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1) 2 TH E PRACTJCAL CHH IST JAN,


them, hecau se th ey are spiritually discern ed."


1 Cor. 2: I I, 14, Henn e the Savior declared,


saying , Except )' e be converted a nd be­come


as little c hild re n, ye shall not enter into


the , kingdom of heav en ." Mett. 18: 2. And


P eter exhorted, sayinll-" Repent ye therefore,


ami becon verted, that your sins may be IJ10t­letl


ou t, when the times of refreshing shall


com e from the presence of the Lord.' Acts 4:


' ) 9. Also Paul-" Pm on the new man, which


afl er God [ i. e, the Spirit of God] is created in


righteon~ ness and tru e holiness." Erbes. 4:'


24. .. forbear j for the Scriptures everywhere


plainly i~ och the necessity of'rep entanco, faith


and holiness, which are perfected in manonly


hy th e Holy Spirit. ' '


Consistently with d, is Faith iii the Holy


OIIOSt, it will be I'er ceiv!! d that I cannot pray


to or worship' the lame in any manner which


impljes distil~ r; t personality from. nnd coe< juali­'


V wilh the Father. I worship the Holy Ghost


in the Father, hut not as distinguished fr~ m


, his person. Instead of prnying' In the Spirit, I


pmy to the Father through. the Son, for the


Sflirit- that it may be given unto myself and


others- that ils iufluence and communion may


he offonled- and that it~ assisiance' may he


vO\ lchsnfed, according to tbe multiform ne, ccs­sities


of poor human nature. And with th ",


Spirit in Illy heart to lead, guid e, ' d irec t, chas­ten


and comfort me, 1 rea Rze the presence of


the Falh er an, i the S~ n, ' whom thllt divin~


Light al'ways truly represellts. I tlepenll on


the operation of thi~ Spil'it- on its effectuul


wArkingS'- for my purification fl'om sin and


preparation to enJoy a hnppy irnmortlliity. I


dtll'entl npon it fOl' 011' those good lIud holy


feelings, principles anti sentiments, whereuy'


man \ s qualified, us an instrument, to enlight.


en lind reform his fellow mCII. Hut I depend


on itas the gilfofGllrl the ' Father, to whom I


ahvays IIltirriat ely looi, a's the one infinite


source of good.


May I, and lIlay yon, my friends, diligenlly


examine the fundamentals of on ~ professed


faith, with an humbhi willingness to receive


, and follow the truth withersoever it sh\ lll iead


us. \ Vorshippillg One Go, l, rev eah~ d in one


Lord Jesns Christ, lJyone Holy Sl'i;, it, lOlly


we ohedienlly yi~ ld. 2lJr. souls~ lo:" the~ di"' n.. _


tuition, che rish an uIHtying anxiety for holi­ness,


and thus throu gh the I; raee of onr hellv­e!


lly Father be made meet for the illh eritance


rif heaven . And let li S lJ~ ar ahout with u ~


continually this gr eat truth- that " without ho­lill


ess 110 man shall scc th e Lon!."


THE PRACTICAL CHRISTIAN.


ltlendon, December 15, 1810,


THE ' STANDARD,' NO N- RESISTANCE, & c .


Exlracl of a leller 10 Ihe EdiliJr, from Rr. J.


H . SaylOard.


Dear nr.:


Yesterday, for the first tim e, I


! aw your ' Standurd of Practic~ 1 Christianity.'


I think itultogether a remllrkable paper . The


moral courage tlmt couM il~ this apostate age,


erect and rlilly round su ch a standard, with the


firm determinalion to defend it al all hazards,


could proceed from no other source than that ,


which sustaincei the clespi sed Nazarene and


his ' chosen followers: in Palestine, thll niil'ac­ulously


converted pU11ii of Gamaliel, and all


, the other mariyrs totrutb and dUly thronghout


the world fur , the last eighteen centuries. It


richly merits you th e heartiest r esp ect and


comniendation of every f~ l ~ ower of the


Lamb, amI the sacred appellation of ' Primitive


Christian.' It tak es you from the sandy foulI­dation


of'men's foolish wisdom,' alld estab­lish


es you upon th c tru e ' folll1llation of th e


Prophets und Apostles, J esns Christ himself


being the chier corner stone.' Being nncom­monly


clear, it neells hut little int erpretation


to , make it fully un, ler stood. I have never


mct \ vith any thing ' nf th e kind in print, save


th e New T estament, whi ch so clearly allll con­cisely


defines the p\' llctical duty of Christians.


