Memoir of Rev. Joseph Badger Part 17

At the General Convention already spoken of, there originated, in the merging of many local interests into general, and especially in the importance ascribed to questions touching the general weal, the idea so often alluded to in Mr. Badger's editorials, under the name of "General Measures." By consent of all, his paper was the representative of the general interest, in contradistinction to whatever was local; and to overcome local prejudices was one of his determined aims. Among the methods he adopted to unite the east and the west in the bonds of a stronger amity, was that of inducing young ministers of talent in the west to locate in New England, and men of influence in New England to take western fields of labor. "I wish," said Mr. B., in May, 1835, to the writer of this memoir, "to get all the ministers I can in the west to settle in the east, and all the eastern ministers I can to settle in the west. In this way I can conquer the local prejudices."

"Religion without bigotry, zeal without fanaticism, liberty without licentiousness," are the words that blaze on the flag of Mr. Badger's editorial s.h.i.+p, which, though usually accustomed to peaceful cruising, was by necessity, at times, a man-of-war. In exposing imposition, in opposing formidable ability if arrayed against what he regarded as vital in religion, Mr. B. was very decided; and none who had to contend with him much or long, ever looked with indifference on his power to achieve his ends. His weapons of war were various; if they were not always polished with the finest logic, they were such as did execution and brought success. Satire, humor, wit, not unfrequently lent their aid to his controversial labors; yet it is difficult, it is even impossible, to find a single article in which these abound, that does not, when divested of those qualities, possess a sufficiency of substantial argument to render his position a strong one.

In glancing over these pages, of 1834-5-6, it is evident that the subjects discussed are those in which the feelings of the writers were strongly engaged. Education for all men and education for ministers was very independently vindicated, though the idea of the competency of schools to impart all the qualifications needed by a minister of salvation, was justly and strongly denied; instead of an entire human reliance, the minister was advised to remember his dependence on the Holy Spirit, whose office to illuminate the human mind beyond the teachings of man, and to purify the human heart beyond the power of earthly guardians, has never yet ceased on earth. Mr. Badger's writings show him to be a decided friend of general education, of the cultivation which science and literature impart. They declare him to be an active friend of this culture for young ministers, for it has not only the advocacy of his words, but of his deeds also. In June, 1839, he aided the introduction of a resolution at the Conferential a.s.semblage, held at Rock Stream, Yates County, N. Y., which called for the appointment of a number of persons to investigate the practicability and the propriety of establis.h.i.+ng a literary inst.i.tution in the State of New York, in which the common and higher branches of science should be taught, for the intent, as explained by the speakers who discussed the question, that young men who were to devote their lives to the ministry might, unembarra.s.sed by the narrowness of a sectarian platform, secure to themselves the accomplishment of a good education; also, that the friend of liberal Christianity in the State and elsewhere might enjoy the same privilege. Beyond the benefit of the culture of science, he spoke cautiously, thinking it no benefit for a young man to learn and to drag after him through life, a dead, dogmatic system of theology. I remember to have heard him say on that occasion, "Let it not be thought that the end of this inst.i.tution is to teach theology. We will make _men_, and let G.o.d make ministers." These were his words. It is well known that the movement at that time made resulted in the establishment of the Starkey Seminary, which, embosomed in the elegant scenery of the Seneca Lake, continues still to be active and prosperous. At Union Mills, he took no common pains to give influence and character to the Academy, which, under his encouragement, and the encouragement of a few others, had opened in that place. In 1844, he became one of the trustees and a member of the visiting committee of the Meadville Theological School, which offices he held until his death. But, perhaps, in some other place in this memoir, we may state more fully his ideas of ministerial education. It was indeed characteristic of his taste, the republication, in 1833, of Mason on Self-knowledge, and Blair on the Grave, which he so generally introduced among young ministers. Instead of giving them a dry bone of theology to pick, he handed them a live book to read, and "to place, for a season at least, next to their Bibles," in esteem, which was founded on the old Grecian text, "KNOW THYSELF."

