WRITINGS, MARRIAGE, TRAVELS.
A discourse on the Atonement, written the early part of 1821, vindicates
the paternity of God, in the equal generosity of his provisions for the
salvation of all men who will obey the truth. It is indeed a strong
vindication, one that sifts the premises of Calvinism most thoroughly;
and though changes that have since been wrought in the public mind
render the present value of such arguments and discussions far less than
their worth at the period of their formation, they are still valuable as
evidences of the former states of theological thinking and of the force
and clearness of mind with which the author treated the subject. His
discourse is entitled "The Way of Salvation, or, The Nature and Effects
of Atonement." He shows in the expressive motto of the first leaf, that
he centres all in Christ: "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the
sin of the world;" the sermon is founded on Romans 5:18: "Therefore, as
by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even
so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto
justification of life."
In the treatment of this topic, Mr. Badger has but two simple divisions;
the first is the offence and condemnation, the second treats of the free
gift and its design. After alluding to Calvinism and to Universalism as
having the same roots, and differing only in respect to _the number_
embraced in the arbitrarily elective plan, he announces the truth as
being free from these extremes, and as leading the mind of the hearer
along the healing stream of God's benevolence as it widening flows
through all nations and climes.
In referring to the primeval state, he suggests that we are a distant
posterity; that we may not presume to know all that belonged to the
early Eden and to man's primitive condition. He asks the question--What
is sin? What is its origin? What are its effects? He says, that the
definition given by St. John 3: 4, is the most definite that the whole
Scripture yields, that, in 1 John 5: 17, there is a good general view of
it in the statement that all unrighteousness is sin, and in James 4: 17,
the same view is confirmed in the affirmation, that "To him that knoweth
to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin."
"The first sin of every man," says Mr. Badger, "is the
doing of wrong when he knows what is right. There must be a
knowledge of wrong; there must be a law in the mind of the
actor to render his action sin. Admitting this scriptural
view, how can we consider infants, and children unborn, to
be sinners? Are they acquainted with God's will? Do they
know his law? We often hear people tell of the 'sins of our
nature,' and of being 'sinners by nature,' and of the 'sins
we bring into the world with us;' but such sins are unknown
to the Scriptures, are unnamed in the word of God, and the
idea was invented in the wilderness ages of Christianity."
"Some, in speculating on the Garden of Eden, have so
spiritualized the transaction as to please their own
fancy; others have taken the garden, trees, and fruit in
the most literal sense, and thereby have plunged themselves
into darkness and difficulty. It is said that 'God planted
a garden eastward,' but, as none are informed of its
locality, its latitude and longitude on the globe, it is
impossible for those who take it in a literal sense to add
any discoveries to the scripture statements. It is evident
that the sin of our first parents consisted in their doing
a forbidden act, which was disloyalty to the true King. All
that I will venture to say is this, that 'God hath made man
upright; but they have sought out many inventions.'"
"In regard to the question, who is the author of sin, I
answer, the _actor_ is its author. Temptation is not sin.
Sin consists in submitting to the influence of tempting
objects. If, in the story of the garden, there are three
distinct sentences of condemnation pronounced, there were
also three distinct sinful actors. Sin originates in each
lustful mind. Some say, Is not God the author of all
things? did he not make all creatures? Yes. But sin is
neither a thing nor a creature. It is the act of a creature
who is enlightened and free. Many, failing to make God the
author of their sins, labor to prove that the devil
originates them, and thus lay to him that of which he is
not guilty, and that which they had better take to
themselves."
On the second division of the subject, he dwells on Christ as the great
mediatorial centre of light and mercy, where God will meet all mankind
in their striving to realize the salvation of their souls. By pleading
the eternal life revealed in Christ as a free gift, and by urging
mankind to use their personal freedom in improving the new advantages,
he presents a practical At-one-ment--a real harmony of man with God,
without adopting the arbitrary notions of grace prevailing in the then
common theology, and without implying a pacification of "the infinite
wrath" of God to men, a sentiment which, in a world that could _realize_
the import of words so carelessly employed in theory, would be regarded
as the utmost profanation, as the last step in the descending grades of
religious irreverence and unbelief.
"The heathen," says Mr. B., "who has never heard the
Gospel's joyful sound, is not without hope, as the gentle
rays of the Holy Spirit have influenced his mind to
reverence the Great Spirit, as Christ is 'a light that
lighteth every man that cometh into the world.' He may
arise from his darkness and misery to some bright mansion
in the New Jerusalem, while high-minded professors and
superstitious Jews may find their hopes to be those of the
hypocrite. Under these views, the partial atonement appears
in feeble colors, and the universal love of God to men
shines conspicuously from the holy scripture and from
reason."