It meets definitely the wants of the pr esent


age. So far as it is now practicable it seems


admiralJly adapted ' to redeem Christianity


from the great injury it has every where sus-,


tained from worldly and heartless professors.


I can' heal'lily sympathize with you in every


thing it prescribes Rnd e n fo rce~' as d ~ llY or ob.


lig ati on, ex cepting th e following negations, to


witt: o:: T''' We can take no part in th e poli-tics


, th e admlnlstrarion , 01' th e de fence of th ese


governments, ( humnn gov ernments) eithe r hy


votin g at th eir poll!', hol, lillg th eir offices, nid ­ing


in th e exec ution of their legal vengean ce,


fighting under their bnnners, claiming theh;


protecti onagninst violence, or petitioniug their


legislatures to enact' law s." - , "' Ve caunot


emp loy ca rnal weapons, 01' any physical vio­lence


whatsoever, to compel moral ag ents to


d'o right, nor ' t~ pr event th eir doing wrong, not


eV, en, for the preservation of' our own lives." ­'


Vith the se e xceptions, 1 see nothing in yonr


Standard of Practical Christianity trnly ob­jectionable.


And perhaps had I paid !. lIe same


attention to these controverted points, that


you hav e, 1 should now agree , with you rhnt


th ey are pr acticable all/ I Christinu. It is 1101,


I th ink, th e want ofcapacity or ingenuousn ess


in men genernlly, to impartially and thorough­,


Iy inv estigate 1' 1Irticul1ll' snhJ ects, hut th e want


of cine att ention to those subjects, whi ch cnus ­es


so mu ch str ife and c(; llIention about th em.


And thi s want of proper utt ention 10 subjec ts


ofgr eat moment, on'[ the part of the multitude,


hest accounts for the fact, that a f~ w individu­als


dl'Og the, race through the' world ; ' and hest


Ho'ives that moral phenomenon of sOllie lIIillds


1, lCing, in relation to mony of the , highes t sllh­jects


of humou thought an, l iut ert! st, ," 0 orren


, and so fitr in aelvance of muny of th eir Ill' -


know~ edged sl~ periors, ill sc ience , philosophy,


and theological lor e.


I sincerely wish yon God- speed- hnt 1 filar


th e "\' ex ed quest'ions" aho~ e alluded to, will


prove formidahle s t u lII lJ l i n g- b l o c k ~ to many


who would otherwise desire to armnge them ­~


elv es tind er your Stnlltl lird. I could \ vish


you hae! lell yourself at Iiherty to suppress


them. I thiul, th ey are 1I0t prnclicahle. The


world is not preparcd for Ihem j men cllnnot


hear th elll 1I0W; - nor will th ey he uble 10 till


th ey ore recon cil ed to God. In th e for inalion


ami ( Iesign of hum, ou govel'llm ents I can clear­ly


trac e the liand of God. T hey seem to lIIe,


though often sadly perverted, to by among his


most efficient ag ents in civilizing, enlighten­ingand


christianizing th e world. I 11111 lillly


flersun, lticl the e: hurch of Christ shoulll in no


cas e he amalgamate, 1 with thelll j but I nm


ot - prepnred- lO- he! ieve - or teach, t4t ~ thiy


ollght to lJe alJandoned lJy the true followers


of the Prince of ord er and harmony- who of


all oth er~ ar e confessedly the best qual ified to ,


make them instrulllcnts of illcalcululJle impor­tunce


and efficiency in promoting th e recov­ery


and reformation of the mce. Unde r no


preten ce whatsoever shouhl Christillns volun ·


tllr ily engage in offllllsive war j hut that iu no


Ca.~ fl ar e th ey Justifiahle iii the sight of God in


defending th eir ju st lind inalienahle rights '


again st lawl ess aggression, I alii neilher pre- .


, pared to hclieve 01: tellch . Must we tell al(


potriols, stllteSn\ en, lawyer s, and all offic ers


allll soldi ers of the army anel navy, that th ey


are un christian to th e same degree, that th ey


ar e Iru e to th e supporl of th e laws and elefenee


ofthe govel'llm enl? How IIlnch less sin is it


, fol' thll sw orn servants uf Christ i to nllolV


themselves to be ploce'd und er the'irresponsihle


power an, l control of 1, leapots, than to asslJlne


and ex er cise themsllh'es irresponsilJle power


ov el: oth er men? And, rellllive to self. pres­ervalion,


while I a, lmit that J should nevel' he


" ! e nggressor, 1101' evel' ml6 physical force for


pr eserving life , wben any othel' means is 1I\' ail­ahle,


1 am nnahle to gllther from lIny of Ihe


tea chings of God, tll'at I shollid nev er destroy


life, if it be necessory to sllve my own, 01' olh­ers.


