Earlier text: BIBLE DOCTRINE OF THE DIVINITY OF CHRISTIF.
By John Norton Loughborough
How often do we find this little word of two letters used in the Bible, and what solemn consequences hang upon it! How it is interwoven with all the plan which God has proposed for the salvation of man, and made the point on which his destiny is to turn; and he either be appointed his place in bliss, or cast down to death. When the Lord said to ancient Israel, "Ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people, and ye shall be a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation," he also said: "If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant &c." And after they had been established in their land he promised to perpetuate their city, if they would keep his Sabbath; and if they would not hearken, he said, "I will kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched." Jer. xxiii, 24, 27. By reading the next chapter, we see that in all God's promises of blessings, if that nation to whom he has promised does evil they lose the blessing they otherwise would have received. And when the Lord pronounces a curse upon a nation, if they turn from their evil, the curse will be withheld from coming upon them. Jer. xviii, 7–10. When the Lord speaks to his people of the goodly heritage that is before them, he says "if ye be willing and obedient ye shall eat the good of the land; but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured &c." Peter after speaking of adding to our faith all the graces of the Christian says: "if ye do these things, ye shall never fall; for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." Says Jesus: If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." We might multiply this list, to almost any extent. If, is a word which represents contingency, and shows that the object concerning which it is used may be lost or gained according to the course pursued by the person or persons to whom the language is addressed. With what show of propriety could any one claim, that all the promises we have introduced were to be fulfilled without any conditions being kept? and yet that must be the case if God has unconditionally elected a portion of our race to salvation, and reprobated the residue. If those who worship the beast and his image were destined from the foundation of the world197 to be damned, what design could the Lord have in warning them against that which is made a consequent on such worship? and why in that very warning, should he represent the thing as contingent and leave a chance to hope for escape when, in fact, it is not contingent, and they could not escape if they would? If this were the case, would it not present God more in the character of some beast of prey, which after having taken some of its weaker fellows delights to see their fruitless efforts to escape its grasp? "But," says one, "does not the Bible say that God works all things after the counsel of his will?" and if he works all things after the counsel of his will, who hath resisted his will? This may all be true, but that is taken for granted which is not stated. We will look at the text and its connection. It is in Eph. i, 11. "In whom we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will." Before admitting unconditional predestination from this text we inquire, 1st, who knows that God has willed the salvation of a portion of mankind without conditions? 2nd, who knows that this is his purpose? All that we can know of God's will or purpose is what we learn in his word. What do we learn in the scriptures that God's will is? Christ tells us, "This is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son and believeth on him, may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up again at the last day." Again: "This is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day." John vi, 39, 40. From this we learn clearly God's will. Not that he has willed the salvation of any person without an effort on their part; but if they believe on Christ God has willed that they shall have eternal life. But if you ask what is the counsel of his will, please read Rom. ii, 6, 7, and there you will see that an effort must be made on our part to secure it. God counsels us to seek for immortality, and shows us if we do seek we shall have eternal life. Who doubts then that he will work this matter and all others after the counsel of his will? Or who doubts that we have been predestinated according to his purpose? That is that God has predestinated that those who should believe on Christ should be saved. By reading Eph. i, 4, we see that we have been "chosen in Christ," Verse 5, "Predestinated unto the adoption of children." And by reading verses 9, 10, we see that God's purpose is to gather together in the dispensation of the fullness of times all who are in Christ, both in heaven and on earth. But you say, did not the Lord create Pharaoh on purpose to have him rebel and thus show his power in him? Well, you may have supposed the scriptures taught such an idea, but I cannot see it thus: The text referred to is Rom. ix, 17, 18. "For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth." We do not understand from this text that the Lord hardens a person's heart previous to any act of rebellion on their part; for we read [Deut. vii, 9,] that the Lord keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; and repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them. "Then the text does not teach that the Lord will have mercy on any individual irrespective of character; but he will have mercy on 'them that love him, and keep his commandments.'" From what is said of Pharaoh we do not understand that his being "raised up" has reference to his birth and rearing up to manhood; but to something that occurred while Moses was interceding with him, to let Israel