Under date of February 22, 1821, at Mendon, N. Y., Mr. Badger informs
the readers of the Christian Herald, that he has just returned from
Genesee and Alleghany counties; that in Covington a successful
reformation had begun; that in Perry, Warsaw, Gainesville, Orangeville
and Pike, he found the people attentive; that "the star which rose in
the east shines in the west with unfading lustre." He speaks of the glad
news of revivals that had reached him from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Canada,
and different sections of the State of New York. "My health," he adds,
"has been poor the month past, which has located my labors some; before
that, for six months, I had as many meetings as there were days. O, how
delightful the thought of meeting all the _elect_ around the Father's
throne in glory, where, from every nation and sect, all will join in one
harmonious song!"
March 12, 1821, he speaks of preaching twice at Perry, to large and
solemn assemblies, among whom he thinks the power of the Highest was
spiritually manifest; of meeting the aged parents of Rev. W. True, who
were happy in the hopes of immortal life. At Middlebury, he says that he
found the attention great to "hear the word;" that at the Academy his
assemblies were large; that, one evening, by request, he preached on the
character of Christ, taking Isaiah 9: 6, for his text.
"One Presbyterian and several Baptist clergymen were
present. I first spoke on the origin, nature, character,
titles and dignity of Christ, in which I endeavored to
prove him divine, and an object of worship. 2. I noticed
the origin, nature, effects and supports of the doctrine of
the Trinity, in which I gave the reasons why I dissented
from that doctrine. I endeavored to show that my faith gave
me a divine Saviour, and that Trinitarianism is obliged to
rely on a human sacrifice."
"I am sensible," said he, "that my visit will be remembered by the
_shrine_-maker's," for which he assigns as a reason that in the partisan
zeal of his opponents, there were many who seemed ready to exclaim,
"Great is Diana!" He speaks of Mr. W. True, then pastor of the society
at Covington, as being both "a son of thunder and of consolation;" as an
exemplary instance of self-sacrifice and of fidelity to the truth. As
Mr. B. did not sail under doctrinal idolatries, he says, at the
conclusion of his address, "Love is the badge of the Christian and the
tenet of Heaven; may holiness be our motto forever."
Let us return, after this absence, to the social relations of Mr.
Badger. We had seen his family dispersed, his home broken up by death in
the early part of 1820. We have traced him in his subsequent travels, in
his various public labors since that time, and found that amidst the
sorrow and loneliness that enshrouded his spirit, his former home in
Ontario County, the friends that there clustered about him as their
religious teacher, formed the central attraction to which he turned with
the deep and permanent feelings of home. The class of persons Mr. B. had
there attached to himself, were the intelligent, the responsible and
influential, which, added to the happy associations that still lingered
in the bower of memory, and the presence there of the only remaining
relic of his family, it is natural, it is reasonable, that this region
of the State, to which he seems to have been providentially sent, should
have attracted him more than any other place. A new period now arrives
in his life. Not merely from a sense of duty to himself or daughter,
but, if one may rightly judge from the sincere embodiment of the heart
in a multitude of letters, written under various circumstances and at
different times, in after life, from sincere, earnest and abiding
affection, did he now form the marriage alliance which continued until
his death, and which placed him at the head of a talented and moderately
numerous family. March 21st, 1821, he was married to Miss Eliza Maria
Sterling, a talented, respectable young woman of Lima, New York,
daughter of Samuel Sterling, Esq., who was one of the early pioneers,
and an honored citizen of that town. Again the star of his earthly
destiny seemed to emerge from clouds, and to shine with promise on
future years. Her parents were members of the society of which Mr.
Badger was pastor, were acquainted with him from and before his
settlement in the town of Mendon, and frequently had he been a guest in
the family of Mr. Sterling. With new and respectable relations, with a
companion whom he deeply and abidingly loved--one that frankly and
wisely expressed the sentiments and opinions that became the responsible
relation she had assumed; with his little daughter, Lydia Elizabeth,
whom he now took from her boarding-house to his new home, Mr. Badger
again felt that life to him was verdant in the promises of peace and
happiness. Immediately is he at the head of a new and an independent
home, where his cheerful and genial nature made the light of happiness
to shine about him. From the particular cast of mind possessed by Mrs.
B., in which the faculty of judgment, of clear-sightedness on matters of
practical moment, was decidedly prominent, she became in a degree his
counsellor in all the great and important enterprises of his life.
In the duties of his pastoral and his new social relations, the months
of April, May, June and July passed away. Among his correspondence of
1818, 1819 and 1820, there are several requests from old acquaintances
and friends in the Province of Canada, for him again to visit the region
of his former labors. August 7th, 1821, he started on such a tour,
taking passage in the steamboat at the mouth of the Genesee river for
Ogdensburg. Leaving the river at 4 P.M., the vessel soon disappeared
from the sight of land, but, through the violence of wind and storm, it
was driven back sixty miles into the port of Oswego.
