A D:ISOOUTSE"
CONCERNiNG SOME EFFECTS OF THE
ELATE CIVIL NVA.p
ON
IN KENTUCKY,
Delivered in the Hall of the City Library, Lexington, Kentucky, on
Sunday, November!13tth, 1866.
BY L. L. PINKERTON, M.D.
CINCINNATI:
A. MOORE, BOOK AND JOB PRIINTERL  230 WALNUT STREET.
1866'.




To the-memory of Marshall Headly, late of Allendale, Jessamine county,
Kentucky, I dedicate the following discourse. Between him and the writer
there was a substantial agreement on all the great issues of the civil war
and especially on the subjects treated in the address, which were often and,
anxiously discusseddiring the last year of his life.
A thoughtful man, but never in haste to speak, he incessantly pondered
in his heart the great issues of the terrible conflict, and though sorrowful al'
ways, and at times desponding, he never faltered in stern loyalty to his government, nor to his race; or in fealty to his Saviour.
Of ample fortune, yet despising the social consideration which men are too
apt to claim on that ground alone, he was, to the last, the friend and intimate
companion of the poorest of men.
Making no pretension to learning,his knowlecdgeiofmen of society, and of
all the griaver'affairs of human Wlifi, was Jvide, itintfmate and  acdcuirate. ltis
habit of uttering the most matured opinions in the interrogative form,  as
though he would inquire rather than affirm, did not conceal from his intimate.
friends, his just confidence in the general correctness of the conclusions he
had reached.
In the constant exercise of a most generous hospitality, and though in the
Fifty-ninth year of his age, he had the happy faculty of making himself
agreeable to the young of both sexes, and his usually quiet, country home,
was, for them, a chosen place of gathering.  Alas! we shall see hini on earth
no more.  A't a time expected it not-in July 1866, the Destroyer
camne, and our cherished, most constant friend passcd away.Our sorrows may be soothed by the firm belief that another tired spirit has
found rest in heaven, and we may seek to assuage our grief by thehope of
meeting him there, -hehn the dream6f ifBe is pastt; "buti?\ve' shall not think of
our great loss without sighing, nor cease to feel that for our riven hcearts
there is no perfect healing this side the tomb.
Farewell "IMarshall.'  The 1reinains of men have been followed to the
grave by more weepers xthantfollolwvedt iiiicl, but hone by- truer, sadder hearts,
and of those bleeding hearts, few  were more hopelessly crushed than was
his, who now lays this humble, but tear-hallowed tribute of afiection on thy
gi ave.




The style of the following. discourse is obnoxious to cyiti17
cisnm, wlhich, hQowey-er,is, not particularly deprecated.: Gracefufi utterancev, ras not to be thlouglht: of, had the writer possessed. taste -,and talent for. it,,The aim ofI the discoprse required that the gyWm~en.,t sllouid be brief,an  its applicationis
nullmerous. and: di.rect.. A.&llusi ns to local circumstan:ces, \were
indispensable..:Indeed, tiithe utility of   discourse if ithall
prove to be of any, depends. upon these allusions, although
tlheyy cal searceltyi be: iptnelligible' t to those: not acql!aint l. w.ith
the course;of religious events. in Kentucky, dulring, andi, since
the clps.e of the late. civil war.
It i~s knowi-: to all, Mthat'early in the year 1863, a large:  portion'oflthoe sla~veLholding,element -inl.the "loyal:.party"'  of
Kentucky,' dissented&  so -far from the ";policy. of the Adm ir;i  i.
tratiow:ini regard' to: slavery," that theyp deelmed it expedient
to ideniounce the. governmbnit openily, and even, firiously.  In
ordinary' tiimhes; thoughtfual men fincld no. difficulty.in,discrlminating  beetuween- a' governentj and any Jexistingg -admilaistra-,
tion. of:tlat governmenlt, blt in the act.uall state of- afl'ais'  in
Kentuckly iln 18t3, such, dfisciilination was prctically! impos.
sible.  Men c.an, not wwalk- a slack-rope, in-tlle midst, of a huyr
r;cane.  1it- is believued  thalt  ever:y; candid- an.l.enlrfighteneid
"L..ebel 7',"will[ admlit, that this class of. "union- en:," w as, in
effect, co-operants -of the insurgents, firom  the:beg'inniig. of
the year 1863, till the close of the war.. Mi\anyj cerfainly, did
not intend this result, while others, as was natural, threw  off
all pretense of "loyalty," and became  avowed "rebels."
Now I wish to say most distinctly, that thougLh I thinkl  many
of these " Union men " committed a serious blunder, I have
no liarsher word to say of them.
A very earnest desire -has been entertained not to  give
offense to any sincere, well-meaning persons, who may he included in the classes deemed censurable for complicity in the
gravest crimes.  Possibly, however,  after all the  care that




could be bestowed in that direction, some expressions may
be found, that had better been omitted. It is possible too,
that allnost unconsciously, I may have elet something bordering on resentment towards those who have, during almost six
years, malevolentfly and persistently misrepresented my sentiments, misinterpreted my actiols, and invented and circulated
the most sciandalous falsehoods, to my great injury. I -have
endeavored to hold in abeyance  every remembrance of pe r8so01al wTronlg en'ldured, and every sentiment of indignation;
and if Ii have:not sulcceededl -fully, those will be readiest to
forgive, whose nIloblen-ess of nature renders them fit to appreciate the difficulty of suchl a' preformance.
HIaving' tried, to be faithful to my contry in the hour of her
calami-ty, havingL endeavored to do what appeared to be my
duty toward the colored race, having sought to. be true to the
teachings of the Bible, alcd to what I thought to be the
" great principles of the Reformation," I stand in the midst of
rolentless enemies, undism ayed, determined to do and' dare
to the last.-:'lhe fight. Iwith frost and famine, daily growing
more urgen t, is$: fihr preferabie to the surrender of truths, on
the support of -wXhich, as it seems to me 7dependi the existenlce! of our civilization,:.and the progress of mankincl.
If thosee Christians -who agree with me in the importance
of the, p!ricipl-es, contended for, shall yet prefer to give aid to
those  hllo-ha've practically denied and dceserted those principles, they will`/but furnish  another sad illustration of the
weak1ness.and- inconsistelncy of- wlhch men are capable. "In
God w (e' Itrus; t."




