WHEREAS, The boast of the Romish Church, that it never changes, is frequently illustrated in our boasted free America by Romish mobs against expositions and discussions of its teachings, schemes and practices emphasizes that “eternal vigilance is theh price of liberty;”
RESOLVED, That this Convention repasses the resolutions that it passed last year, as introduced by Rev. Dr. Porter, editor of The Western Recorder, and found on pages 93, 94 of last year’s Convention Minutes, which read thus:
“WHEREAS, The combination of church and state has resulted in relentless religious persecution and crimsoned the pages of the past with the blood of the saints; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That we, the representatives of two and a half millions of Baptists in Convention assembled, while reaffirming our age-long contention of the right of every man to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience, we deny the right of any man or organization to force the conclusions of conscience upon any man, woman or child.
RESOLVED, That we view with serious alarm and vigorous protest the efforts of the Roman Catholic hierarchy to gain control of our government, and thereby be in a position to fasten either its faith or fallacies upon the consciences of a free and sovereign people.”
RESOLVED, That we adopt the following:
WHEREAS, Since the Convention adopted the resolutions of Dr. Porter, at the instigation or under the influence of the Romish hierarchy, a bill has been introduced into Congress, which persistent effort is being made to enact into law, prohibiting the transportation by the United States mails of all “publications which are, or are represented to be, a reflection on any form of religious worship practiced or held by any citizen of the United States”;
WHEREAS, This and all such legislation saps the foundation of our precious and boasted American freedom of utterance, remanding us to the dark and persecuting age of the past, in the union of church and state, by making the United States government the executive of the Romish church against religious and civil liberty.
RESOLVED, That we hereby petition our representatives in both houses of Congress to keep on the watch against this and all such Romish schemes and legislation, to kill it whenever and in whatever way it shows itself on the floors of Congress; that we urge all friends of our American institutions, as individuals, to write their representatives in both houses of Congress to the same effect as these resolutions;
RESOLVED, Also, that we ask the Secretaries of this Convention to send a copy of this action to both houses of Congress and also to the President of the United States.