The Trial of Theodore Parker: For the "Misdemeanor" of a Speech in Faneuil Hall against Kidnapping, before the Circuit Court of the United States, at Boston, April 3, 1855, with the DefenceParker, Theodore
Religion
The Trial of Theodore Parker: For the "Misdemeanor" of a Speech in Faneuil Hall against Kidnapping, before the Circuit Court of the United States, at Boston, April 3, 1855, with the Defence
Parker, Theodore
Antislavery movements -- Massachusetts -- Boston; United States -- Fugitive slave law (1850)
"The elders and scribes of Jerusalem commanded the
Christians not to speak or to teach at all in the name of
Jesus; but Peter and John asked those functionaries,
'Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you
more than unto God, judge ye.' Our judge must have said,
There is no 'incompatibility;' 'obey both!' What 'a
comfortable Scripture' this would have been to poor John
Bunyan! What a great ethical doctrine to St. Paul! He did
not know such Christianity as that. Before his time a
certain man had said, 'No man can serve two masters.' But
there was one person who made the attempt, and he also is
eminent in history. Here was 'the will of God,' to do to
others as you would have others do to you: 'Love thy
neighbor as thyself.' Here is the record of 'the law of
man:' 'Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had
given a commandment, that, if any man knew where he [Jesus]
were, he should show it that they might take him.' Judas, it
seems, determined to 'obey both,'--'the law of man' and 'the
will of God.' So he sat with Jesus at the Last Supper,
dipped his hand in the same dish, and took a morsel from the
hand of Christ, given him in token of love. All this he did
to obey 'the will of God.' Then he went and informed the
Commissioner or Marshal where Jesus was. This he did to obey
'the law of man.' Then he came back, and found Christ,--the
agony all over, the bloody sweat wiped off from his brow
presently to bleed again,--the Angel of Strength there with
him to comfort him. He was arousing his sleeping disciples
for the last time, and was telling them, 'Pray, lest ye
enter into temptation.' Judas came and gave him a kiss. To
the eleven it seemed the friendly kiss, obeying 'the will of
God.' To the Marshal it also seemed a friendly
kiss,--obeying 'the law of man.' So, in the same act, he
obeys 'the law of God' and 'the will of man,' and there is
no 'incompatibility!'
"Of old it was said, 'Thou canst not serve God and mammon.'
He that said it, has been thought to know something of
morals,--something of religion.
"Till the fugitive slave law was passed, we did not know
what a great saint Iscariot was. I think there ought to be a
chapel for him, and a day set apart in the calendar. Let him
have his chapel in the navy yard at Washington. He has got a
priest there already. And for a day in the calendar--set
apart for all time the seventh of March!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account