D) I S C OUT   S-E
T' r'nttl faileth, and he thait delarteth from evil m.aketh hIanself
a prey; and the Lord saw it, and it displeased-(-hint thait ther'e was.
no ju(lgment." -Isaiah, lis. 15.
rirulth eternal and divine truth, is, indeed, the pearl of zgtreat
price.  It is the only food-ordainecd of' Iie'0vdn for te-sustsen —
ance  and  growth  of the   immort                al' aseldd alnd
error are essentially nlegative; they are arid yet are' n'dtj and
shall ultimately go into perdition.
Th'lle love of truth for its' o~wn sa;k-e t..ruth inl respect of" e-veryt1hig Which is a subject of human thot'ght, r'that iti:ny" way:
connects itself with the affiirs ancd-fortllsnesof the ]h'inan:lacei
we may safely regard as among' tie.'6h ief e-v6ifi  e.e of spii-'
tWualt enfranchisement.  They inVho-m abid'esevemr'.r-   a sI'
preine and trembling  reverenore:f-r truth;, lh ve; We may be
assured, passed irom  death untO life.   On:the-other:hand,.we
miglht infjer, even in the abseuce of -sp ecific Bib'le t'eachihg1
that Irhe who disregards truth, is not of God.. - By tiIth is.:not
hlere meant religious -or theologic-al triUt;h''elusivdlybu'-tay
alnd all truth.
It is quite possible for any  man: to mistakie.'his wav in
seel-in,  after truth, even  when t;he search is conducted
earnestly and withl entire singleness of aim.  This shouldl sggest;  cault'ion, cdeliber ation,-pauience, in"tllm.:rQsecntion. o-'..r
inquiries; tlie ho lding in abll selfish, partizan purposes.anl anims; and, except iln,.cases Whieh admit of dem.lole
stration, or which appeal directl;y. to    rtthle ml oral iltu:itions:. our
liability to  error, will justifydcliffidein e,, atld:co idmn tonmadog-atism11 with re.p eet, to the results. of ouif.rinv.est;igatieirs.; NNotwithstanding liability to error, and admnitting whatever c. har.




idttes aad proprletes the- fact may demand, still, there are
trqaths about.which,Ramoug sane people, there can be no
differnce;of opinion;and it:is;the observance and the adv ocacy ofthese: truths that determine a man's moral status. The
man, for instance, who would seriously question the equity of
thei;' "Golden Rule'- Whate'ver you would that men should
do to you, do te even s to them,'i, simply an idiot or a knave.
It has been truly observed by a Iistfinguished writer, that for
us, for all men, there exist:inera:cable distinctions among
thins, aS good and.bad, right and wrong, true and false. We
ea-t not rid ours'elves of the:onviction that these distinctions
are not conventional, but real; and that our characters ought to
be determined by means Qf these distinctions. The man who
is not tiU  to A':owl -convi tione of what is good and right
and true; is;hims-elf a falsehood in God's universe, let
his pretensions'be what they may, and in his own consciousness, he is aware of the humiliating fact. He who is
false, to hi*- convictions of truth and right, is false utterly, and
puts out thelaight that is in him; and we all of us know who
uttered- the'fearful::words,:PIf the light that is in you be
darkness, ho'w great is that "darkness!" The immense importance of this aubjectits fuudamental relation to pure morals
and true religion, and to the true and hoped-for social state,
must be my. #pology for dwelling upon it. Let us then appeal
to the sacred Scriptures.
" Because they reeeived not tie love of tAe trvuth, that they
might.be: saved, God- shallasend them strong delusion that
they:should:believe a lie, that they all might be damned, who
believed not theo truth,' but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
2 The., i"l10, 11.
This" is a'terible declaratin, my brethren, instinct with the
wrath ot God. I have no tMme for.its unfolding and applicaion,_ but we may bel assured that in this matter of truth, God
willanot be trifledit;:andihe  ho sets himself to oppose
what, in his heartt;   knows -tOb right and true, will end by
believing a lie. NoAF'oes thtS tAke place by the interposition
of!miracle, b.ut in:,it harmony with the'laws of our intello tual Rad noral utro.




Among the qualifications for %tajndiix b'efore God in.MoMant
Zion, is this; that a man shall "tisp   t'aie triith  n A    Aart;"
that is, he shall'be' nnwaiveringy' true to hi  eon'fition.
Psalmn 15. The Savior of the world,-who eame.-forth fromrthe
bosom of the Father, declares: himself: to,. be 4he:way and
the trutht/  and the life; while, on: the,,other ha!,d-he says of
the great adversary, the Devil, tbat "he wa.a murderer from
the beginning and abode not in the truth, because there is no
truth in him. When he speaks'abtie, he ipeadks tf his ow;n, for
he is a liar and the father of it."  John,:iii,.4. 4   "Whoever
loves or makes a lie," is classed by.. the Hol y Spirit with the
most abominable characters knowp  on earth.or in hell;, and
finally, the Scriptures declare that ", all liars. Shall. have their
part in the lake that burns with fire' and brimstoie, which is
the second death."
I have thought it well, on miauy accouNt,'to refiet to' these
declarations of God's word; and -.surely in view of these, -to
which we might add indefinitely,.it becomes:every.;one to
seek the truth with his whole heart, and.to abide in it; to
"buy the truth and sell it not," while he shuns falsehood, as
lbe would shun the gates of hell. Do we judge harshly in
supposing that these times of ours render th e reference we
have made to the Bible, specially'appropriat  Are men now,
generally seeking the truth, or whatthey. suppose to be thilr
private interests? Do they demjand,~ even in the. chnrch,:sin.
cerity and honesty, or acquiescence 9
I shall continue to assume; ini:this address, tlhat the Bible
is true in its own sense; that is to say, it" contains a revelation of God's will concerning the human: rme-e;that this will
is the highest law to every human being -to whom  it.comes,
and that Ignorance or disregard of lt, so far at least as duty is
involved, is fatal. No Christian:will quesion the suprume obli-,ation of every one to use all diligence to ascertain the exact
meaning of God's law; nor, will ainy one doubt that habitual,
persistent disregard of its teac.hg, involves. nfinite.perl
We may add, that ingenious perversions of the sacred Scriptures, or sophistical evasions of their obvious import is of the
ve.y quintessence of sin.  Indeed;'6 ejudgoe that it would be
every way better to remain in wiltul ignoranie of God's word,
or knowing its teachings, boldtly'to disregard and defy them,
than to attempt to make Jehovah.tl co-partner in our. sis, by
so wresting his revelation as to:make it testify in favor of
iniquity.
An additional remark must be allowed, even if it should be
ranked among pulpit platitudes. "; No man con afford to incur
the wrath of Almighty God, becanseeeo wman eatn  aord;to