go. So we read verse 22, "What if God willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much long suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction." What made Pharaoh a vessel of wrath fitted to destruction? According to what we have quoted from Deut. vii, when men hate the Lord he repayeth them to their face, to destroy them. Then Pharaoh could not be a vessel of wrath till he had himself hated the Lord and rebelled against his righteous laws. When we turn to Ex. ix, 15, 16, where the Lord addressed this language to Pharaoh concerning his being raised up, we read, "For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth. And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, (Margin, Heb. made thee stand) for to show in thee my power" &c. When Pharaoh refused to let Israel go and asked, who is the Lord that I should let Israel go? he became a confirmed enemy of the Lord, a vessel of wrath. The Lord's vengeance did not immediately fall on him, but he endured him with much long suffering, and "raised him up," or rather made him stand, that he might show his mighty power in him. So the text would be found at last agreeing with the idea of free agency of man and conditional salvation. With this view of the subject we see there is a responsibility resting upon us if we would be saved, and we must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Predestination as commonly taught destroys the idea of our responsibility. I once heard a Prof. in Rochester N. Y., while laboring zealously to establish the unconditional election of all men, say: "I have no sympathy with the idea that any responsibility rests upon us. God has given a certain number to Christ to save, and the responsibility of their salvation is laid entirely on Christ; he is responsible for their salvation, and if he fails to save us it is not any fault of ours." May the Lord keep us from falling into such a paralyzing doctrine.
J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.
Hanover, Oct. 31st, 1859. EASTERN TOUR.
By James White
BRO. SMITH : On our way to the Washington Conference we left the cars at Keene, where we were invited by Bro. Whitcomb to his home, and were cordially received. Sister W. unfortunately fell under the blighting influence of the accusing spirit of the "Messenger," which has seemed to separate her in spirit from the body for a few years. They hold fast to the Sabbath, and we hope they will find their way out of that miserable by-path, and come on with the people of God who are on their way to Mt. Zion. At the Washington, N. H. meeting there was a general turnout of the brethren from your native State. We will not take room to give the particulars of this meeting; but will say that it was the best we ever enjoyed in old Washington. The friends of present truth are still few in New Hampshire. And some in the State say they hardly dare put forth an effort to have the truth set before the people, lest the interest which might be got up be destroyed at a dash by some rash and injudicious movement of some who profess the Sabbath, who do not see the importance of moving cautiously and in union with the body. In recent articles we have spoken freely of evils which have cursed the cause in the East, which we will not repeat here. It is our solemn conviction that where the friends of present truth see these evils, and unitedly arise and put them away, then, and not till then, will it be of use to make similar efforts in New Hampshire to those being made in the West. It is proper to say that the brethren generally stand with the body, yet some have been slow to value the labors of cautious men, of real moral worth, and have put too high an estimate on the labors of those who are incautious, rash, and some who incorporate into their labors a large share of oddity, drollery, and fanaticism. The real friends of the cause in New Hampshire are precious and tried. And notwithstanding their penury compared with some western Sabbath-keepers, they raised at the Washington Conference $33,10, for Western missionaries. The Conferences in Vermont, at Roxbury and Berkshire, were decidedly the best we ever attended in the State. At both places we were happy to meet some who have recently embraced the message. Brethren Hutchins and Sperry were with us at Roxbury, and tarried after the Conference to hold more meetings in the large town-house. This house was well filled with attentive hearers on first-day. At Berkshire we met brethren Stone, Buck, Taylor, A. C. and D. T. Bourdeau, and our good Bro. Czechowski, besides quite a host of whole-hearted brethren from Northern Vermont, Canada, and some from other States. We spoke to them twice on the Sabbath, and four times on first-day. The brick meeting-house was filled on first-day, and much interest manifested by the citizens of the place. There is wealth in Northern Vermont which should be finding its way into the cause of Bible truth. And we are happy to say that symptoms are favorable. The Vermont brethren did nobly for the cause of missions. They sent one of their tents west, let their most experienced preachers go west, and are now sending means west to help the cause in its present embarrassments. It will be expected of the numerous friends west, that they will be moved by the liberality of eastern brethren, to contribute sufficiently to meet the wants of the cause in their own States, and extend the message to others. It may be difficult to raise much means at present in the west, but there is wealth in the ranks of Sabbath-keepers west, and vigorous efforts, and a little sacrifice will raise ready cash. We are happy to know that among our people there is no east nor west; but the cause is one everywhere. Eastern brethren now appear to take as much interest in the cause west, as in the cause at home. J. W. PHILOSOPHICAL NONSENSE.