But reverting back to the pages of the Palladium, we find that Mr.

Badger, as editor, not only presided over, but took part, in a discussion on the subject of Divine or Spiritual Influence; a subject which, in those years, claimed attention from the somewhat successful agitation of Mr. A. Campbell's system of theology, in the west. Mr. C., from the commanding talents with which he advocated his positions, from the reputation he had gained as a controversialist,[52] and from the liberality of his new views in some respects and their originality in others, it happened that a large number of ministers and churches who belonged to the Christian denomination, in the west and south, together with a few minds so inclined in the Eastern and Middle States, began to look to Mr. Campbell as _the_ light of the age--as a new spiritual Moses sent to lead Israel through his wilderness. It is not uncommon, indeed, for the uneducated to magnify the powers, and to a.s.sign undue consequence to an originally endowed and educated mind, especially when such a mind is possessed of eloquence and boldness, qualities that always impress strongly the ma.s.s of mankind. Many churches in Kentucky, and some in other States, embraced his views; nor can it be questioned that Mr. Campbell presented many truths, and in an attractive dress, to the people of the west.

In this system it was premised that divine influence reaches man wholly through the intellectual powers; that conversion is wholly from the force of knowledge and motive offered to the understanding; that the Holy Spirit which once inspired the ancients, never in these years directly reaches man as once it did; that G.o.d only penetrates the sinner by the agency of the word recorded in the Old and New Testaments; that it is only through these ancient words that the Eternal Spirit works upon the world's darkness and degradation. To these ideas we may add two others, which are, that there is no divine call to the ministry; that in or through the act of water baptism, in the form of immersion, sins are remitted. Whilst Mr. Badger and his a.s.sociates agreed with Mr. C. in reverence for the Scriptures, in the free investigation of sacred themes, and in the rejection of human creeds as tests of fellows.h.i.+p, ideas in whose conception and utterance they were many years his seniors and predecessors in the field of theological reform, they took religious experience as their basis, affirmed the free present agency of the Holy Spirit in the world, man's free access to G.o.d, and the forgiveness of sins on the conditions of faith and repentance, previous to, and independent of, the outward baptismal rite. Without attempting to enter upon theological investigation, that being foreign to our purpose, we would say, that we seem to deny that G.o.d is a sun, we impair the force of his eternal rays, by obliging him to s.h.i.+ne forever upon the world exclusively through the atmosphere of ancient Palestine. The sun pours out each day afresh. So is G.o.d a sun, radiating for all men, not through the ancient word-medium exclusively, but through _many_ media. His _deeds_ certainly ought to be as expressive of his spirit as his words; and are not creation and providence full of his deeds? G.o.d governs the material universe not by ancient but by _present_ agency and action. Let this fact stand as the type of his manner of ruling and blessing in the universe of moral and intellectual being; for it renders no injustice to the past, since the condition of both nature and spirit in this nineteenth century holds its lawful and inviolable connection with all the past eras and epochs that either nature or spirit have known. What is religion worth if it opens no fresh and living communication with Heaven? Is there nothing but a _word_-ligament to unite the living soul with its living G.o.d? Is the Holy Spirit a retired agent, no longer mindful of his ancient offices? Are his abilities lost? Are there no fresh inspirations of holiness and truth?

Mr. Badger's remarks on the word-theory of Mr. Campbell are various; sometimes one or two paragraphs only, sometimes several columns are employed. Though these are not thrown into systematic argument, they were pointed and effective, and through them all, one idea is prominent, that religion of the inward life, that a true religious experience, are opposed to a system so intellectually speculative, and which tends to chill and discourage faith in a free access to G.o.d, and in his direct holy influences on the soul. This idea, based in experience, was his princ.i.p.al reliance.