7tce hs somld, Any thng: -hiat- can be achieved or imagined
is'prefeirabletoth.  It is t'he consumlmation of all possible
calamities..   eathl b   s'lo  fire ori ling-eringei   starvationl wvould
be agreeable eitteranmenet:eompared with an abode iln' o6uter
dallikness; whhere the w'rm' dieth  not, and the fire is not quenclhed.".: -.F'em'iot;th'em,"' said J-es'us-" w1ho can kill'the body, but
aftetr' tlhat. can do no - niYe,.-but'fear him  who,' having. killed
the:body, cara; destroy ba~NhSout and'body in. hell; yea, I say
un'to:you, yi; fear': him.:..It.is a fearlul -.thing- to  fall into the
hands-of thle.livilng" God.'?- (n -;the other hand, all of lhollor
anid glory. andclbliss: an'ld blessdeness,. that'is jossible to.a finite
beinig, sha!lba.lb giv-en.of-'Oo: dto:-him who abides' in the truth.
Ie{nce,;to -accept,heartily- the. divine- teaching, and to followy it
at all' costs, even: unto- death, is niot mearly duty, religion, it
is sound discretion as well.  If the expression'may be allowed
-it pays'?" infinitel,', Mand. thlis'al'one, ot all the enterprises in
whichlione.can,engage in this wvorld does ",pay." "To all wvho
fail in.:fealty: to.. truth and to Godj life vwill, ac the last, prove
an infinite lmiisfortu.ne- it:'  were better for such- had they.
never, been  born."''We.vould thus indicoate: the spirit and
temper-.'in  which our- investlgations are'to be this day conlducted.
WVhy, then, aroe we: e1re to d-ay'? We- are- here to- bear witness.to tho tru-tlh.v' -are Mire'to do' andclto sufl'er, if' needl  be,
for: th'e w:wod'of:G.odc, ad th;'testi mony of' Jesus; we'are hore
because (od's people hl avel;sinned greviousl,r without rebuke,
because tlley= harve partic-ipated in, connived at, and applauded
the' lm-ost monstrous. crimea,.known   to the laws of God and to
the laxWs o:sf.an- we. ae h:ere to discharge our most solemn
d.uties, to our, ibrethren to or. country, andcl  to our race, the
wvhole being: onr- bounden duty to Him who (gave himself a
ransoiia. lo r;ourA?.'rffeited souls.'' We neither intenll nor invite
schisln but  ie i:ntead, to assert and t.o enjoy ouir inalienable
rights, whlether- as citizen's of the state, or of the' kingldo:m of
God.- We'intend:,,to.exercise our right, lto announce the w/ole
ounsel of' Godf.as His int.finite providence may open f-or Its a
door of'.tterance.
For the presenl,:,we- have no jutdgenment to pron.ounle upol
t;hose without' the pale of the'church.': As a publiC teacher of:
religion,-l we have - nothiing to say: of.: them, at any time, buit to
preac!h, -to: them -ias'    e mayi e-; able, "the glorious gospel of
the blessed'God."''o'ithe cllurch, our mission is diffierent.
Here, we are to reprove, rebuke and exhort, with all lonosltrfIei'l;g-wh     wlhen in our" Convictions, it becomnes our dutv so to
do;:nor dare we employ cra'ftiniess, nor "'handle the word of
(-o cldceit-fully'."  W-e may remark'fu rtther, that our' present




business is wi-th that church of whlich the speaker has been a
member for more than thirty-six years —for more than twentyeight, a public minister. What cause we may have for protest,
for rebuke, for reproof, are now to be briefly stated and argued.
No precepts of the Bible are plainer or more explicit than
these, namely: "That Christians shall obey magistrates; that
they shall submit themselves to the regularly constituted
civil authlorities of the countries in which they may reside,
wshatever nmay be the foris in which that authority shall be
expressed. "Wehoever resisteth the civil power, resisteth
ths ordinance of CG6od, and they that resist shall receive to them.selves damlnation."  Civil or political rulers are God's ministers.  hormrans xiii. We intend no elaborate argument —it is
not called for. The Christian who, as such, denies his obligationr to obey the Civil rulers of his country, would deny
his obligation to pay hIis debts.  When the civil authorities contravene the authority of IHeaven, it is not questioned
that the latter is to be obeyed. No such. emergency having
arisen in this country, this phase of the general subject is not
now  under discussion; nor are we now required to discuss
the right of Christian men to rebel against despotic rulers. It
will be time enough to discuss the latter subject when a necessity for it shall arise. We but; express, however, the universal sense of' the civ'lized world in saying, that armed revolution or insurrection is always an extreme, even a desperate
remedy for political evils, and can not be lawfully resorted to
till all peaceful means of redress shall have been tried without effect. But in a government shaped and directed by
constitutional majorities, actnd.whtose organic law providles for
its own ceaanyge by sucrh nmajoritce,e all pretext for insurrection
is barred wholly and foirever. Insurrection, under such state
of case is utterly inexcusable, wanton and wicked. Now, we
charge first, that just such an Insurrection did thousands of
Christian people in Kent;ucky raise, prosecute, and encourage
against the lawfill " powers' of the United States, and against
the direct authority of Jesus Christ, commanding them to be
subject to these very powers "for conscience sake."  Romans
xiii., 5.
We charge, in the second place, that these erring people oft
God, prosecuted this insurrection for a period of four terrible
years, and tha; they signalized the rev olt by deeds of unparalelled attoclty —of more than barbaric cruelty. Almost every
crime known to the Decatlogue was committed to an app alling
extent, as a direct consequence of the war, and all of which is
to be charged to tthose who instigated, encouraged or approved the revolt.




10
We do not purpose to recite the events of 1860 in proof of
the utter wickedness of our late rebellion; but we believe
it susceptible of the clearest and most overwhelming proof
that a more reckless and inexcusable insurrection against a
benignant and free government, or against any government,
has not been waged since the making of the world. Even if
we allow the assigned reason for the rebellion to have existed
namely, that the perpetuity and extension of African slavery
were menaced by the majority of the nation, the reason itself
is of so questionable a character as might well cause a Christian to pause long and prayerfully ere he called to arms.
What was African Slavery in the United States, that Christians
should rush into war in its support? Were its indefinite duration and extension to be desired?.  Was the natlural right of five
hundred thousand white men to compel and to appropriate
the labor of four millions of black men, quite clear to Christ's
disciples? Were the unavoidable concomitants of slavery such
as to commend it to the children of God? Were the ignorance
and social and moral degradation intrinsically incident to the
institution, calculated to win the favor of those in whom
dwells the spirit of Christ? Let the honest man lay his hand
upon his heart, and with eyes raised to heaven, answer. God
will one day  compel him  and all men to answer.  But
even the poor plea ior the rebellion, that.slavery was endangered by the political events of 1860, can not be allowed; for
thousands of those most deeply interested in the perpetuity and
extension of slavery, and of these, many best able to judge,
scouted the plea as idle and frivolous. Th-:refore the insurrection was utterly without justification; lor, if the pretext
for it was such as a Christian dare avow  at the bar of Jesus,
still, even that pretext was feigned. With candid and wellinformed people, it were useless to argue this matter;' with
the ignorant and those reckless of' truth, it would be useless.
But we have said that this insurrection, raised professeply
for the extension and perpetlation of the bondage of four
millions of human beings for whom the son of God died-the
bondage of four millions and their posterity, together with
all the ignorance and degradation inseparable from that bondage-was accompanied by deeds of peculiar and appalling
atrocity. There were interludes In the awful drama, in harnaony with its avowed object, and which served as infallible
exponents of the chief actors. The subject is an unpleasant
one at any time, and we have no desire to enter into details.
We shall instance only the destruction of; at least, twenty
thousand young men by slow  starvation in pens in which,