By James H. Waggoner
A PAMPHLET has fallen into my hands on "the human soul" by A. Schuyler, of Republic, Ohio. It opens with a quotation from ARISTOTLE (good authority in such a cause) which says, "If to philosophise be wrong, we must philosophise to manifest the wrong." It is generally supposed that an author endorses the motto of his book; yet we gather from the book that Mr. Schuyler professes to be a Christian, or at least to be a believer of the doctrines of the Bible. The fact seems significant, when we consider the subject on which he writes, that he quotes from a heathen that it is right to do wrong to make the wrong manifest! Cain would stand acquitted on that principle. The quotation, however, is appropriate, and serves to abate our surprise that the writer makes the Bible a mere auxiliary to philosophy. In endeavoring to illustrate the velocity of thought he says: "Light, which has a velocity of one hundred and ninety-two thousand five hundred miles per second, in which time it would pass eight times round the earth, is slow when compared with thought. The merest of the fixed stars are so distant from the earth that it requires three years for light to travel the intervening space; and there are, in all probability, stars as remote that their light has not, since their creation, traversed the vast space that separates us; yet thought can reach them in no perceptible interval of time." This is an absurdity, whether philosophical or not. The terms fast and slow may be applied to light, but not to thought, as light travels, but thought does not. This is shown by the fact that light, in passing to a given point, strikes consecutively all intervening objects; while thought rests upon the point specified without any regard to distance, or to objects intervening. The velocity of light may be computed, and of course it strikes an object near sooner than one far off. But I can think of, or direct the thoughts of another to, the planet Jupiter, as soon as Ohio; yet of the distance of the former I have no conception. Neither words nor figures will convey any just idea of such a distance to my mind. If Mr. S. will take the trouble to make a circle on the blackboard, and experiment on it, he will find that he cannot think round it any faster than he can describe the circle with the motion of his hand. A descent from the regions of philosophical fancies to plain facts will convince him that light, which passes over every inch in regular order of succession, would illuminate many systems like that in which the earth moves while he was thinking across Ohio by sections! YES, if we are only ready for the coming of the Lord that will be enough. We heartily subscribe to the sentiment ; but we do not so heartily subscribe to the use that is sometimes made of it. Some would make it a pretext for putting a general quietus on the whole doctrine of the advent in whatever shape. If we are only ready that is enough; there is no use in agitating the question; it matters not whether the end comes in our day or a thousand years from now; it matters not whether we know anything about it or not; if we are only ready, that is enough. This conclusion is certainly true enough, that if we are ready for the great event, ready for the end of all things, ready for a safe transition from this dispensation into the next and everlasting one about to commence, that is sufficient. Yet we apprehend there is a great fallacy lurking in the above method of reasoning; and we fear that those who reason thus for the sake of quieting their consciences on the subject of the Lord's coming will find themselves not ready when the event takes place. Granting then the truth that if we are only ready for the coming of the Lord, that is sufficient, we inquire, What is it to be prepared for that coming? and is it not necessary to have some knowledge of the approach, and to be in expectation of the event, in order to be prepared to meet it? With this question in mind, we ask the reader to think upon all the warnings to watchfulness, and all the directions laid down for the instructions of the people of God, in view of this very event—the coming of the Son of man. Why all this, if a special preparation for that event is not a requisite qualification? We are aware that moral character must be the same in all ages in those who are candidates for the kingdom of heaven; and hence that the position of those who have lived in past ages, when the day of Christ was not at hand [2 Thess. ii, 2], and that of those who are commanded to be looking for him at every watch [Mark xiii, 35–38], must be similar in many particulars. But there is a difference in the course of a man who expects to remain long in a certain locality and that of a man who has his goods packed, his affairs settled, and his arrangements all made to move immediately to some distant land. We, brethren, occupy the position of the man about to move. To apply the figure, our goods must be packed, our affairs arranged, our connection with the world broken, and our accounts closed up, so that a final exit will leave nothing unsettled behind. This must be the position of those who are ready for the coming of the