In 1836, he preached a sermon on Rom. 8: 26: "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities," in which he set forth the idea, which frequently occurs in his writings, that human nature is too weak to resist error, to encounter temptation, and to bear life's sorrows from its own strength; that its imperfections demand an immediate spiritual aid, which he contended was promised in the system of Christianity, and realized by all who live by faith and walk in newness of life.

The gifted and egotistical young man, William Hunter, originally from Ireland, who became an eloquent orator and editor in behalf of those views, Mr. Badger disposes of very easily. He tells him, that if he should live twenty years longer and happen to read one of his prospectuses, he will see that his youthful swells run rather high, that these now "are enough to make an old man's head swim." And, when reminded by Mr. Hunter that old sailors should not complain of swells, and that unless he held fast to the rigging and looked aloft, he would fall overboard within one year, Mr. B. calmly inquires, "Oh, friend William! and will ye verily have us all overboard in one year? Then, indeed, and ye will have us all in the water--according to thy theory, friend William, that is a very safe element. Shall we not be in a fair way for heaven?" Mr. Hunter offers to show, on one page of the Palladium, from the Bible, that he believes in a spiritual religion, and that Mr. Badger believes in a spiritless one. The latter replies, that the work promised is weighty, and that his doubts concerning his astonis.h.i.+ng skill will be lessened if he will first exhibit some proof of spirituality on one of his own pages, before coming to take the mote from his neighbor.

The allusions of Mr. Campbell, in his "Millennial Harbinger," show that he was by no means indifferent to Mr. Badger's antagonism to his cause.

One allusion taken from his notes, December, 1837, on his eastern tour, in which he styles Mr. Badger the "redoubtable captain," will suffice.

He says:--

"Mr. Badger has been one of the leaders in this glorious struggle of walking by the Bible alone; but these brethren (and I could name others with them) are determined not merely to profess, but to walk in all the commandments and ordinances in the Bible. We intend, in the next volume, to pay some more attention to the great apostasy from the Bible alone, now commanded by the redoubtable captain, who sails sometimes under this flag, and sometimes under that.

However, the New England brethren are not ignorant of his devices, and are not likely to marshal long under his Palladium, inasmuch as he seems not to relish the simplicity nor authority of the Nazarenes."

The permanency and stability of Mr. Badger, questioned in this paragraph, all who know anything of him must concede to be conspicuous traits of his whole career in life. He was a man of no great and sudden changes. Perhaps a paragraph or so from his reply may serve to show his manner of dealing with a strong a.s.sailant.

"Mr. Campbell had succeeded in drawing away so many Christians in the west, that his expectation of success among the intelligent people of New York and New England was very great. But he toiled all night and caught nothing.

The enterprise was a failure; and his disappointment and chagrin were so great that since his return to the west, in speaking of eastern men and measures, he gives strong symptoms of insanity, and some of his articles abound in cruel, unworthy invectives and misrepresentations.

"But the most diverting thing, is to see his means of knowing, and his pretended knowledge of the state of things at the east. He spent but a few days in New England; yet he pretends to know the state of society, the manners and customs of the people throughout that wide extended portion of our continent. But what churches did he visit?

Astonis.h.i.+ng to tell! He spent a few days in Boston; a few hours at Salem and Lynn; and we have never heard of his making a moment's call on any other Christian church in New England. Yet he speaks in broad terms and says: 'The Christians in New England need only to be taught the way of the Lord more perfectly.' What does this foreigner, this man of the west know about the condition of the churches in Maine, New Hamps.h.i.+re, Vermont, and good old Connecticut, having never entered a chapel or cottage in either of those great States? But he continues: 'Much is wanting in _many places_ to bring them nigh to the platform of Apostolic usage and authority.' MANY PLACES! This sounds well from a stranger, such as himself. Why did he not teach our brethren the way of the Lord more perfectly? Why did he not bring them to the Apostolic platform? Why not push his inquiries further? Alas, alas! he had seen enough of New England sagacity; it was not the soil for the seed he had brought. Therefore, he turns upon his heel and leaves the good people of Lynn to manufacture their own shoes, and those of Salem to manage their own witches."