11
even mules would have died by the thousand under like
treatment; and the deliberate murder, at one time, of several
hundred prisoners of war, in the most cruel and savage manner'.
Now, what we demand is, that God's people shall acknowledge the sin and shame of this unholy insurrection, and that
they shall denounce the unnecessary and shocking cruelties
that accompanied it; or, if it can be made to appear thatboth the great parties to the war are alikle guilty before God,
let both be denounced in the name of humanity, in the name
of religion, in the name of the Lord. That one or the other
party has fearfully sinned, none can doubt. Let the erring
children of -God, then, be rebuked and called to repentance,
and let the word. of the Lord go forth ag'ainst all ungodliness
and unrighteousness of men, who hold thle truth in unrig'hteou snless.
So Jar, however, are Christian "rebels" friom repentance for
having levied war against their lawful rulers, that they justify
themselves in it, —they avow that they did right in the sight
of God and man. Dare we concede this, even tacitly?  Dare
we allow that a war of four years duration —a war that has
alienated friends; that has made the talhing of oaths, to an
alarming extent, the merest mockery, and peijuries almost as
numerous as collisions between rebel and loyal intereststhat has burdened a nation with an iin.calculable debt-that
by enhancing the price of fooc and fIel and clothing, has
caused immense privation and suffering -T-among the ioor; that
left general desolation in its track over largoe districts of our
country; that has left behind. it tens of thousands of darkened
and broken homes, and millions of broken hearts; that has
scattered hundreds of thousands of maimed ald crippled im-en
over a continent., and that sent half a million  to bloody
graves —can we allow, that withoutl incurrilng terrible guilt,
such a war may be levied and encouraged by Christ's disciples
against a beneficent government, and in the interests of human
bondage? If' so, our notion of sin is a delusion —the gospel
a cunningly devised fable.
If we have been able to understand, even to a small extent,
the relations of the Christian ministry to the church and to
general society, nay, if we rightly apprehend the providential
calls of God, then has he made it the special pres8nt duty of
his ministers -to call his erring people to repentance for their
participation in the greatest crimes. Such is, in our judgment,
the " burden" of Kentucky, —the duty of this day, for those
who stand before her people in the name of Jesus and for
the souls of men.




12
That an overwhelming,n jority of these ministers, should
themselves tacitly, or by op"n avowal, justity the great rebellion in the interests of such an institution,. as they know
African slavery to have been, is among the most startling and
discouraging fhacts connected'With that rebellion.  It would
be pleasant to hope that; they have been guided in their reasoinings by the spirit of fIim who was sent to proclaimliberty
to the captives; the openin'gof:the prison doors to them that,
were bound; to break eve-ry yoke, and to proclaim  the ac.:
cepted year of the Lord.  We should willingly believe that
these ministers lhave not been swayed in their judgments by
lthe circuinstance that, since te beginning  ot tihe year 1868,
a very large majority of the vealthy people of Kentucky, the
slaveholders —have been heartily or virtually on the side of
insurrection and a divided nation.  3Most certainly no such
unanimity almong the ministers of our state on any ".political.'
question was ever before witnessed.  It is remnarkable, very
remarkable.'WItchmren!!What of the night'? With pallid
lips and bated breath youn glide silently about among sins that
fill the whole earth, and darken the sun and heaven-sins
that bode the overthrow of government,, of church anrd of civilization together. H1ave you lost faith in God and in your
own souls' In the truth of Cod and in the consciences cf men?
And if one of your bruethrent should believe himself moved of
(G-od to raise his voice against 4 "lawlessness," and in behalf of'
w~at yoa, kA~nowe to be the ina.tural, inalienable rights of man,
you stand quietly by while the mlob cries crucify him; or
4dou t)fully arid g trra.vely shaking your reverend heads, you coolly
question your brother's sanity.  But you are prudent, you
say. It is, perihaps, well when, we ca'n persuade ourselves,
thltt wihalit in o(thCrs would be (conidered time-serving policy,
ill ourselves is only (Ch1rnistiali prudence.(Pilate was " prudent,"
doubtless., whT-, awed. by popular clamor,  ancd yet stung  by
conscience, le a sked of Jleus,;':7aht,s &t /!G<,' buti waited.no
I isolx ed t}ll ( oul't alndl inin', td w   ithl the throng,
s-ylun-M siad, IfItl rleaon, hop)e rand heaven.'Z
Tlt!l 1ao ~1n'are ru de 1 tI, —are you consistent,? You can cry
aloud agil:-st; tihe s  of'. d0anlcint   you can deClaim  long atnd
earnestly ag'aiilst  instrulnlental miusic in churches:" you can
"eteal danrllation riound l   tie land,'  against good men arnd
womnenl vwho, at thle very worst, N have onlly  istaken the mean..
i I  of a Greek:   ord; but for thoseO who commllnit perjury; for
those who refuse to hear iad obey the voice of' God in relatio -i to thlcr(  (hities to I tle civil rulers; for thlose who percpe




13
trate or applaud the greatest crimes, you have no word of
rebuke! But you are "prudent" men,. Yes, verily, you are
prudent, and right well does your prudence pay.
It becomes sinners, whose only refuge is the mercy of God,
to judge one another tenderly; and yet, we are wholly unable to see any thing in this boasted "prudence," other than
the tithing of herbs, while the weightier matters of the law,
justice, mercy, and the fear of God are neglected.  That any
sane man believes it to be more heniously sintul in the sight.
of God to dance, or to use an organ in the public worship,
than to take up arms and inaugurate war against a free, constitutional government, we shall believe, when we shall see a
man swallow a camel, and then choke onl a gnat.
The reply to our suggestions is stereotyped, —" WVe want no:mingling of politics with religi:on-we  want no politics in
the pulpit."   So we say, and with all possible emphasis.
Let us have no homilies on finance, flee trade, inlternal improvement, reconstruction, the right of suffage, the boundaries oft
Executive, Legislative, or Judicial'authority, St'ates rights, etc.,
etc.;(but let no man 6all God"' s wo0rd l.olitic.t. 3 Wpeoh  say nothing here on the rigiht or the necessitJy of secession in  S61;
but we do say, that., according' to thl. plain teaclhing of the
New Testament, tlhe disciples of (Chriist; who enX,'aoe'd directly
or indirectly in the late inslurrection against thle g'overument;
of the United Sta.tes, are g..iltx.)0to6t6e  O dof t Hle gnravest
crimes.
The relation of the.Amnerican pulpi; to civil af-itliris calls lor
calmn and thorotugh discussion; mlea nh vlile, we lnieght well
suppose that those in Kentucky xwho 1)rotest most earnestly
against " political preaching," iolollid he a  ittle cautious in
t;heir denunciations. Did 1heir co-opermats in rebellion ion t -he
South, hesitate to "pr each politics." hbeore or dutriting the war'
For years the soth thoer  pulpits Il tin  \\'  itl the Il'or and divin -
ity of Slavery, and tlh-e right otf revolutiotn.  Gov. Perry, of
South Carolina, chlarges the e la    civil -.lar x m unlxllV to three
claisses-pollticians, editorls anld nmiister;s andl 0ll recollec:
tion is, that lie gives the preeiminenz(ce in thlILe btad work to the
ministers.  They dlid cetLainly e'mfplox tl'eir -11ierxid eloquence
during the wari to an the sectional urejudltlices of Iheir people
into a flame, and to keel l hem bur1nin-'  Eive  some of' those
ninisters whoT.welAt i0om e11 nttucly S  to thle Sotil.h o(r to Canada
during;the wai did' not liesitate to speak Jl'r Slavery and the
rebellion there, and/o>r seCes. AT' -pcw?'rt p,1 re.  We
have, besiddes, conclusi e e ideelbe.l tlat howe -er averse some
Kentucky Christians miay now be to }lavxiim  the pulpit protfaned by whalt they falsely c(all poltical preachlling, they would