Lord. Plans and calculations are wholly incompatible with their position, which might be allowable if it was a fact that time would continue. To be ready for the coming of the Lord calls for a degree of action, of devotedness, and separation from the world, involved in no other position. This position we must occupy if we are ready for his appearing; but this position we shall not occupy, unless we are looking for the event, knowing that it draweth near. For any one to pursue the course of action which such a belief calls for, and yet not maintain the belief, would be anomalous indeed. We might as consistently look for a train of cars to move off without an engine. Therefore to be looking for the coming of the Lord is indispensable to a preparation for that event. And hence that theory which tells us that it is no matter about the doctrine, if we are ready for the event, is a syren song, which will lead all who heed it into false security. According to his long-standing promise, He who went away to prepare mansions for his people, is about to come to take them to himself. If we are ready all will be well; but let us consider what this involves, and not fail of our hope at last. A FEW HISTORICAL FACTS
By J. B. FRISBIE
On the Origin of the Doctrine of the Immortality of the Soul.
Zoroastre is the most ancient of any whom we have upon record of all the heathen nations that taught the immortality of the soul.—Prid's. Com., Vol. i, p. 205. Pausanias.—Chaldean and Indian magii have been the first who asserted the immortality of the soul.—Herodotus, p. 111. Thales, B. C., 640, said that water was the principle of all things, and that God is that intelligence, by whom all things are formed out of water.—Rollin Vol. ii, p. 560. Pythagoras, B. C. 564, it is generally agreed among the ancients, was the first of all the Greeks who taught it.—Prid's. Com., Vol. i, p. 205. He believed that God was a soul diffused into all the beings of nature, and from which human souls are derived. He disbelieved in the transmigration of souls. The souls of men and those of beasts are the same substance, particles of God himself; that souls come out of fire, as God is free.—Id., Vol. ii, p. 567. Socrates, B. C. 471, is styled the prince of philosophers. He is considered the founder of moral philosophy in Greece. He believed the soul to be immortal, and supposed himself a being separate from his body. Crito asked in what manner he wished to be buried: As you please, said Socrates, if you can lay hold of me, and I do not escape out of your hands. I can never persuade Crito, said he, that Socrates is he who converses with you—for he imagines that I am he who is going to see death in a little while. He confounds me with my carcass. If death were the final dissolution of being, the wicked would be great gainers by it. But as the soul is immortal it must receive eternal happiness or misery. But the good are received on high into a pure region which they inhabit where they live without their bodies through all eternity. The historian says that Socrates had a demon or familiar spirit that was with him through life. Plato, B. C. 428, taught one God the author of all things; that the soul is immortal (if good), united to God. After this life there is a reward for the good, and punishment for the wicked. He had also taken the transmigration of souls from Pythagoras, but given it a construction of his own. Souls are God. They go two ways after death; the wicked to the place of torment, the pure and innocent to the august assembly of the gods. Jews.—It is indeed known that the immortality of the soul was not known to the Jews, but by the commerce which they had with the Assyrians during the time of their captivity.—Herodotus, p. 111. Josephus.—You Greeks believe that the soul is created, and yet is made immortal by God, according to the doctrine of Plato.—Dissertation on Hades. The Essenes believed that souls were immortal, and continued forever, and that they came out of the most subtle air, and were united to their bodies as to prisons. . . . The Greeks seem to have followed the same notion, when they allotted the islands of the blessed to their brave men, whom they called heroes and demigods; and to the souls of the wicked, the region of the ungodly in hades, where their fables relate that certain persons are punished; which is built on the first supposition that the soul is immortal.—Josephus. The Pharisees believed that souls had an immortal vigor in them, and that under the earth there would be rewards or punishments according as they had lived virtuously or viciously in this life; that the latter were to be detained in an everlasting prison, but the former would have power to revive and live again. They say that all souls are incorruptible; that the souls of the good only are removed into other bodies, but that the souls of bad men are subject to eternal punishment.—Josephus. Origen.