"On this occasion," said Mr. Badger, "I had the pleasure of
seeing some profane wretches, who were blasphemers in the
calm, cease their profanity, and grow solemn in the midst
of danger. We arrived at Oswego just at daylight, where we
spent the day. I visited several places, talked with many
about salvation, and had a good time in solitude and
prayer. We left there 12 o'clock at night, and, in seven
hours, arrived at Sackett's Harbor; here I had an agreeable
interview on shore with Judge Fields, who gave me an
account of a glorious reformation in that village, in which
a large number had found the Saviour to be precious; he
said they were well engaged and united. The converts had,
many of them, joined the Methodists and Presbyterians, and
some of them remained simply Christians. The judge seemed
to take a great interest in the work, which he said was
still increasing.
"The 10th inst. we arrived at Ogdensburg. I made several
visits on shore, and found it a wicked place; as St. Paul
said of Athens, 'the whole city was given to idolatry.' The
11th, lodged at a place called the Cedars, on the St.
Lawrence, a French village, and a people of strange
language. The 12th, we spent the Sabbath on a small island
in Lake St. Clair, but, at evening, we reached a small
village at the mouth of the Shatagee River, which of the
most wretched places I ever saw. A gentleman told me that
the inhabitants were part of them French, a part Indian,
and a part Devil. I had reason to believe it. Early in the
morning I visited the Indian town, Cogh-ne-wa-ga, and found
some of them willing to hear of the crucified Jesus. I have
just arrived in this pleasant town, Montreal, but shall
leave it soon for the townships east, as I intend to visit
my father's house, which I have not seen for five years. A
gentleman from England has just informed me that he has
discovered a general belief among all sects in England, for
ten years past, that God is about to work an overture in
Christendom, for the union of all sects of Christians.
Happy is every person who possesses that spirit."
The English gentleman here alluded to was probably Commodore Woolsey,
who had been his company from Sackett's Harbor to Ogdensburg, of whom in
another letter, he says:--
"One afternoon, after a long discussion on different
religious societies, and on pure religion, the Commodore,
apparently with a feeling heart, observed, 'Sir, I am
sensible that our variety of belief and forms of worship
are principally owing to our education; but pure religion
is one thing wherever you find it; it is the work of God in
the heart, a principle of godliness implanted within.'"
In a very easy and happy manner, Mr. Badger, in travelling, won the
attention of strangers, and drew out a free expression of thought from
the best minds; and this sentiment--that pure religion is substantially
one thing over all the earth, was one which met the deepest response in
the entire life and philosophy of the subject of this memoir.
September 12, 1821, from Compton, L. C, in the district of the Three
Rivers, he writes that from Montreal he took passage for Sevel, a French
village, at the head of Lake St. Peter's; that from thence he made his
way to the Indian village on St. Francisway River, where, eight years
before, he had formed some acquaintance with their chief, through whose
influence he now hoped for an opportunity to preach to those
unsophisticated sons of the forest, children of wild and beautiful
traditions, soul-taught worshippers of the Great Spirit. The absence of
the chief at court frustrated his plan.
"I found the village in a flourishing situation; a large
meeting-house was being built; an English school had
already been established, and the natives were fast
improving in the arts and sciences. Capt. St. Francisway is
an interpreter of several nations, and can speak in eight
languages."
On foot, Mr. B. continued his journey up the river through a wretched
country, until he arrived at a settlement formed by the remnant of an
old British army, to whom the government had given lands. Mr. B.
considered them in nearly a state of starvation, and after almost
exhausting himself with hunger and fatigue, he sat in lonely meditation
beneath a sturdy pine, reflecting on the divine goodness and the dangers
he had tempted in this new wilderness way.
"In the evening I arrived at the cottage of an old soldier.
They had neither meat, bread, nor milk to set before me. I
obtained permission to sleep on the floor, but I had some
reason to suspect that they were thieves and robbers; and I
thought that the surest way, and finally the only way for
my safety, was to preach salvation to them. Accordingly I
gave them a long discourse, which was so far attended by
the power of God as to enable me to make friends in this
instance of the mammon of unrighteousness. I was glad to
see the morning light, and walked eight miles before I
could get my breakfast."
He visited his father's residence in Compton, stayed some weeks, gave
three funeral sermons in that town, visited the old parishes where he
had formerly preached, wept at the grave of many a fallen friend, heard
the prayerful voice of repenting sinners, and the rejoicing songs of
converted ones.