have been  easily reconciled to the profanation, had Gen,
Bragg held the State for the "Southern Confederacy."  Hopeful beginnings were made in that direction, even during his
short stay with us in 1.S62.  Mlore recently, too, some of these
anti-political preachers found. it convenient and expedient,
and no doubt "'prztudent,"; to signalize with religious services,
the exhuumation and re intermitent of the remains of certain
guerrillas, executed under military order, in retaliation for the
mutrder of peaceful citizens.  Allusion, is mnade to these matters with extrele reluctance, but under an irrepressible conviction of duuty. HIe wh.o fails to see that the expressed horror
of political preachintg  amoun  us, is sLaliow affectation — is
easily deceivTed.  It is a device of Satan to spike the artillery.
of God.  Awawr with it! The faithful minister must declare
the whole counsel of God, thlough  it condemn hlimself and his
hearers together.  I-e mnust, for instance, expound the teaching of the Bible in elation to In-atrimony, whlhen the time shall
comer even throuTlh a politi;cal party, to secure the vote of
Utah, shall delar1e  itself it f1Lvor of polygamy, and other
domestic and soc ili tbomlinations  of,formonisml. No doubt,
sulch ninister -will be (lulrp denounced as a political preacher.
In a -word,  "W la.tever thing are true whatever things are
honest, whatever things are just, whviatever things are pure,
whatever thin1g's a're lovely,  wvhatever things are of good
report;," w7ithin the tmeanin-' and purpose of' God's word, are
not on i r  le-gltillte themeine of pulpit discussion, but the min.ster of Jesuis Chbris; is solenlyixv bound to teach and to enforce
them, and t-o oppose ancld to rebuke':whatever is opposed to
them, whether tl-o1e tjl1lngs. so opposed be political or not.
But in the thi r([ pclace: tle Cthristian people, to whose course
we have take.n exceptionE, not only took part in a nmost unrighteous walr, —-not only have they approved or excused the
needless enlormities which characterized it, bult they have proscribed, imaligned anid persecuted every preacher whose views
of duty to his countlry, i) his race, and to his lRedeemer,
caused him  resolutelyr and uncompromisingly to oppose the
rebellion and to Ictively   aid his constitutional governmentand this, nlothLithstndllnig:.-,.ch preachers mcay not hacbve spolcen
0o).e wortZd P2'o 01J col?,;~%, t/,e pulyit, on thle stbject oqf the war,
fl'or'n itS bC(l'l',/ 6i! 7l[.it c/losCe.
The reply is — -Loxal Imen  are not proscribed.  A. B. C.
and O). are loyal, and no onel objects to their preaching."
These "loyal " brethlen, whIo are acceptable to rebel churches,
have, imost likely, thoughl t it "prudent" not to vote since the
year 1860  anud in general, their whole course in relation to the
war, did lmuch lnorte inR. aid of the insurlrection, than for the




15
salvation of an imperilled nation. They have found it " prudent " to condemn " whatever was wrong on both sides," tak.
ing special care to say about as much against the one party as
against the other.
Discerning rebels understood the policy of this class of men,
and availed themselves of their effective co-operation. Preachers, who, since 1863, have spoken no harsh word of the rebellion, not even condemning Andersonville and Fort; Pillow,
but who, during the same time, have heaped upon the United
States government and those who upheld it, every opprobrium,
might well be acceptable to "rebels."  As things actually
were in Kentucky, they were able to do more, and did more
for the rebellion, than the original secessionists. A few of
these "loyal preachers," have recovered their standing by
simply denouncing the Missoumi preachers' oath. Tired of
social and ecclesiastical ostracism, they eagerly availed them.
selves of that opening to the hearts of those whom their loyalty had offended. They have found their reward.
"It is only the decided, out-spoken loyal preachers,-those'who voted and otherwise showed a deep interest in the results
of the war, that we proscribe," say some. In reply, we ask a
single question: Do these brethren condemn equally, those
who preachled secession in Kentucky during the var, and who,
leaving the State for Canada or the Confederacy, preached
openly there in behalf of slavery, secession, and rebellion?
What shocking insincerity must the answer to this question.
disclose? We forbear to press it. It might be well for the
parties involved to remember, that "an ulnjust balance is anT
abomination to the Lord." Ic is very clear to all, that the
hostility of our "rebel " brethren to " preachers who dabble
in politics," is determined altogether by the kind of politics
in which they'" dabble."
We ask then, further, that Christians shall at once cease to
persecute and proscribe loyal ministers, and that they no
longer visit the alleged sins of loyal fathers upon the heads of,their innocent women and children. We demand also, that
ministers who can neither be coaxed nor bribed into silence
concerning the sin of the late rebellion, shall be allowed, as
well as the " prudent " and the disloyal ministers, to occupy
the pulpits, and to preach to all who may wish to hear them,:according to their own convictions of duty and propriety. To
this proposition the reply would be: " Such proceedings would
result in division." Indeed! And is Christian union then to
be maintained by inhibiting the discussion of any grave ques.
tion about which there may exist differences ot fait1l. What.is such union worth.?