—What was worst of all, several tenets of a chimerical philosophy were imprudently incorporated into the Christian system. He was at the head of this speculative tribe. This great man enchanted by the charms of the Platonic philosophy, set it up as the text of all religion, and imagined that the reasons of each doctrine were to be found in that favorite philosophy, and their nature and extent to be determined by198 it. Its first promoters argued from that known doctrine of the Platonian school, which also was adopted by Origen and his disciples, that the divine nature was diffused through all human souls; or, in other words, that the faculties of reason from which the health and vigor of the mind proceed, were an emanation from God unto the human soul, and comprehended the principles and elements of all truth, human and divine.—Mosheim. Soul.—That vital, immaterial, active substance, or principle in man, whereby he perceives, remembers, reasons, and wills. It is rather to be described as to its operations, than to be defined as to its essence. Various, indeed, have been the opinions of philosophers concerning its substance. The Epicureans thought it a subtle air, composed of atoms, or primitive corpuscles. The Stoics maintained it was a flame, a portion of heavenly light. The Cartesians made thinking the essence of the soul. The rational soul is simple, uncompounded and immaterial, not composed of matter and form.—Buck's Theological Dictionary. Benson.—The soul is—"The Spiritual and immaterial part of you; this will still survive in all its vigor, while its tabernacle lies in ruins.—Methodist Commentary, Matt. x, 28. Wesley.—"For what is immaterial fire? The same as immaterial water or earth! Both the one and the other is absolute nonsense, a contradiction in terms. Either, therefore, we must affirm it to be material, or we deny its existence.—Sermons, Vol. ii, p. 150. Instruction for Children: Intended for the use of the Methodist Societies, No. 18. "How did God make man?" His body out of the dust; his soul out of NOTHING." p. 7. If God lives and dwells in your soul, then he makes it like himself." p. 14. "His sov'reign power our bodies made,
Our souls are his immortal breath,
And when his creatures sinned, he bled
To save us from eternal death.
Where are the dead?—In heaven or hell
Their disembodied spirits dwell;
Their perished forms, in bonds of clay,
Reserved until the judgment day.
[pp. 9 and 202, M. E. Hymn Book, Revised Edition. So Christ died to save God's immortal breath from eternal death. We will venture to affirm that the whole doctrine of the immortality of the soul is a delusive fable, vainly imagined, and the foundation of every spiritual delusion, heathenism, endless misery, purgatory, invocation of saints, Quakerism, Shakerism, Swedenborgianism, and the last deception of the Devil, Spiritualism. "THE CLERGY FREE."
By J. Clarke
When any remarkable or uncommon sight is to be displayed before a community, by magic actors, or tight rope walkers, a circus, or menagerie, or a musical, gymnastic, zoologic, dramatic, or panoramic show, they are generally advertised as being innocent, and frequently rather moral in their tendency, and wound up by, "The Clergy and their families free." I suppose that the agents of Satan well know, when they seek for such leading characters as the clergy, that they shall of course take the laity with them: the shepherd will draw the flock, and so the gratuity to the clergy, proves a profitable investment. But the idea suggested by the policy of these strolling actors, and show-men is this; that the professed church of Christ has fallen so low, that ministers and their people do very often, if not generally, patronize these institutions, to a greater or less extent. "The clergy free." What a comment upon the times, when the professed Shepherds of Christ's flock, are found following the wandering vanities of the world, and leading the way to such places as above described; where is congregated all that is vile and worthless; where scenes are enacted, which mantle the cheek of modesty with crimson shame; where the loud laugh, and wanton eye, and profane jest, and ribald song, pollute the innocent, and harden the guilty! To such scenes do many of the shepherds lead the way. "The Clergy Free." Is it not plain, that this proviso generally inserted in showbills, has good reason for being made? Would exhibitors be likely to bait for a class, which stood aloof from them as a body? But proof is not needed, observation will testify to the fact. Let those who doubt it, witness the defence made recently by a distinguished clergyman at the east, in favor of theatres, and dramatic performances, which defence was made in public, and in full. (I speak from memory, as the paper which gave a synopsis of the views of the reverend lecturer, and his name, is not now at hand.) Such a defence was made, by a clergyman, to an audience who were pleased with the argument. True it may be, the reverend doctor might object to a low puppet show, but the reason is obvious, to the candid observer. Are not these perilous times when the professed ministers of Jesus, are found thus seeking their own pleasure? I gladly admit there are honorable exceptions; but as a class, how many are free from this and other corruptions of the day? With what avidity they seek for the mammon of earth. Some people love better to speak evil of themselves, than not to speak at all. PERSECUTION BY PROTESTANTS.