If I lIIay not sacljfice my own" life to


l\ lallllrlOIl or Bacc'hus', 01' with the I'lIzor, or


pistol, may I suffer it v l? lun~ arily, unresisting.


Iy to he taken by another? Is it not n form of


silicide? 1f in a Menngel'ie II lion and ser ·


pent br eak from the cage lind threllten th c de ­struction


of lIIany of my fellow lJeings present


lit the ex hibilion, would it he wrong in me to


kill them dead on the spot, and thus deprive


them ofthc power to do lIIischi ef? No j you


, will ans \ ver. Ca n it , he wrong then, w ~ r. n a


fellow heing pos sessed of rea son and co n ·


sci cnce, unci Will; a knowledge of duty, h~ eak! l


from the law of God, and at the peril of his


salvation, see ks tlte life of uno the I', to prevent


him by phy sical force from ex ecuting his pn r;


pos e ? , Yes j yon say . Why? Diclnot th e


lion and se rpenl act only according to their in- ,


stinct? 01111 did not the man know helt er ? ­Is


he not more t, rnly deserving of imprison.


ment or dealh? Is not the inurderer j us tly


responsibl e for th e conseque nces of instant


death to him s~ If, ' which he risks wh enin the


net of committing munler P S ha ll th e Muuinc


he suffered to run t hroug h th e stre ets and kill


hundred s of men, women lind children, he­cause


he can only he pr evented from so doin g


hy th e exe rc ise of physical for ce P An nhnn­don


ed . villain rings my door hell j ' Illy wife,


not knowing who call s, opens the door; he


imrnediatelv seizes her 01111 attempts her life,


or h,: r honor j s h~ struggles with vain desp er­'


ation to free herselff.: om his ' giao't gl'llSp, or


polluting embrace j she calls- on me, her SWOI'l1


protector, in the deepest accents of horror and


d ismay, 10 COIll ~ to her rescne! Must I re ­fuse,


or must I only emr.. at th e villuin, whose


heart is st eeled ' ag'a inst all moral forc e, to rlc­sist?


Wonltl it he wrOl~!!- nnju stiliahl e- un.


christian, in thi s case 10 shoot the ruffi an, or


rescue Illy wife, tholll-( h in doing so I must


tnk e his life? 0. · SlIppose , insreud of tnk ing


her life, he' should dl'RI-( her to his haunt of in­iqnity


an rl crime in A-. - st.- ane! suppose I


have no pow er 10 release her from this hell,


would it be wrong in me, in orrler to rescue '


her from thi s infinitely worse than death it­self,


to com lll~ n ,1 th e pow erfnlaid of tllll po.


lice? A Vimgo enterll my nursery and seiz es


an infill1t son, Ihat sh e may'exhihil him as her


own in mgs, shivering , vith cold, at th e Iloors


of rhe ridl, in or. rer to ~ lJ CUI'e th eil' houllly to


h er~ elf, 1II1c1 wh en sh e is sntioted int elllls to


throw my son illlo ' the Iloek, or ednellte him


in a brothel. If I cnnnot pr event hel' fl'OIn do­ing


ulIlhi~, but hy using I'hysicnl lorce- IIuIPt


I not do it? A rohher an, 1 munlerer e nte rs


Io'y hOllse Knd attempts 10 I'ifle it of its con­tenls-


to set it on lir e, anti mUl'/ ler mys elf,


wife alld ,: hil, lren- may I not liSP. the mealls


God Iins giv en me, flhysicnl fiH't~ e, curllal


weapons- the onl y mean s thul will nvui/, to


prevent hinl? Thcse ' lie 1I0t iWRginllry ca ·


ses, they a re omong t'he snel sc enes of relll


life. Please Ilnswer the ! lhove qu estionll. ­'


Vere it my object to srart ohjections to th e


exc eprionohle pl'inciples of YOllr Slnnllt. rd, 1


might go oli ad ir! fini/ unl, IJnt it is nOl j neith .