1.6
It w~ould be well],' imeanwilte,: on many accounts, for some
of those who seem.:willg'to ignore whole sections of the
New Testament, m order to secure harmony in churches, to
call to mind the former ti;ies. The Baptists of Kentucky,
forty years ago, held, or were supposed to hold,- an erroneous
theory of conversion, and to have failed in their apprehension
of the design of Christian baptism, and of some other matters,
more or less clearly revealedrin.the Bible. Did our "Reformers " of that day, some of whom still survive, hesitate to preacli
their views of conversion and baptism, lest the 1Baptist churches
should be divided?  The legs of the lame are not equal.'By
the persistent-preaching of ":the views of the Reformers,"and that, not in the- mildest and most winning tone-perhaps
half the Baptist churches in KIentucky were divided'; and this
too, notwithstanding the Baptists were then. and are -now,
regarded as Christians by: those who caused their division.' But, then, the'Refobrmers  pieachled     te truth."  Be it so.
Is not the ~13th chapter ofl Romarns truth? and does it not
convict all Christians who willingly, in. any IVay,'tnd to any
extent, participated in the late insurrection against the United
States, of most heinous sin aainst God?  Have the Baptist
theories, right or wrong, resulted i-n oieat evil to society. It
is, doubtless, well for us all, that; the grace of God whiclh brings
salvation, is not cii'lculascrbed by our theological diagrams.
The Baptists are still wlth us, an.d like the rest of us, with. their
good and their not-good, are struggling fairly abreast of other
Christian people, foi the " crown   1C1 righteousness."  Peace
be with them, and with the Israel of Gocd.
But "' the Reformers preach l:hetruhti.'u   Be it so, we still
reply; and is not this trut;h-'" Whateveir y  would that men
should do to you, do ye even so to them "? and has this any,conceivable application to our treatment of our late slaves,
who are here and free, by no agency of their own v? What
have we even attlemjted to do for thleir conversion to God —
t;heir elevation to higher planes of spiritual life, and of' social
life among themselves?  Somlle who have feebly attempted
this, have been denounced, shunned, malignued; others have
been mlobbed, without any voice of protest fi'om any pulpit; in
the State. Meeting houses have been refused, that were other.wise unused, that these poor people might not be instructed in
the duties incident to their c'hanged condition. In the mueantime, no discussion of any matter, nor any allusion to any
matter, that can possibly disturb the equaninmity of those who
desired the destruction of tile n1ation, and who still desire its
destruction, is to be tolerated-.  Such is the decision  of "the
elders."  And tiis is C(rist.i;an  niMon,'alas!' It may be a




17
league with Death.and a covenant with Hell, but Christian
union, it is not. Besides, it. is a-, loud,-oractical, and despotic
protest against the most fundamental principle of the "Refor
mation."  And do those erring people of God, who thus protest, expect permanently to hold in abeyance, the discussion
of great questions that lie at the very basis of all morality?
As well attempt to stop an eruption of Vesuvius with a handful of feathers, as to arrest discussion by the cry of "division in churches."  Churches that refuse to hear the truth of
God, need not fear division, nor even annihilation-something
much more to be dreaded than either, or both, impends.
If we have read history to any purpose, we have learned
that'great social revolutions are preceded and followed by
discussions of great principles —principles that lie at the foundations of states and of churches. This is an ordination of
Providence by which progressive nations advance to higher
levels of intellectual, social and moral life. Let us, then, have
full and free discussion, conducted in meekness and gentleness,
ina spirit of forbearance and longsuffering; and let the word
of the Lord prevail —" yea, let God be true, and every man a
liar."
One plea often urged in vindication of the rebellion, is of
so remarkable a character, as to demand a passing notice.
Were it not presented by men: "professing godliness," we
should regard it as simply the offspring of irreverent, if not
blasphemous unbelief. " You of the loyal party," those'lmeni
of God," are accustomed to say, "i regard the resuglts of the
rebellion as salutary. Slavery is abolished, at least, and for
this, you ought to be thankful to those who inaugurated and
carried on the insurrection."  On the same ground, then, the
chief priests and elders, who through envy, accused the
Saviour of the world before Pilate, and even Pilate himself;
who through fear of the mob, wrested judgment, and " delivered Jesus to be crucified," are entitled to the gratitude of the
human race! Could a more appalling illustration of the
danger of trifling with truth be found, than this case presents?
It is the prerogative of an infinite and merciful Providence,
to make the wrath of man to praise him, while he restrains
the remainder: it is His to bring good out of evil, and thus
prevent our race from rushing at once upon irremediable
ruin; but of him who shall, on this account, make a merit of
sill and claim the right to " do evil that good may come," an
Apostle declares, that "6 his damnation is just."
The seeds of all that is most conservative,-of all that is
best in American civilization, crossed the ocean in the Mayflower; that is to say, anl unflinching  aith in the Bible, as




being a revelation of Gods.'swill to man, and as containing the
rule of the final judgment that is to be passed upon every individual of the human race, by the Creator himself. We may
deride, if we will, this stern faith of the Puritans, their confidence, of the old Hebrew type, in the providence of God; we.
may make ourselves merry over their "grave and exaggerated
piety,". but as our people recede from what was central in
their faith, to that extent do they render insecure their liberties, whether civil or religious. We steadfastly believe that
our cherished liberties can be assured but ill one way, and
that is, by the faithful exhibition of the morality and religion
of the Bible, by means of a faithful living ministry, and by
the press. We should be thanriful, that the most sacred
duties of the ministry, are concurrent with the dictates of
the loftiest and purest patriotism. Without Protestant Christianity, in its most distinct.ive elements, we may have something like an exaggerated Mexico, or a French Republic, but
the great, free Repubiic of America, we can not have. The
foundation of Protestantism is the Bible, including the 13th
chapter of Romans,-and nothing but the Bible, fairly interpreted and applied, in all its vast range, to all the serious
affairs of human life, domestic, social, political,-the application of its principles and explicit statutes to every question of
human duty and privilege, We may apply to our own beloved country, what a great writer, Isaac Taylor, has so eloquently said of England:
"To a community within which the gospel has widely diffused itself. through the opinions, habits and affections ot the
mass, and in which it intensely affects the moral energies of
thousands, the ceasing to be Christian would be a dissolution
political, social, domestic: it would be-national death.
"In this country, every institution that now fortifies and
adorns our social condition, has been constructed on the supposition of a flow and pressure in one direction; that is,
toward what is, or is assumed to be true in religion and pure
in morals-every slope in the political building is adapted to
this and to no other movement of the waters should they
turn, there is not an embankment which must not yield, and
add its fragments to the general ruin. America and her affluence at home and her influence throughout the world, and her
bright cluster of honors; America and her pure domestic
affections and her home felicities; her generous temper and
her wide philanthropy; America and her power and her embellishments, we may be assured, is fated along with the
gospel. The waters of the sanctuary stand breast high around
her, and should they fall oWf, she herself falls to rise no more?'




