Ten Letters On The Subject Of Slavery Etc

Excerpt from Ten Letters on the Subject of Slavery May it not be, that God, in his providence, sent the Africans to this country, that they might receive the light of the Gospel, and that from amongst them, he might gather into his kingdom many precious souls? May not the language of Joseph to his brethren, be precisely appropriate to those who, for gain, tore them from their country But as for you, ye thought evil against me, etc. And if such was God's merciful design in sending them to this country, did not His pro vidence call upon the American churc es to see to it, that the Gospel should be preached to them? I am persuaded you will not deny, that such was one of the purposes of God, in permitting the existence of American slavery; for it is a fact - a soul-cheering fact, in connection with a painful subject - that the Holy Spirit has called multitudes of them into his kingdom. You, of course, believe that God wisely adapts means to ends. The end designed, as you will not deny, was the con version and salvation of a multitude of those degraded Africans. A part of the means was the sending of them to these United States. Now, brethren, let me earnestly ask - What. Have Abolitionists done toward the conversion of the slaves in this country? To what extent have they obeyed the call of God's providence, to preach to them the unsearchable riches of Christ? Who have been the instruments in the conversion and salvation of the multitudes of them who have become Christians in the slave States? The Abolitionists. You must candidly acknowledge, have had no part in this good work. They have, indeed, asserted the right of the slaves to their freedom from the authority of man; but they have done nothing to deliver them from the bondage of sin and Satan. For their knowledge of the Gospel, and for their hopes of heaven, they are indebted to the very men so constantly and so bitterly denounced by Abo litionists; and in heaven they will bless God, that there were some Christians who were not Abolitionists. The Presbyterian church. Though often condemned for unfaithfuhiess, has, from the beginning, paid special attention to their religious instruction. In 1787, the synods of Philadelphia and New York spoke distinctly on this subject; and in 1815, the General Assembly urged the presbyteries under their care to adopt such measures as will secure, at least to the rising generation of slaves, within the bounds of the church, a religious education. The Assembly of 1818, recom mended to all the members of our religious denomination, not only to permit but to facilitate and encourage the instruction of their slaves in the principles and duties of the Christian religion, ' etc. Our ministers and people have not been inattentive to this work. You may not be unaware, that a number of our minis ters have devoted themselves entirely to the instruction of the negroes. Those of some other denominations have pursued a similar course. Have you not greatly erred, brethren, in wholly neglecting the spiritual interests of those whom God, in his providence, has sent to your doors, that you might aid in preaching the Gospel to them? About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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A stimulating and profound analysis of the factors which brought a nation into war with itself.