er clo 1 wish you to tllrn from your ch nSllll


course, hilt 10 get ihe len, lill g rensons of yunl'


choiee" !: p_ u. c~ irJ g. t h. E: s'L ! 1e ~_ l: ie ws. ufC hri 1tilln


duty rind ohli~ aiio n. I" amun ~ il iing to be­lieve


you act in this cnse Wilhoutn good reo­son


nnd suffi cient motive.' ' ViII you th en do


mIl the filVor to let II1ekllow how you rel'on­cil


e th ese " i ews with YOl t! · dnly a1111 ohli ga ­tions


as a hllslJal\( 1 nnd filther"": ns a mall pos­sessin!;


hUllllln pa!' siolls all/ I sur ro unde d by


fallen and tleprnved bein gs- as II citizen ofthis


COIII! lry, and w'ith yonr ocl, nll,~ ledged dilly


" to rescu e the ensnared, rer. lnim the wander­ing,


allll refiJi'm Ihe vicions'?"


1I'~' 1 motto is- obey Ihe commands oj God, al


all hazards, wbether expressed ill writtell lan­guage,


or by a mode of exislence, or an order of


seqll. ellce til nalul'e. Order is heuven'lI own


luw. Every man shall ~ e rewnnled necllrel.


ing 10 his deeds; is God's decl · ell. Selt~ pres­er


' vation seems an irresistuble law of Gotl


deeply implunted in th e IIl1tnre of, nnd invol­ulltarily


ex'erc ised by every ,, selltiellt hein g, ­In


his dealill gll wilh mell God se ts us an ex­ample


of th e use of jllst 111111 ren sollahle pun­isl;


menl. Such punishment is diseiplillary,


amenclulory, necessnry. God hus prumised


th e cOlltinullllce of lifll all/ I th e hles sillgs of


sulvlltion to 110 one without II due use of Ihll


meaus he has given fill' th e pr eservation of


the Olle, and the u'l: qliisition of Ihe other. ­\


Vhatever on e man should do or forb lllll', lIlust


he eqllnlly hinding on all / lien ill the slime cir­cumstances.


, The teXIs to wh ich ynll r Stnllllard refer s


for a " Ihus saith th e Lord," in proof of the


principles to which I ohj ecl, see n! not to he


comma nds of God binding on Christiolls ill a


nation profes~ edl,)! Christinn. Were all men


reconciled to God, such go vel'llmellls liS nOlv


exist, with th eir snfeguards to · life; liberty, vir­tue,


and the pursuits of huppiness, which we


now find so nec essary, might he dispen sed


with j still , 1 think, even th clI, there would he


need of exec utive and judicilll government. ­Without


sll ch gov ernment, a community of


trlle beli evers could not exist for a single


mOllth. There mu st he perfllct government


in heovell. But I must leave' the suhject.


, Yours truly,


J , H. ! AYWAR D.


Boston, Oct. 16, 1840.


RE P/. r ' 1' 0 THE F ORE llOING.


Deal' Br. :


1 have ginn th e co ntents of your


lett er th e most mature anti s~ rious considera­tions,


The very strong and emphatic com­ruendnrion


yon bestow on th e document enti­tled


" S rnndnl'lJ of Pracricnl C h.... stianity ," is n


trjhute I rejoice to se e paid to prim- iples, senti­ments


nnd obligations, whi ch hnve come


down from heaven for th e renovation of the


world, ~ Fo r th e coudous ed ex press ion ofthem


we claim no merit. To God IIl1d the Lamh


he all t~ e glory. \. T hat you should tuke excep­tions


to th is Standard in some importnnt par­ricutnrs


is hy 110 means un expected- c- siuce so


Tnr~ I I majority of the professing Chrisrlan


world cauuut rec eive such doctrines, But the'


euudor )' CHI evince is a presage to me that


when you hav e viewed th ese great questions


in ' a ll th eir usp ects, you will freely atlopt the


conclusio ns , to which t, hnrou gh inv esrigaticn


has lerl rue, I WIl S ouce tjuite ns unable as


yourself to embra ce th ese conc lusions. All


your obj ections were en couutered ngnln and


IIgain, hefore I could sllrmoullt them. Bnt


hlesse:' he the Gnd allll Futhllr of our Lortl


J eslls Christ, hi~ lrIitllllllll graee huve renderetl


me triump, hant ove~ all my dt1uhl~ rind diffi-'


clllties j iusomuch, Ihllt 1 clIlI ~ hnrclly, concllive


bow 1 shollid have rem ain ed for so 1~ lIg n


titlle U1iwl to what I now decm the cardinnl


dutie; ~ f Christianity.