These are significant words, and if we experiment recklessly
with our duties as citizens, to our cost, we shall find them prophetic. Indeed, my brethren, I can not regard an American
Christian as having done his whole duty to God, who renders
to his rulers a mere passive obedience. If our free institutions are to be accepted as the gift of a merciful Providence,
then are all God's people sacredly bound to do all in their
power for the conservation and perpetuity of those institutions.
We protest, then, against the course of our " rebel"  Christian brethren, on the following grounds:
1. They engaged in a terrible insurrectibn against civil
rulers, to whom, by the most explicit statutes of the Newv
Testament, they were commanded to  render honor andc
obedience.
2. In the prosecution of that insurrection, they perpetrated
the most atrocious deeds, or they upheld those who did perpetrate them, and refuse now to hear any rebuke of the
offenders-offenders, not merely against the laws ot God, but
against the instincts of civilized humanity.
3. They not only decline repentance, or to hear any call to
repentance, but, glorying in what they have done, they actively persecute every minister whom they can not subsidise,
or whose silence in regard to the enormous sin of the late:ebellion, they can not command.
4. They aver that this persecution of loyal men, is inflicted
on the ground that the persecuted ones "hlad too much to do
with politics," while tlhey actively support and cheerfully and.
liberally patronize men who fled from tie State to the Confed.
eracy or to Canada, that they might more effectively work in
this "'politics," thus demonstrating, even to themselves, the
ultter untruthfulness of their averment.
5. By the foregoing proceedings, the churches of the Refor-mation have repudiated the most fundamental principle to be
found in their protest against the divisions of the Christian
world —a principle without which the proposed Reformation
is an impertinence and a blatant humbug. The principle is
this: The whole law of Jesus Christ, as revealed in the New
Testament, without addition, and without substraction, is to
be taught and enforced, whether the law relate to social and
domestic duties, or to the duties of the Christian citizen to
the rulers of the State; whether it relate to faith, to baptism,
to the remission ot sins, to the order of worship in churches,
or to any other matter that involves the agency of man. We
here affirm, that those who havei committed themselves to the
theoretical and practical advocacy of this comprehensive




principle, making it the  nost distinctive element in a great
religious movement, do now practically disallow itq in order
to shield themselves or their cause from the condemnation of
God's law.
May we not, without impropriety, considering the peril to
which the very foundations of our plea for reform are being
subjected, declare a readiness to  meet any  champion of
modern " prudence," in public debate, on the issues above presented?
In all the churches fronm the Ohio to the capes of Florida,
and from the Potomac to the Rio Grande, the testimony of
Jesus against needless insurrection is silenced. No, thanks be
to God, this statement is not true. In Kentucky, at least, a
considerable body of Methodists have nobly determined to
stand by God's truth. They:quietly and in some instances, at
grea cost, withdrew fronm their brethren, who, as they believed,
"walked disorderly."  God is with his own truth, and will
give them  victory.  And  still again,-tforty  Presbyterian
ministers, constituting the Synod of Kentucky, adhere to the
grand, patriotic and Christian 1)elhverances of the General
Assembly, in relation to the sin of needless civil insupriction.
Of these forty minister s, is the venerable, heroic, and patriotic
Robt. J. Breekinridge I.D.. Who canr recall the great services
of this eminent minister and man, to the churches, to the
state, and to the RIepublic, in the days of peril through which
all have passed, without desiring  that it were his, to speak
blessings upon him, in the name of the poor and the downtrodden of' earth, and in the name of the Lord.
We take heart then,' for the testimony of the Bible, on
questions involving  thle very existence of liberty of any kind,
is not to be utterly disallowed in Kentucky.  it is alleged,
however, that, this action of " loyal" Methodists and Presbyter:ians, has led to schlism in their several denominations.  Suppose it has, who are the schismnatics, tho-;e who adhere to the
word of the Lord, or those who reject it?  For let it be distinctly remeln bered, that those Christians who renained loyal
during all the sad days of trial and darkness did so, in many
cases, Jbir conscience sake, as well as from patriotic impulses;
and they have never hesitated to point their "-rebel" brethren
to the divine testimony'.:But who ever heard *of any one
attempting to prove fromn the 3Bible, that he was under obligation to take up arms for the overthrow of the government of
th@e United States? Who?
The churches of the Ref ormationl, congra tulate one another
on the lact, that no divisions cacn occur amlong them. This is
true, anad for the very suficiea t reason, that they never weree




21
vunited. It is quite ail easy thinL to, have peace among parties
that have nothing whatever to do with each  other. The
" rebel'Christian Churches of Kentucky are united: with: the
loyal churches of other states, about as much as the" Manin
the Moon"'is united with theEmperor of MIexico;.and this
boasted union. can be manta:ined, just as long as the parties
are kept apart, and no 1 )nger. -Indivicduals from  loyal and
from disloyal sections, have me.t il. ocieties and conventions
occasionally since 1860, and it has been vith no little difficulty
that the radical and wholly irrecon:czlable differences between
"loyalty" and " disloyalty," have been so ignored as to prevent
disruption in, these Societies.  A11 earnest and truly loyal men
feel that the rebellion was siniul in the very highest degree,
whether the parties offending, did so in ignorcance or otherwise
and much as they may mourn. over tlhe evils thlat have been
wroughlt, and reluctant as they, doubtless are to see division,
still, they remember that divisions are inevitable until right
shall triumph over might, until truth shall triumph over falsehood.  For the divisions, those are responsible who depart
from, and pervert the ways of the Lord.
We concede the impossibility of dividing the churches of
the Rfeformation, for the reasons stated, namelyr: they never
iwere organically united. But does this prove that the memhers of' these churches are united? Our boasting is not wise.
But again: 2wit2hot the 2mostt silnfl andl shameful.sacriflee of
principles there can not be real Christian union between those
ment anld vwomen in Kentucky, who, during the progress of
the late civil war and after its close, stood by the Bible and
their country, and those who disregarded the one, that they
might wage war on the other.  Chrhistian qt.niovn must be in
l'truth, if at Aall. O)n naked questions of right land wrongot truth ald error, thlere can withl men of principle be no corn-.
proimise. M"Aaterial interests may  be compromised to the
uttmost, bt)ll; moral prinlciJple can i-.iever bhe compro)mised-lit
ctan. only be surrendered"  The loyal Christians o f Kentlucky
can " sell (outu if they will, but lhey wvould do well to rem:erberl tilat t he ftrit of the tree of lilo is lot to be obtained by
st4,alth;'ad ti tlat we can  eilther seetre thle ia:or of God, nor1
promote t"he welfare  of' nTen by hy|)(pocrisy'.   3efore there can
be Chiristia:  un:ion between lihe txv 0 parties to ile late civil
war, thle o"re,nls "mrust repent! o  t'the  tO loTal" meln must;
lbandon tle most, sacred.l rincip,.es.  While tle actual co nditiojln o0f a(.irts calls for huniilhaion aodt prayer: —the heartyr
contessiol of sianfi:lness oil thie part; of'all —th-e mnost sorrowing ibrbearance of all towards Ca!.4-* —tehe:indulgence of deep,
ea;rt-brteakin.l, regrets over,hat i as hivappented to disturb the




