Excerpt from A Plain and Popular Exposition of the Principles of Voluntaryism, in Opposition to the Misapprehensions of Those Who Have Imputed to Them an Infidel Tendency: Being an Humble Essay, to Mediate Between the Advocates and Antagonists of the Establishment Principle, and to Promote Generally the Catholic Unity of Evangelical Churches

The voluntary confidently appeals to the testimony of history and experience, since the world began, and enforces the argument from scripture, by setting before our eyes, in connection therewith. Innumerable evanrples of the miserable and melancholy degrada 'tion, corruption and spiritual ruin of all the churches, from the Apostolic age downwards, which have stood in confederation with the state, or, in any form and degree, have entered into covenantand communion with the world, and the powers of the world, thereby confounding the eternal and immutable distinction between the flange (hm are Christ's and the things that are Ca'sar'a. Shall the ministers of God accept the wages of their Heavenl Master's service from the ministers, the minions of mammon, an the very rankest votaries of the God of this world? Does the Voluntary verily unchristianize nations, and give to their rulers and legislators a dispensation from all moral and religio. As ties, in their public and official capacity, because he denounces such intercourse and traffic between the church and the world, that is between God and mammon, as unhallowcd, as unblessed-as what will not, and cannot come to good - as what must, sooner or later, draw down upon all who practice or countenance it, the righteous judgments of God? Among those who are most forward to condemn the voluntary doctrines, and most vehement and unsparing in their vituperation of their authors and abettors, there are not a few who do not hesitate to avow the opinion, that it is lawful and right to receive endowments from any state or government, whatever may be its character or creed, provided it will consent to grant to them these aids and endowments on their own terms. They shrink not from holding out their hands to receive their wages, in the service of God and of His Church, from the children of this world-the veriest votaries of mammon and why not then from mammon himself Does such a one presume to arraign a voluntary brother, saying brother let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye: when lo! A beam is in his own eye Can we suffer the avowal of such principles to pass uncensured uucondemned? Are they to be held as scriptural and orthodox, while the much maligned voluntary is loaded with the most odious charges or social infidelity, and anti-christian principle and practice The world is far too enlightened in our day to endure such a procedure - te tolerate such inconsistencymnot to say iniquity.

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