By Edwin C. Stiles
Not long since, at the establishment where I was employed as a workman, I was called to witness the sufferings of a shop-mate who accidentally had his hand caught and mangled by the machinery. As nearly every hand in the shop gathered around him, some wringing their own hands at the sight, others running to bring water, cloths, &c., and others standing near with distorted faces, all making exclamations and gestures of sympathy; my mind was turned at once to the sufferings of the martyrs and the lambs of the flock of Jesus. The agonies and sufferings which they have endured, by millions, the Judgment can only reveal. As I beheld the sufferer who stood before us, I remarked to a Methodist deacon standing by, that if it should ever be my lot to be mangled in that way, my desire to God was, that it should be for his word, and the gospel of his dear Son. The remark which I made struck him like a thunder-clap; and he stared at me with an expression of astonishment which I will not attempt to describe, simply because my remark which I put forth under the impulse of the moment, betrayed the idea in my own mind, of not only the possibility, but of the entire probability, of such a state of enmity of mind obtaining in the hearts of the enlightened Protestant Christians of this country, against God's word and true Christianity, as to result in such persecutions as have obtained in the past. His argument was, there are too many Christians, men are too enlightened now to suffer it, &c.; but I pointed him to the fact that every persecution since the days of Christ had been carried on by the professed people of God; men who claimed the highest authority, and the highest standard of Christianity for themselves. But we find many ignorant professors of religion boasting confidently that Protestants never persecuted any one, Protestants were always the sufferers themselves, it is the Catholics, say they; the Catholics were always the only persecutors for religion's sake! To this false, yet often repeated assertion, is opposed the mass of historical records touching this matter. Orchard, in his history of the Foreign Baptists, says that from the restoration of Charles II, 1660, to the revolution in 1688, in a period of only twenty-eight years, eight thousand Baptists were destroyed, and seventy thousand suffered by prisons, fines, whipping, banishment, pillories, &c., and sixty millions of dollars were extorted from them in fines in Protestant England alone, because they would not conform to the established church! At this time the Conventicle act was passed, forbidding more than five persons to assemble for religious199 meetings outside of the State church, and for the first and second offences against this act, they were punished with fines; for the third, banishment, and if they returned, their sentence was, "Death without benefit of clergy." The "benefit" of such a clergy, in my esteem, would be exceedingly small. And this is not all, for other Protestant countries of Europe, Switzerland, Germany, &c., were all making havoc of this same class of people about the same time, and Zuinglians, Lutherans, Calvinists and Catholics were united in this work of destroying these non-conformists. Well may Mosheim lament that "so little distinction was made between the innocent and the guilty, when the sword of justice(?) was unsheathed against them," and Benedict, after speaking of the Munster affair, adds, "It is plain to be seen that other causes operated for the awful havoc of a people, who would neither fight for the government nor themselves." "In 1528 the number of martyrs was very great. Seventy are mentioned at one time, and for many years after the victims continued to increase. In 1529 three hundred and fifty were put to death in Altsey; they were confined in prison, and were literally dealt out to the executioners, like sheep to the slaughter, as fast as he could despatch them, till the magistrate at length inquired, What shall I do? the more I kill the more they increase." Balthazar Hubmer, a distinguished Baptist preacher, about this time published a book in which he complains of Zuinglius and his followers thus: "They have carried it so far as to imprison at one time, in a dark tower, twenty persons, consisting of men, women, widows and young girls; and to pass on them the following sentence: 'That they shall never see the light of the sun, nor of the moon, and shall finish their lives on bread and water. For this purpose they shall all of them remain in a dark tower, the living having to endure the noisome stench of the dead, till there be no more of them remaining.' In this condition," continues he, "some ate nothing for three days, that others might have something to eat;" and all this came upon them for receiving that which Jesus commanded believers to receive, viz., baptism. The