ARP Synod of the South On Slavery

[Backwoods Presbyterian]

"At the time of the separation [1822], the Associate Reformed people of the South were by no means advocates of the institution of slavery. In fact, a very large number of them were decidedly opposed to it...Mr. Hemphill, the mover of the resolution [to form the ARP Synod of the South], and nearly all the people of his charge, were in 1822, far from being advocates of slavery. Mr. Hemphill lived and died opposed to slavery, and not a single one of the fathers of the ARP Synod of the South were advocates of the institution."

-- Rev. Robert Lathan "History of the ARP Synod of the South" (1882) pg. 326

"About the year 1828, some politicians in South Carolina came to the conclusion that slavery could be perpetuated only by keeping the slaves in ignorance. To effect this, it was purposed to petition the Legislature of the State to pass a law prohibiting the instruction of slaves. To prevent the enactment of such a law, the following, submitted Rev. John T. Pressley and Rev. John Hemphill was unanimously adopted by the Synod in 1828:

WHEREAS, It is understood that petitions will be presented to the honorable Legislature of South Carolina, at its approaching meeting, praying the enactment of a law to prohibit the instruction of slaves to read; therefore,

Resolved 1. That in the judgment of this Synod, such a law would be a serious infringement of their rights of conscience.

2. That the members of this Synod use active exertions to forward memorials to the honorable Legislature, remonstrating respectfully, yet firmly, against the passage of any such law."

-- Rev. Robert Lathan, "The History of the Associate Reformed Synod of the South" pg. 361

 

[NaphtaliPress]

Unrelated except for the denomination. The 1874 edition of the standards of the ARP Synod of the South is one of the few editions I don't have a copy of. Apparently rare. I would like to find an original to work with if I ever get back to my work on the traditional text of the WCF and Catechisms (which includes the American editions of the various denominations).
ARP Synod of the South, "The Constitution and Standards of the Associate Reformed Church in North America" (Philadelphia: W. S. Young, 1874).

 

[PuritanCovenanter]

Thanks Ben,

I am Southern at heart but hate the institution of Slavery. I find it amazing that only 13 % of the men in the South actually owned Slaves and that it was as big of a problem as it was. Money Talks.

 

[PreservedKillick]

"At the time of the separation [1822], the Associate Reformed people of the South were by no means advocates of the institution of slavery. In fact, a very large number of them were decidedly opposed to it...Mr. Hemphill, the mover of the resolution [to form the ARP Synod of the South], and nearly all the people of his charge, were in 1822, far from being advocates of slavery. Mr. Hemphill lived and died opposed to slavery, and not a single one of the fathers of the ARP Synod of the South were advocates of the institution."

-- Rev. Robert Lathan "History of the ARP Synod of the South" (1882) pg. 326

"About the year 1828, some politicians in South Carolina came to the conclusion that slavery could be perpetuated only by keeping the slaves in ignorance. To effect this, it was purposed to petition the Legislature of the State to pass a law prohibiting the instruction of slaves. To prevent the enactment of such a law, the following, submitted Rev. John T. Pressley and Rev. John Hemphill was unanimously adopted by the Synod in 1828:

WHEREAS, It is understood that petitions will be presented to the honorable Legislature of South Carolina, at its approaching meeting, praying the enactment of a law to prohibit the instruction of slaves to read; therefore,

Resolved 1. That in the judgment of this Synod, such a law would be a serious infringement of their rights of conscience.

2. That the members of this Synod use active exertions to forward memorials to the honorable Legislature, remonstrating respectfully, yet firmly, against the passage of any such law."

-- Rev. Robert Lathan, "The History of the Associate Reformed Synod of the South" pg. 361

Thank you for posting these. I'd be interested where to look to see other antislavery statements from orthodox, Reformed churches before the Civil War. I remember being deeply frustrated in a course I took on American intellectual history, in which the professor (a liberal Protestant) argued, surprise, surprise, that the only way a Christian could argue against chattel slavery as practiced in the Atlantic world was to become theologically liberal.

 

[Marrow Man]

Considering the ways in which the ARP and the Southern Presbyterians sort of ran parallel to one another through much of their history in this country, I would be interested to see why there were differences on this issue between the two denominations.

 

[Backwoods Presbyterian]

Here is a video that speaks of a RPCNA minister's work against slavery.

[video=youtube;H5H9Ly8g6dk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5H9Ly8g6dk&list=UU_G-vdsWXIthQJhyJo1q_TA&index=29[/video]

The Covenanters (RPCNA, today) and the Associates/Seceders (ARP) were unique among Presbyterians in that they took an institutional/denominational stand against the practice, and in the case of the ARP even sent Synod-level memorials to the civil magistrate.

 

[Wayne]

Matt

Scroll down to Alexander McLeod's Memoir, here: PCA Historical Center: E-Books. See esp. Chapter 4.

And/or read his most famous work: http://www.pcahistory.org/findingaids/rpcgs/McLeod-Slavery.pdf

(Basically that's all further detail to Ben's linked video)

 

[ChristianTrader]

Gay debate mirrors church split on slavery | National Catholic Reporter

And here is a link to info about a debate that took place in the 1840s between Presbyterian Ministers on the issue of slavery

Presbyterians and The Civil War: Theological Aspects