoro; buna dubia certa ;dubia mala, nu Ha. That is, 'charity reckons the good qualities that are certain'y in others, beller than they are indeed; the ill qualities to be Ies3 than they are indeed; the douhlful good things, to be eertain; and the dnublful evil, to be none!1 Instead of thus considering those who have differed in some things from you, while onimadverting upon their conduct,your pjper,from timé to time, has held them as among th? vilestof the vile. You may, perhaps, eay, that 'faithfulness to the slave and the causé ofhuman rights unpelled us thus to act,' Others, perhaps, will aay, 'a hard struggle fot the advanceraent of the third poliiical party induced you to resort to such a dreadful alternative. But extrerfles are ever dangeroua. It was the sayingofa wise man-mediocna firma; andthe truesaying of the vulgar, that too-too will break in two. But, gentlemen, your Signal of Liberty has again come to hand, dated 14th inst. ín it I find my Ihird letter, attended witn a prelty [ong comment, The charges made against me in jour former papers 'eo seriously' of ustifying oppression, yrm say in the number before me, 'you are bound to reiract.' I rejo ice ihat you possess so much magnanimity of soul, and fondly hope you will use me a little better, when you shall know me yet better. Ag-ain and again, gentlemen, your paper has represented my speech at Ann Arbor Jast winter as eloquent,5 and as creating considerable interest. Indeed, gentlemen, you rgive me more honor for that speech than I gave to myself: and, in this I condemn you not, for it is only the pracüce of generosity, and courteousness. In the number of your paper now before me, that speech is ogain brot'ght up The thing, apparently to me, impressed upon your mmd is, that I am guüty of either lying or gross inconsistency, in promising at Ann Arbor todo all I could for the A. S. cause, and then coming out as I did at the 'general assembly, which, to your undersf-anding was flatly contrary to the. tenor of my speach, and exhortation to others at Ann Arbor. I have obseryed all along when tlüs point has come up, that moin quaUfying phrase emploj'ed by me on the part of my speech has been wanting; the phrase, 'consistently with my other engagements.' Now sirs whut I have written on the unity of the chureb, and ministerial obligatior, will explain in hiy case what 1 meant, at least in pari; by 'my other engagements.' I did riot mean to digress from the eubject of the letter, but, your paper coming in brought up a point to view which I had not observed upon before. To conclude, in all I have written, gentlemen, I have only labored to si ate and explain facts as I believe them to exist, whether for or against the Antislavery cause. That cause has now becomo,as your paper shows, al toeether politica! in its main manner of aciin on the public mind. I interfiere not with the politics of any class of my fellow"men,o as eiLher to approve or condemn them. But, if any set of -politicians will attempt to draw the churchto which I belong jnto iheir interest or service, I will resist them jf I can, however as an individual I might love tlieir persons, or the grand object they migiit seek to promote, I know what "church and state connected" is; and, I hate that unnatural and unholy alliance. And, I believe our praise as an assembly would have soumled over the whole Jand, had wegranted the decisión required; and,that by the very papers whieh now class us witlr the worst of and, compare us to wild heasts, and 'a enge of unclcan birds.'-'He has done ail Ihings well,' 'crucify himi Í7AW "iUï'm II .aCOyVaoilaiinng nf miqH_ jrjídnír recent origin! What I did in the asserably, I did honestly, to save as far as I could the church from división and anarchy. I did it in view of niy solemn accountabilil}', and ia view of my engagpmenis as a minister of the gospel, and my final trial before a tribunal infinitely more awful than man's. If I erred,. my heart vet approves the error; and, my. gnilt, if in error, must arise from the obtuser ness'of my understanding, and not to a plan, ' as it uhas in some places been whispered, which, as i't is said 'was laid by. what .has' frequently been termed'the pro-slavery party in Ihe assembly,' to draw Mr. West over lo their interest!' 'for'no one tried to iöteresDme on that side at all, by any plan or means wbatever. Let us then, gentlemen, in prosecuiing ■ cause wliich ;ve heüeve to be of Godr adopt the bible rule, which is to cherish towards those wlio oppose 'lowlincss, meekness longsurlèring, antï fofbeaiance in love;' and, let us beware,.1ëst like the great prophet, we throw the tables of the luw given for our guldance, out of our hands and break them, ouL of zeal to have thein preseived! Ánd, let lis in .thfngs uherein wc mav diGèr, olso, adopt the excellent and Reverend John Howe's advice. He sfcjs; 'A due christian love would oblige us, aflcr competenl endeavors of mutual satisfaction about the matters wherein we diöer, to forbcar fartber urging one another concerj;ing tlieui.' This ie a most excellent conclusión; and, I hope all who love our Lord JesusChrist in sincexHy will, 'in all necessary cases, act upon it in futuro. Wilhasíanza from Bryant, an American poet," I vi!l close. Trutli, crushed to earth, shall rise again; The eternai years of Goc' are hers; But error wounded writhes in pain, And dies umid her worshippers. With prayérs for the promotion of the best interesta of the opprested, and for the opprefcsor to oppress no more, and for the Holy spirit to lead and guide you, gentlemen, in the ptths of truth and lighteousness; nniT, for