Authorities of Aardenburg, Deventer, Berne, Zurich and Groeningen issued decrees against this people from 1601 and onward, which had for their aim and end to force them at all hazards, nolens volens, willing or unwilling, to be converted to the dominant party, attend their churches, to give up anabaptism, and adopt the infant system; and conform in all things to their faith and forms. The prison with bread and water, the lash, the stocks, various fines, and other light punishments, were provided for the first offence, banishment for the second, and death for the third. An inventory of all their property, personal and real, was required; no person was allowed to harbor, protect, or allow them to hold meetings on their estates, or in their houses; their children were deprived of being heirs at law, because unbaptized in infancy, and farther, it was decreed that no teacher should exercise any of the functions of the ministry, or administer any ordinance without license from civil authority. A refusal to engage in war, or take and administer oaths, was esteemed one of the great heresies of the times, and one edict closes with the following enactment: "We ordain that the exercise of all other religions but the Reformed is hereby prohibited." We find that under these edicts not only men, but women, in every stage of life, suffered extremely, and cases of female suffering, of which I subjoin one instance, were of frequent occurrence. Barbary Neff was driven from place to place, while in a condition which calls for all the kindness and assiduity of human friendship; and three days after her confinement, she was treacherously arrested, and conveyed four miles to prison, in the coldest season of the year. She died soon after her release. This was in 1648. "But the loss of all their earthly possessions was a light affair when compared with the vexatious, excruciating and interminable sufferings, to which they were everywhere exposed." Men, women and children were equally the victims of this Protestant intolerance. "They used the same prisons which the Catholics had formerly employed, and females in all the trying conditions peculiar to their sex, after being chased like criminals and outlaws, were doomed to long confinement in gloomy and filthy abodes, and were often loaded with chains, and made to suffer the tortures of the rack, as one of the means of grace in the process of their conversion to the religion of the Reformers." "Ample details," says the historian, "of these shocking transactions are before me; some of the sufferers who fled from the Swiss cantons, and settled in Germany, were still alive two centuries ago; and of some of the scenes described in this old book, the author was an eye witness; especially of that endured by the refugees, when seven hundred, old and young, were driven out of the department of Berne, in 1671." It is said the city of Zurich took the lead in these infamous measures, from first to last, seconded by other cities with their influence and authority, having the consent and approval of the Reformers, in their efforts to establish the reformed religion. At the commencement of the Reformation, Luther wrote and preached against war in all its forms, especially in a tract printed at Wittemberg, 1520; but he afterwards abandoned his position, and supported the claims of State authority, in these points. But the Baptists stood stiffly by the Bible principles which he had forsaken; as well in this as in other points of doctrine, which, as Mosheim says, was dearer to them than life and all its enjoyments, and from which neither the flames that were kindled to consume them, nor the ignominy of the gibbet, nor the terrors of the sword, could move them. Their opposition to bearing arms, and war in all its operations, was very decided. Whoever commanded them to the camp or field, they would not obey; whatever contingencies might arise, the weapons of death they would not wield. Their sentiments on this subject were well understood by all the world, and this made the warlike onsets of the Protestant Reformers on these weaponless Christians the more cruel, dastardly and contemptible. They had none of the modern consistency about wars of defense and aggression, but they put a solemn and perpetual veto on the whole system as incompatible with the spirit and principles of the gospel. I would not have any conclude from what I have here written, that I expect another such "tribulation as never was," either in this or any other country, prior to the advent of Jesus; but that a spirit of enmity will be developed against God's word and his children which would result in such a persecution if God would again suffer it, I have no doubt. But when the time of trouble comes such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time, every one shall be delivered whose names are written in the Book.