The following paragraph, which succeeds what I have inserted, was partially quoted by Bishop Purcell in the celebrated discussion between himself and Mr. Campbell on the Roman Catholic religion,[53] held at Cincinnati, January, 1837, which, with several other quotations from the same paper, goes to show that the Palladium, which he introduced as the organ of a numerous body of Christians, had not failed to impress the Catholic Church as being a work of strength in Protestant literature.

"He frequently speaks of 'the Bible alone;' but this is not a term generally used by the brethren in New England, and is taught by few except Mr. C. We never knew our brethren to boast of walking by the Bible alone. This we regard as an error, let who will proclaim it. We say give us the Bible, but not alone. Let us have a G.o.d, a Christ, a Holy Spirit, and a ministry to accompany it. There was a law given to the Jews; also, a testimony, which they were bound to observe. The testimony of the inspired prophets did not contradict the law, but taught and enforced the same great truths. The ancients were to walk by the _law_ and the testimony, which was called a _word_, (Isa. 8: 20). So the New Dispensation presents the written Word and the Spirit of G.o.d as the perfect law by which the saints are to be governed. Thus we preach the Spirit and the Word.

"We have frequently heard," continues Mr. B., "the followers of Mr. C. talk about carrying the Gospel in their pockets, meaning the Bible; but such are not like Christ's ministers, who have the 'treasure in earthen vessels.' The Gospel is the power of G.o.d unto salvation."

Referring to the charge of fluctuation he says:--

"Mr. C., we never belonged to the Presbyterians of Scotland; we never united with nor dissented from the Red Stone a.s.sociation of Baptists. But, dear sir, has not your whole life been one scene of reforms, deforms, and changes?

Just look at your equivocations on Calvinism and the Trinity; turn to your correspondence with Mr. Grew and all your opponents, and blush, while you talk about any man 'who sails sometimes under this flag, and sometimes under that.' This, sir, comes with a very bad grace from your honorable self."

It is not my wish to revive the pa.s.sions of past controversy, but the antagonism of Mr. Badger to certain features of the cause which Mr.

Campbell represented in the west was so conspicuous a part of his editorial life, that the chapter here opened could not well be completed without some allusions to and quotations from it. No one doubts that his paper influenced thousands not to embrace the system of his distinguished opponent.

In 1837 and 1838 he discussed the question at length, "THE CHURCH THE HIGHEST TRIBUNAL," making a distinction between _a_ church and _the_ church, denying that the former is the highest tribunal, and qualifiedly conceding this honor to the latter; that is to say, a particular church may be incompetent to act upon questions which the large a.s.semblage of ministers and particular churches might act upon with wisdom and safety.

These articles were indeed an able vindication of the doctrine of a.s.sociated action, of conferential organization; they called out a vast deal of discussion, and whatever may be thought of the justness of his position, none can deny that his articles produced a very strong impression on the public generally. The great danger of large a.s.sociative bodies is the usurpation of power over individual rights; but he claimed to protect the individual and to secure his rights through the a.s.sociative action for which he plead. Both sides were heard in this discussion.

The Catholic question, the subject of temperance, slavery, ministerial education, and historical sketches of the denomination, each had a share of attention. Dr. Channing's letter on the Catholic question, originally in the Western Messenger, was published in his columns, printed in small pamphlets and scattered over the country. Also his letter to Mr. Badger on the principles and wants of the Christian denomination, which, to a good extent, may be called a treatise on education, was called forth by Mr. Badger's direct request, and, excellent as it was as a whole, it received from him friendly and independent strictures on points wherein he regarded Dr. C. as being misinformed. The Palladium, in the hands of Joseph Badger, was an organ of power mightier than had ever been wielded in the same cause before, and altogether more so than the same paper has ever been since. We think the editor speaks truthfully in saying, "The secret of its success is its adaptation to the wants of the people. It now has a larger subscription than any two periodicals have or ever had in the Christian or Unitarian societies on the globe." It is almost unnecessary to add the most _practical_ evidence of its success, namely, that through the provident management of its editor, it was financially the source of a very respectable income. Let us hear what impression this paper made on the other side of the Atlantic. Rev. John R.

