FROM

THE

MILLENNIAL HARBINGER.

NEW SERIES.

VOLUME III.-----NUMBER XII.

B E T H A N Y, VA. DECEMBER, 1839.

JAMESTOWN, OHIO, 15th October, 1839.      

      Brother Campbell--HAVE patience with me until I make this third communication.

      We have some honest-hearted well-meaning men amongst us, who are able to teach others also; who have found doctrines in the scriptures, or think they have found doctrines, which prohibit Christians from taking any part in politics. According to these doctrines a Christian must not hold any office in the political government, nor must he vote for any officer in said government.

      These men agree that Christians ought to be subject to "the powers that be;" that they ought to obey kings, magistrates, &c. But they divide obedience into active and passive, and then assume that the obedience required of Christians is passive. Or, to bring the subject before you in plain English, passive obedience means to suffer the penalty of disobedience--i. e. the Christian is commanded to muster or march in the army, he disobeys the command, but pays the fine imposed on him for disobedience. This is what is called passive obedience.

      Does any man, who is destitute of ism, believe for a moment that the obedience enjoined by Peter and Paul on all Christians, was of the above mentioned kind? Was it the obedience of disobedience that they enjoined on Christians, when they commanded them to obey kings, &c?

      But these men feel very strong, and are desirous to discuss this subject publicly. They think it of great importance, and are as much gratified when they make a proselyte, as if they had made a proselyte to the Christian religion. But the worst is not told: They think that this notion is a part and parcel of the gospel, and that it is essential to salvation. This doctrine, when carried out, makes salvation to depend on being separated from all political governments. They must neither vote nor be voted for, else they are not Christians. [575]

      Do you think there could be a new sect reared on this foundation? I verily believe there can, and think probably there will.

      This new doctrine is called the doctrine of "non-resistance," and is supposed to be fully taught in the Lord's Sermon on the Mount.

      May the Lord preserve the church from error of every kind!

            Affectionately yours,

M. WINANS.      

      Beloved brother Winans--THE doctrine of passive obedience, or non-resistance, as you define it to be understood by some, is certainly unscriptural, being neither taught in the Old nor New Testament; though the doctrine of private anger, spite, and revenue; of retaliation of evil for evil; and even of personal self-defence when persecuted for righteousness' sake, are strictly forbidden in both: see Lev. xix. 18. "Thou shalt not avenue, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people; but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Prov. xvi. 32. "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city." xx. 12. "Say not thou, I will render to the man according to his work." xxv. 21, 22. "If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him drink; for thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee." Matth. v. 30, 41, 44, 45. "I say unto you, that ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven." Acts vi. 59, 60. "And they stoned Stephen, calling upon the Lord, and saying,--Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." Rom. xii. 17, 19-21. "Recompense to no man evil for evil.--Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves; but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shall heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."--So much for passive obedience and non-resistance:--for doing good for evil; with the perfect accordance of both Testaments. And all this without any interference with our political duties; as the subjects of civil government. For he that said, "Resist not evil;" also said, (Matth. xxii. 21.,) "Render to Cesar the things that are Cesar's." And by his Apostles, Peter and Paul, he has given us the most solemn charges to honor kings, to obey magistrates, to be [576] ready to every good work. See Romans xiii. 1-7.; Titus iii. 1; 1 Pet. ii. 13-17. Wherefore there can be no inconsistency between the two lines of duty, so distinctly marked out in the above quotations. The former manifestly respecting our private personal duties to our fellow-creatures, so and so conducting themselves towards us, and our political duties in relation to civil society. In the mean time, however, our civil obligations do not bind us to do any thing that the Lord has forbid us to do. For while we are to render to Cesar the things that are Cesar's, we must also render to God the things that are God's.

            Respected brother, yours very affectionately,

THOMAS CAMPBELL.      

[The Millennial Harbinger (December 1839): 575-577.]

      Thomas Campbell's "Reply to M. Winans" was first published in The Millennial Harbinger, New Series, Vol. 3, No. 12, December 1839, immediately following M. Winan's letter to the editor, "Passive Obedience and Non-Resistance." The electronic version of the letter and reply has been produced from the College Press reprint (1976) of The Millennial Harbinger, ed. Alexander Campbell (Bethany, VA: A. Campbell, 1839), pp. 575-577.

      Pagination in the electronic version has been represented by placing the page number in brackets following the last complete word on the printed page. I have let stand variations and inconsistencies in the author's (or editor's) use of italics, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling in the essay. Emendations are as follows:

            Printed Text [ Electronic Text
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
 p. 576:    xxv. 21, 22.. [ xxv. 21, 22.
            if he thirsty, [ if he be thirsty,
            but whosover [ but whosoever
 

      Addenda and corrigenda are earnestly solicited.

Ernie Stefanik
Derry, PA

Created 13 March 1998.
Updated 9 July 2003.