The Writings of Harriet Beecher Stowe Volume 4; Dred. Anti-Slavery Tales and Papers. Life in Florida After the War (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1896 Excerpt: ...Christian will oppose, as bringing about a ruinous and unnecessary schism between brethren who maintain a common faith. Yeas, Ministers and Elders, 168. Nays, " " " 13. It is scarcely necessary to add a comment to this very explicit declaration. It is the plainest possible disclaimer of any protest against slavery; the plainest possible statement that the existence of the ecclesiastical organization is of more importance than all the moral and social considerations which are involved in a full defense and practice of American slavery. The next year a large number of petitions and remonstrances were presented, requesting the Assembly to utter additional testimony against slavery. In reply to the petitions, the General Assembly reaffirmed all their former testimonies on the subject of slavery for sixty years back, and also affirmed that the previous year's declaration must not be understood as a retraction of that testimony; in other words, they expressed it as their opinion, in the words of 1818, that slavery is "wholly opposed to the law of God," and "totally irreconcilable with the precepts of the gospel of Christ;" and yet that they "had formed their church organization upon the conceded principle that the existence of it, under the circumstances in which it is found in the Southern States of the Union, is no bar to Christian communion." Some members protested against this action. (Minutes, 1846. Overture, No. 17.) Great hopes were at first entertained of the New School body. As a body, it was composed mostly of anti-slavery men. It had in it three synods whose anti-slavery opinions and actions had been, to say the least, one very efficient cause for their excision from the Church. It had only three slave-holdi...