Beard,[54] of Manchester, England, under the date of June 1, 1838, wrote as follows:

"I have long desired to find a moment to address you a few lines. I feel a deep interest in the cause to which you and many other excellent men are devoted; and I do hope and trust that the great Head of the Church will abundantly bless your praiseworthy labors.

"In your alienation from creeds of human formation, you not only have a feeling in common with the Unitarians of England, but in my opinion have a.s.sumed a position at once eminently Scriptural and of great and pressing need in the actual state of the religious world. The New Testament Scriptures ought to be the only standard of faith and doctrine with followers of Christ; and aware of the fallibility which must attach to every mere human interpretation of Holy Writ, I feel that the great work is to command allegiance to the great Protestant principle of the sufficiency and paramount authority of the Bible, and particularly of the writings of the Evangelists and the Apostles. I cannot but look on your efforts and successes with high gratification, and in the chills of a colder moral atmosphere and the dissatisfactions of a necessarily less productive field, I sometimes half wish myself in the midst of you.

"While others contend," said Mr. B., "about the supervacaneous part of religion, we will encourage the enjoyment of its more exhilarating radiancy." "We are reformers; we must and will be reformers. We are determined never to be guilty of a cringing subserviency to the Man of Sin, nor to bow to any idol of superst.i.tion which frail men have imposed upon the Church of G.o.d. The Palladium will be _Doctrinal, Historical, and Practical_. Much attention will be bestowed on the culture of the youthful mind, and the improvement of young ministers and young writers."

These and similar pa.s.sages may be regarded as the landmarks of his editorial action; and through all his seven years' course, it will appear that the Palladium never lost sight of its cardinal idea as taken from the old apostolical discussion, "That Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living G.o.d." One proof of its decision and energy lies in the violence and depth of feeling that, in some instances, were awakened against it. "It is," said its editor, "the bane of the Catholic, the Campbellite, the disorganizer, and the proud sectarian; and it is generally known in the camp of the enemies of Christian liberty." When Mr. Badger made an a.s.sault, which he never did without believing he had good reason so to do, the party receiving it was at no loss to know _who_ it came from, _when_ it was received, and _what_ it signified. We like to see everything thorough after its kind; let a blow be a blow, let a smile be a smile.

On leaving the editorial chair, May 1, 1839, he returned to his newly purchased and agreeable residence at West Mendon village, now called Honeoye Falls, in Monroe County, N. Y., where he became, in 1840, the pastor of a prospering church which had recently been formed in that place. Six months before leaving the Palladium, he had announced the intention of being for a few years an evangelist. Speaking of himself in the third person, he said:

"His circuit will be princ.i.p.ally within the following limits: From Quebec on the north, to Georgia on the south; and from Maine on the east, to Arkansas and Missouri on the west. To be at liberty to travel and preach the Gospel again, as in the days of his youth, is the height of his ambition; and this is his desire above all things of Heaven."

In his farewell address, April 15, 1839, he says:

"'And so, without more circ.u.mstance at all, I hold it fit that we shake hands and part.'

"I now take up my pen to address you for the last time, as Editor of the Christian Palladium, with a feeling of strong attachment to each and all of you, and a fervent desire for your present and future happiness. We have travelled a long journey and encountered many difficulties together, and at length have arrived at that point where that sacred relation we have sustained to each other is to end, and our connection as editor and patron is to be severed forever."

In reviewing the past, he claims to have used no disguise, to have spoken plainly and independently on all subjects, though at times, he concedes, a little too severely with certain opponents, it being necessary to regulate controversy with reference to the opponent one has to combat, and to answer some persons by Solomon's celebrated rule.