1 judge from the manner in which yon


spe ak of th ese exce ptions 10 0111' Slnnellmi, that


yOIl regul'll them as f oreign excrescences to Ihe'


lio. ly of the . IOCIIIII Clll, hO\' ing 110 neces­sury


conllcclion wilh th e genel'lll lenol' of the


JlI · indples . se lllimellts 111111 oIJligl\ tioll8 th erein


fltl\ ted, lind mighl witlwllt illlpuiring its nllity


hll expllllged. I look on thelll in II very tlif­fer


cllt Iig- hl. T n rile they lire Ihe very key of


tlie IIrdl, whi ch ifreOllJ\' IlII, th e whole woultl


filii into c llllns . The oth er tillties express ed,


WI'IIlone or two ' lI1I1portant eX': llpt'wlls, I- a re JUt


itil epitome of what hllS IIlwll)' S heen h ~ lcl in


theory hy nOIlI'I)' all the world, cerlainly' hy the


gl'e: n IIII\ SS of l' rn fes> ling Ch ristians . And tho


' chief mastl/ I why so good n Ihcory ' las heen


subvertecl ill pru(~ tic e, is, th llt mell hav e heen


allowed to Ihink~ nrmt- v io ieIH~ e In cer':"


tain cases are consistellt , with pure holiness.-


, A filtlll poisoll hns been relaine, l in their code


oflllorals-' o:: T'physical viohll Ct .. IIl1d this IlIls


wrough t rOllenllesli a nd deuth wherever it has


been cherish etl.


l\ IIIIIY spcllk " ery gnarcl edly IIgainst offen­sive


war, and aggressive villl,: nc e, milking n


distinction between offensive anti defensive


war- alfgressio t 111111 defensive violenee; con­demning


the fill'fner alld justifying the latter.


And they do thi s as ifthllre were th ose ill the


worlt! who se riollsly jUfltifictl Ihe npposite. I


perceive that ynll stalld 011 thi s groulJIl. But


is this a tenllhl e positioll? Huv ll uot all greut


warriol'" alld sllItesmen, who hllve IInclertaken


tn justify th eir wars lJefilre tllC wodd, admit­tlld


that offensive wars wer e w rong ? And


hav e thllY uot ulwnys COli tended tlmt th eir il1­vllsiollSof


nllighborillg countr ies were jllstifia­';


ie, 011 tile gl'OlInd of , self - defell ce ? JVhen


war is Ileclllred by olle lIation IIgain!! 1 nnother,


tb e rellson assi;: lIed is, thutlhe oth er hilS com­mitted


cel'tain IIggressions, eithe r UpOIl the na­tional


hOllOI', or the uational property, which


Hlust lJe rep ellell. 5imilar prof essiollS are set


forth , lIn. 1 perhllps witb equal plausibility, on


th e oth el' side. The hostil e for ces meet on


th e / i'omiers ofrhll tlVO co', nll'i lls. Both , tle­c1ure,


th ey nre ill the right, alld nr e lit war only


in defence of Iheir rights: They fight II hattie,


lind one is ' partially victorious. \ Vhat next?


will it 110 let th e mattnr rest here, merely lJe­cause


the defeated party hllve retired heyond


th eil, own f.' ollti ers? N'o j tlley bave only reo


tir etl to recruit j they will rellll'l1 at the first fa­vomhle


momellt ; a! ld iftbey return they may ,


gain dangerous ad va utages; tl, er efore , it is a


wise forethought of flelf- d efen ce, to pre" ent


being: agnin Rttllcked. Henc e the \' ictorious


party march across the fi'ontiel', ullll follow lip


th eir su ccesses, before ' th e euemy can gnin


strengtlJ to retul'll and assail th em. In this I


WilY the fillllOUS conquerors of the world have


nlways bee n ahl e to show a nllcessity for crip­pling


nnrl suhj ugating other nation!', on the


ground of self: dcfence j i. e. in ' orde r to pre­vent


th eir own destmeti on, 01' lit least 80me


se r ious IletrillJ entapprelJended. There prolJa :


hi)' never was a war whi ch could not

Page 62 of Volume 1 from The Practical Christian 1840-1841

Ballou, Adin

1840