22
harmony of God's people —for consuming anxieties and yearnings for the reunion of hearts-for mournings which nothingbut this reunion can stay; yet must we not forget that he
who relents toward triumphant and defiant vice, instead of
showing mercy thereby, does but -betray justice, and truth,
and right. Alas, we are in a great strait; "but let us now fall
into the hands of the Lord; for, his mercies are great; and
let us not fall into the hand of marl.n 0, Lord, undertake for
us, and send us speedy deliverance out of all our perplexing
and sorrow-working complications.
Scattered minorities that cease to be aggressive soon disappear. Those Christians, therefore, who still acquiesce in the
justness of our present statements and reflections, will have
need of prompt and prayerful activity, if they are to save
themselves and their children from the contagion of principles that will prove to be fruitful seeds of innumerable woes
to the church, to our country, and to the world. Revolutions
and insurrections are born of opinions and theories thrat can
not be refuted by the sword, could we even think it lawful
to make the attempt. Free institutions can not be maintained
by force-they must stand in the convicti.)ns of the people;
and in our opinion the perpetuity of our grand and free civilization is to be sought through the Bible and thle Church,
rather than through political compacts and conventions. Let
politicians and statesmen perform their work as they may,,
unless. the church can furnish the state with men who will
-" obey magistrates and be ready to do every good work," our,
present social and political organizations must give way. Convictions such as these, may serve to explain our position. We
do and suffer for the maintainance of great principles. Do oilr
" pludent " brethren expect that vice will, unopposed, spontaneously correctitself? Where, in universal history, will an
instance of' such selfl-:resig in be fbound? No, no;-" evil men
and seducers shall wax worse and worse," if left to themselves-. We are therefore, charged before God and the Lord
Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his
appearing and Ilis kingdom, to. preach the word; to be instant in season, and ou!t If season; to reprove, rebuke, and
exhort with all long sufferiug and doctrine. G od has made
the way of the loyal Christian exceedingly plain. It may be,
for us here in Kent-ncky, a-very difficult way, but the true and
the fearless, by God's help, will walk in it.
We may not decline to mention the young people of our
State. How have they decided in relation to the rebellion
we all have so many reasons to deplore?.Ninety per cent of
them, we judge, of both sexes, yielding to the solicitations of




23
social success, and to other enticements, have ranged themselves on the side of revolution. This is true of all the young
people of the late slave-holding states. The reasons of this
fearful fact are obtrusively obvious, and need not be stated.
Should not loyal Christians hasten to do what may yet be
done, to turn the tide of their young affections toward their
whole country, by teaching them that submission to legitimate
civil authority is submissionz to God? Unless we can do this,
be assured that the poison already infused into their hearts,
will, at no distant day, prove the direfuil spring of innumerable
woes to them and to generations after them —woes greater
than those through which we have just passed; for, if we are
to believe our public journals of all sections, when the floods
of civil war shall have swept again over our fair land, it will
be as when Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire and
brimstone out of heaven fromi the Lord. It would be difficult
to exaggerate the importance, every whay, of this feature of
the general subject, or to over-estimate the weight of responsibility now resting on loyal Kentucky Christians.  Shall
they be found equal to the emergency?  or shall " prudence "
rule the hour? "Prudence" that keeps "politics out of
churches," by alllowing " rebels " to keep every loyal minister out, whose cowardlv an(d carnal compliances have not
made him an efficient co-worker with them. We speak plainly, but would not give offense.: Men are often deceived concerning their motives, and if this " prudence " is not a device
of Satan, he has employed none in modern times.
M" lankindl are uhco Weak.
An(l little to be trusted,
If self the waverino balance shake,'?Tis rarely right adjusted."
Another consideration denlaiads a passing notice. Is love
of one's native land henceforth ti'te imputed to a man for
sin? Is he to be esteemed criminal, in whose heart the flag
of his country awakens a generous and patriotic enthusiasm?
Mist one suffer social ostracism for teaching his children to
sing "The Star Spangled Banner?" Are loyal* Christians of
Kentucky, for the sake of a most false and scandalous pretense
of Christian union, to be cut off from all sympathy with what
is grand and glorious ir our history as a nation, and debarred
from any mention of' our beautiful and patriotic traditions?
Heaven forbid! As a nation we could suffer but one greater
loss, namely: the Bible and Protesant Christianity.
Let no man scoff at patriotism, as though it were not a
Christian, as well as a mere manly virtue. Out of love of
country, which is native to the human soul, God has wrought




24
the grandest results in the historv of our race. Beautiful, and
even divine is that sentiment which binds the Laplander to
his inhospitable abode, and reconciles the Italian to his dwelbl
ing place on the trembling sides of Vesuvius. In all climes,
amongst all peoples, doubtless, is found the sentiment, if not
the song, "There is no place like home."  WVe seriously suspect that the man who affects to like all countries and all
peoples equally, really loves none. And does not patriotisrm
show itself even in those through whoml God has sent messages to the world?. "If I forget thee, 0 Jerusalem, let my right
hand forget her cunnilg. If I do not remember thee, let my
tongue cleave to the roof of my moutlh; if I prefer not Jerusalem  above my chief joy."  rl'hus sang the captive Jews as
they wandered disconsolate "by the rivers of Babylon."  For
the pious Jew  still, there is no land so fair as the land
of Jeshurun; no river so beautiful as the Jordan, no mountains so grand as the "'mountains round about Jerusalem?'
It was over Jerusalem  too, that Jesius, weeping, uttered.
that lamentation, which  has, we may  presume, taken its
place among the anthems of the immortals, and for ages
past been sung in heaven. Patriotism, be assured, is near
akin to the highest form of philanthropy.
We have attempted to discharge our duty  a duty, the
heaviest ever before devolved upon us. Right glad should
we have been, had some one older and abler' taken the cross
irom  our shoulders. It is now to be seen whether or rot
there remains in our people any fidelity to the principles of
both civil and religions action, which they have in various
ways professed. For myself my brethren, may I say, that my
hostility to the course pursued by them  against wrholm we
this day protest, is uncompromising. I might be +willing to
lie, could this restore the old Iriendships,-the lost anion, the
former love; blut I lunmbly trust I qoulctd die. ratler  thla.
(,amble for place and. profit, inaking truth and right-eou:snless
the cards.
Go then, to life's great labors in the fear of Gol ansd in tte
love of man. While you stand.lc firmly by yourn most sacred.
convictions of truth and right, remember that thle salme aru..
thority that ordained obedience to the civil ruler, and in the
same document, ordclained also that if your eneiy hunger y6oua
shall tfeed hitml, if h1e thirst: rou slhall give him dri'l —i-ti:tt yolt.o
sihall overcome evil w it;h gobd.
In the langua-gwe  of Kent-ucky's greatest livringr saon I close;'Every true man must stand inl his lot, and do whlat seemns to
be his duty in church and state, as God enables him..  G od is
above all, and if lie be fotr us, it is little matter who is a:gainst; us.,