The Emancipators say to Christians of all denominations in the United States, in the words of an eloquent philanthropist, “Banish from your land the remains of slavery. Be consistent with your congressional declaration of rights. Remember, there never was, nor will be, a period when justice should not be done. Do what is just, and leave the event with God. Justice is the pillar that upholds the whole fabric of human society, and mercy is the genial ray which cheers and warms the habitations of men. The perfection of our social character consists in properly tempering the two with one another; in holding that middle course which admits of our being just without being rigid, and allows us to be generous without being unjust. May all the citizens of America be found in the performance of such social duties as will secure them peace and happiness in this world, and in the world to come life everlasting!”
Perfectionists.
A modern sect in New England, who believe that every individual action is either wholly sinful or wholly righteous, and that every being in the universe, at any given time, is either entirely holy or entirely wicked. Consequently, they unblushingly maintain that they themselves are free from sin. In support of this doctrine, they say that Christ dwells in and controls believers, and thus secures their perfect holiness; that the body of Christ, which is the church, is nourished and guided by the life and wisdom of its Head. Hence they condemn the greatest portion of the religion in the world named Christianity, as the work of Antichrist. “All the essential features of Judaism,” they say, “and of its successor, Popery, may be distinctly traced in nearly every form of Protestantism; and although we rejoice in the blessings which the reformation has given us, we regard it as rightly named the reformation, it being an improvement of Antichrist, not a restoration of Christianity.” This last opinion, which has some foundation in truth, has been long held, variously modified, in different parts of the Christian world.
An unsuccessful attempt was made to propagate the views of this sect through the medium of a paper published at New Haven, Conn., entitled the Perfectionist.
Methodists' Views Of Perfection.
“The highest perfection which man can attain, while the soul dwells in the body, does not exclude ignorance, and error, and a thousand other infirmities. Now, from wrong judgments, wrong words and actions will often necessarily flow; and in some cases, wrong affections, also, may spring from the same source. I may judge wrong of you; I may [pg 275] think more or less highly of you than I ought to think; and this mistake in my judgment may not only occasion something wrong in my behavior, but it may have a still deeper effect; it may occasion something wrong in my affection. From a wrong apprehension, I may love and esteem you either more or less than I ought. Nor can I be freed from a liableness to such a mistake while I remain in a corruptible body. A thousand infirmities, in consequence of this, will attend my spirit, till it returns to God, who gave it; and, in numberless instances, it comes short of doing the will of God, as Adam did in paradise. Hence the best of men may say from the heart,
“Every moment, Lord, I need
The merit of thy death,”
for innumerable violations of the Adamic, as well as the angelic law. It is well, therefore, for us, that we are not now under these, but under the law of love. “Love is [now] the fulfilling of the law,” which is given to fallen man. This is now, with respect to us, “the perfect law.” But even against this, through the present weakness of our understanding, we are continually liable to transgress. Therefore every man living needs the blood of atonement; or he could not stand before God.