Speeches, Addresses, and Occasional Sermons, Volume 3 (of 3)Parker, Theodore
Religion
Speeches, Addresses, and Occasional Sermons, Volume 3 (of 3)
Parker, Theodore
Sermons, American; Unitarianism
See how the sons of the Puritans, as soon as they came to a
consciousness of what the despotic idea was, took their charters and
wiped slavery clean out, first from Massachusetts, and then from the
other States, one after another. See how every Northern State, in
revising its Constitution, or in making a new one, declares all men are
created equal, that all have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness.
Then the religion of the North demands the same thing. Professors may
try to prove that the Old Testament establishes slavery; that the New
Testament justifies the existence of slavery; that Paul's epistle to
Philemon was nothing more than another fugitive slave law, that Paul
himself sent back a runaway; but it does not touch the religion of the
North. We know better. We say if the Old Testament does that and the New
Testament, so much the worse for them both. We say, "Let us look and see
if Paul was so benighted," and we can judge for ourselves that the
professor was mistaken more than the apostle.
Again, the spirit of the age, which is the public opinion of the
nations, is against slavery. It was broken down in England, France,
Italy, and Spain; it cannot stand long against civilization and good
sense; against the political economy and the religious economy of the
civilized world. The genius of freedom stands there, year out, year in,
and hurls firebrands into the owl's nest of the prince of darkness,
continually,--and is all this with no effect?
Besides that, it is against the law of God. That guides this universe,
treating with even-handed justice the great geographical parties,
Austrian, Roman, British, or American, with the same justice wherewith
it dispenses its blessings to the little local factions that divide the
village for a day, marshalling mankind forward in its mighty progress
towards wisdom, freedom, goodness towards men, and piety towards God.
Of the final issue I have no doubt; but no man can tell what shall come
to pass in the mean time. We see that political parties in the State are
snapped asunder: whether the national party shall not be broken up, no
man can say. In 1750, on the 28th day of November, no man in Old England
or New England could tell what 1780 would bring forth. No man, North or
South, can tell to-day what 1880 will bring to pass. He must be a bold
man who declares to the nation that no new political machinery shall be
introduced, in the next thirty years, to our national mill. We know not
what a day shall bring forth, but we know that God is on the side of
right and justice, and that they will prevail so long as God is God.
* * * * *
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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