These occasional severities he candidly regards as the greatest errors in all his editorial labors. He justifies the cool and unimpa.s.sioned tone of the Palladium during the high excitements of the abolition agitation, and expresses a willingness that his position and procedure on that subject should be put to the test, that on them he is willing to hazard his reputation, believing that the duties of the Palladium did not require it to enter the arena of the new political warfare.

"On Church Government and the powers of Conference, we have bestowed special attention, and occupied much room, and given our opponents a fair hearing. If we thought there was one single argument left unanswered on which disorganizers rely, we would now, on leaving the editorial chair, give it due consideration. We have opened this door wide; there has not been a single argument or statement of the opposition left out, which has been presented for publication. This discussion was called for, and has been of utility to the Christian society, as our Conferences have since put on new strength and the churches taken new courage. This poor worn-out slander which a few heated partisans have set on foot, that our Conferences have a.s.sumed improper authority and interfered with the domestic or internal affairs of the churches, is proved, by long experience and common observation, to be a fabrication of error, a false alarm sounded for party purposes. But our opponents on this question are vanquished; and though the struggle on this question has been long and arduous, we shall ever look upon our labors on this point with interest and satisfaction."

"We feel such a strong attachment to the great Christian family for whom we have so long provided our humble repast, that the task is truly painful to take leave. You have been our friends and the friends of a n.o.ble cause; you have sustained us and advanced truth. You have frequently prayed for our success, and your prayers have been heard, and now, though our relation in one respect is changed, yet we still will be one in spirit, and unitedly labor for the advancement of the same common cause, keep our eye on the mark and meet in glory. When our toils are done, when we lay low in the grave, then may the cause in which we have labored exert a universal influence; liberal truth spread throughout the world,--and the Palladium's humble banner wave in triumph over the crumbling ruins of sectarism and be the herald of Liberty, Union and Peace. Beloved patrons, Farewell!"

Thus ended seven years of severe editorial service, through which we discern the action of a shrewd, intelligent, energetic and active mind; all in all, the ablest and most efficient editor of whom the history of the Christian denomination may boast. He was, indeed, const.i.tutionally kind, yet on dishonesty and imposture, especially if they came under the sacred garb, he was boldly severe, this being his favorite, chosen motto on all such occasions:

"Strip the miscreants of the robes they stain, And drive them from the altars they profane."

One has only to look at the character of the same periodical from the time he left it until now, to be convinced that his place has never been supplied; that the same amount of concentrated interest has never, to this date, been awakened; and, when we reflect on the energy, the life and the hope its pages inspired in the communities whose sentiments it faithfully pleaded, we are strikingly reminded that on earth nothing is so valuable as a _man_, and that no cause is ever mighty except through decision, through force of character and force of expression, in setting forth the ideas and principles which may enlighten and save.

CHAPTER XVIII.

GENERAL VIEWS.

ON EDUCATION.--The first time I had the pleasure of a personal acquaintance with Mr. Badger, was in January, 1835, at Canton, N. Y.; and among the several topics on which he conversed during the few days we were together, was the subject of education. He then said:--

"Every human being should be educated. All young men who are seeking to be useful in public life should be educated.

But there are certain evils to be avoided in the means we pursue. Every human being, to improve in a natural way, requires a certain amount of physical exercise. To shut one's self up among books without walking and suitable activity is the certain road to weakness."

He said he had been trying to mature a plan of education for young ministers, of which he should speak at some future time. He said that ministers gain no power by becoming dry scholars; that they should be _living, natural_ men, to be profited by science and literature. I noticed, in all subsequent interviews, that he never seemed to want scientific culture, at the expense of naturalness, spirituality, and sound health. It was Horace Mann, I think, who more recently said, that a dyspeptic stomach is an abomination to the Lord. Mr. Badger substantially stood upon this text, in his educational views, many years ago.