Vermont Telegraph

When I promised, last week, at the close of my remarks on the subject of the war upon China, and the sentiments of a leading orthodox religious organ touching it, to take up the matter again at a future time, I did not expect so soon to find another such text from which to pursue the subject, as is found in the paragraphs above from the Baptist Advocate. Not that I had any reason to think the Editor of the Advocate, any more than the Editor of the Watchman, entertained more Christian views and sentiments on the subject than they both have expressed. But I confess I was not looking for so hardy and shameless an exhibition of them. I did think, notwithstanding their ferociousness for the perpetuity of the savage practice of strangling individuals to death, that the rising spirit of humanity would be some restraint upon them, in regard to the work of wholesale slaughter, especially as to the aggressive side of it. But I see it was too much to look for from such a source. A little reflection and study of the subject shows me better what might have been expected. The theology which these prints propagate, in behalf of a merciless and mercenary priesthood, requires just such a thing. Conquest, or rather subjugation, is its work. And it is a conquest, a subjugation of matter, rather than of mind—especially as it pertains to the means employed. So far as mind is wrought upon it is violated and darkened, instead of being benefitted or enlightened. Well, if such sentiments are entertained let them be spoken out. Let the world see the identities and affinities of orthodox theology. Let it be seen that its conquests still go on, as they always have done, in connection with the war spirit, and as often as there is occasion with the war practice. The four pieces above, taken from the Baptist Advocate, where they were found standing in the same connection and arrangement which they now exhibit, are copied not for the sake of controversy with that print, but to present to view a specimen of orthodox theology, for the purpose of showing its origin, its true character, and its practical bearings.

It has its origin in imperfection of knowledge of the true and living God, and of the relation existing between Him and mankind. It makes the great common Father of the human family to be partial towards some members of the family, and vindictive towards others—employing an avaricious, lustful, hypocritical clan to go and plunder, pillage and murder their neighbors who are less sinful than themselves. Moses fell into this mischievous and monstrous delusion. He taught the nation, to which he belonged by more immediate consanguinity, to believe that the common Father of "all nations of men" had been partial enough towards them to point them to the possessions of their neighbors, and set them to butchering those neighbors until they should obtain their possessions. Acting under this delusion, he burnt cities and goodly castles with fire, massacred men, slew married women, and gave up unmarried women to the soldiery. Read the 31st chapter of Numbers.—It runs thus:

"The Midianites spoiled. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people. And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the Lord of Midian. Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war. So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy instruments, and the trumpets to blow in his hand. And they warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses; and they slew all the males. And they slew the kings of Midian, besides the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian. Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword. And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods. And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire. And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts. And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil unto Moses and Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho.
And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp. And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and the captains over hundreds, which came from the battle. And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord. Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women-children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. And do ye abide without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify both yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day. And purify all your raiment, and all that is made of skins, and all work of goats' hair, and all things made of wood. And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war which went to the battle, This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord commanded Moses: Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead, everything that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean: nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go through the water. And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye shall come into the camp.

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the chief fathers of the congregation: And divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war upon them, who went out to battle, and between all the congregation: And levy a tribute unto the Lord of the men of war which went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep: Take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, for an heave-offering of the Lord. And of the children of Israel's half, thou shalt take one portion of fifty, of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the flocks, of all manner of beasts, and give them unto the Levites, which keep the charge of the tabernacle of the Lord. And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.

And the booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had caught, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep, and threescore and twelve thousand beeves, and threescore and one thousand asses, and thirty and two thousand persons in all, of women that had not known man by lying with him. And the half, which was the portion of them that went out to war, was in number three hundred thousand and seven and thirty thousand and five hundred sheep: And the Lord's tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and fifteen. And the beeves were thirty and six thousand; of which the Lord's tribute was threescore and twelve. And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred; of which the Lord's tribute was three score and one. And the persons were sixteen thousand, of which the Lord's tribute was thirty and two persons. And Moses gave the tribute, which was the Lord's heave-offering, unto Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses. And of the children of Israel's half, which Moses divided from the men that warred. (Now the half that pertained to the congregation was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep, and thirty and six thousand beeves, and thirty thousand asses and five hundred, and sixteen thousand persons;) even of the children of Israel's half, Moses took one portion of fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites, which kept the charge of the tabernacle of the Lord; as the Lord commanded Moses.
And the officers which were over thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses: And they said unto Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war which are under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us. We have therefore brought an oblation for the Lord, what every man hath gotten, of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and tablets, to make an atonement for our souls before the Lord. And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels. And all the gold of the offering that they offered unto the Lord, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. (For the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.)—And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands, and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of the congregation, for a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord." Without stopping here to comment upon the chapter, I beg the reader to be as much as possible divested of the influences of education that are calculated to prevent a candid inquiry after truth & righteousness, and ponder well the horrid facts it relates. It is only one instance of many in which the Lord is made to employ one part of his family to plunder and massacre another part.

All will agree that Jesus Christ taught the contrary doctrine—that he taught not only love to neighbors, but love and forgiveness even to enemies. I shall not stop here to argue the case, by way of undertaking to prove that it is the highest possible impeachment of the unchangeableness of God, to suppose he would teach by Moses so perfectly contrary to what he taught by Christ—saying nothing about the impeachment of his impartial goodness, to believe he would so employ one part of his family against another part. I am disposed to leave readers here to their own reflections for a time—exhorting them in the mean time not to stop thinking for themselves, nor be dissuaded from investigation.
To pass on then. The revival of violence began with Constantine, in the beginning of the third century. In coming forward with the sword for the defense and propagation of religion, he made the same claims to immediate teaching from God in the matter, which Moses had made before him. Moses moved the people with the fulminations of Sinai—Constantine by his flaming cross in the heavens. Moses showed his tables of stone—Constantine, his labarum. Both made the Lord to be a man of war, leading his favorites among his children on to victory over their enemies among their brethren.

The next leader in holy wars, which I shall mention, was Peter the Hermit, the author of the crusades of the eleventh century. He laid the same claim, that his predecessors in like works had, to aid and direction from on high. He made himself to be one of the Lord's captains to lead forth the hosts he could induce to follow him, in an exterminating war against the infidels in possession of the holy land. He is supposed to have wasted half a million of lives in the first of these enterprizes, led on by himself personally.

Let us now come down to the days of modern witchcraft. The leaders against witches were among the most zealous of all pretenders to Divine direction. Witchery they made to come up from beneath. And opposition to it they brought down from above.—I have not the means in immediate reach for furnishing any particulars as to the extent of the slaughter and desolation resulting from this delusion. But it was terrible. As late and as eminent a man as Mathew Hale aided on this awful work in his official capacity. And the learned and pious Baxter pronounced the disbeliever in witchcraft to be an obdurate Sadducee. Why should he not have so viewed it. Moses' law, which he claimed to receive from the Lord, read "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."

[I had written thus far before leaving home for Clarendon Springs, expecting to write more on my return.—But the thaw has prevented my reaching home in season for it. Readers will be under the necessity of carrying out the subject for themselves, unless I get time to take it up again]

John Caldwell Calhoun has been nominated by the legislature of South Carolina, as a candidate for the next Presidency—this nomination to be subject to the will and doings of a national convention.