After completing his visit in the king's dominion, Mr. Badger, about the
middle of September, started for home, proceeding through the State of
Vermont over the Green Mountains to Ballston and Saratoga; thence, after
a visit at Amsterdam, where he informs us several hundred had entered
into the enjoyment of the religious life during the past year, he
advanced up the Mohawk to Utica; and spending the Sabbath at
Westmoreland, with Rev. J. S. Thompson, and attending appointments on
the way at Brutus, Camillus, Auburn and Geneva, he arrived at home
October 5, which completed a journey of 1200 miles, "in which time,"
said he, "I have witnessed the most stupendous displays of God's mercy
and salvation." At the city of Rochester, he attended several meetings
before the commencement of the next year, where he gained the attention
of the people.
The year preceding 1821, Mr. Badger became a member of the fraternity of
Masons, an institution which he always prized for its wisdom, morality
and benevolence, and one in which he made superior advancement.[33] Not
given to ultra rashness, he did not extol the institution beyond its
evident merits when glory and influence were on its side, nor did the
temporary storm that assailed it draw from him violent resistance, or
concessions that could be construed into disesteem for the great
designs, general rules and customs of Masonry. He not unfrequently gave
public addresses to the Masonic community in his own State, occasionally
assisted in the ceremonies of initiation and of progress in the Order,
and in other States of the Union he sometimes gave addresses.
Traces of writings are left, from 1821, that embody an effort to
systematize the facts of history, and to retain what struck him as most
important,--history relating to Egypt, Persia, Palestine, Rome, Arabia
and China. But usually, such was the fulness of the active life of Mr.
Badger, and of his reliance on the resources of his natural ability and
experience, that he was not a close, laborious student, though he was
never at a loss, when occasion required, in showing an accurate command
of the substantial facts of history and of science bearing on the
subject in hand.
In 1822, in addition to his local labors, Mr. Badger visited Saybrook
and Lyme, Connecticut, attended the United States General Conference
holden at Greenville, Green County, N. Y., besides attending to several
calls at a distance from home. I would here remark that a United States
General Conference,[34] though its origin was rather informal, was at
last a body composed of ministers and delegates from different local
Conferences, that its object was to discuss and advise in relation to
subjects of general interest to the cause in which the promoters of a
liberal and an evangelical Christianity were engaged. It was not
uncommon for them to discuss abstract themes of faith and church polity,
for the purpose of gaining greater light in the multitude of counsel.
Such convocations dictated no articles of faith, presented no formula of
belief except the generally conceded revelations of God. In the annual
meeting here named, held September 5, 6, 7, the second resolution
adopted was, that Christian fellowship arises from satisfactory evidence
of being born of the Spirit of God, and that it properly extends to all
who walk after "the rule of Christ." This body, though in many things it
proved useful, especially in its free discussion, was, by mutual
agreement, finally dissolved at Milan, Dutchess County, N. Y., October
2, 1832, chiefly from the considerations that the wants it had met might
now by other methods be more successfully reached, that it was
inconvenient to assemble annually from parts so remote, and that in
time it might outstrip its original intentions, and become a
centralization of power to the injury of congregational sentiments. At
the meeting which followed the Conference, Sunday, September 8, Mr.
Badger preached the third discourse from Deut. 32: 10: "He found him in
a waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept
him as the apple of his eye." To a people who regarded the church as
being still in the wilderness, as merging by slow degrees out into light
and liberty, and as always dependent on Him who led, taught, and guarded
the ancient Israel of his choice, such a text and sermon were suited to
the time and the occasion.
In 1823, he made a tour into Pennsylvania, accompanied by S. D. Buzzael,
a minister of whom he speaks as being well engaged in the cause.
Preaching on the way in several towns, in Dansville, Naples, Cohocton
and Bath, he arrived, in the early part of the month of March, at the
pleasant village of Lewisburg, in Union County, Pa., a village that lies
embosomed in the wild and attractive scenery of the Susquehannah,
between the towns of Milton and Northumberland. On the way, he held a
quarterly meeting which he had previously appointed among the Methodists
in the town of Cohocton, Steuben County, where he met about forty church
members and two ministers who had thrown off the authority of bishops,
and styled themselves Methodists, rejecting episcopacy both from their
name and their doctrine. To them, in company with D. Millard, of West
Bloomfield, he preached and administered the communion to a free and
happy people, learning at the same time that in New York there were
about six hundred members in connection with them in this their new and
reformatory position.
Crossing the Cohocton and the Canisteo rivers, in company with Mr.
Buzzael, he followed the course of the Tioga to the town of Icoga, Pa.,
then crossing Peter's Camp and the Block House to Lycoming by the
Wilderness road, as it was justly called, he continued his way through
the enveloping night and the descending rain. "We had," says Mr. B., "to
ascend and descend dreadful mountains to obtain a lodging among
strangers in a strange land. We were fatigued and sorrowful; but Brother
Buzzael broke the silence of the way by singing the following lines:
"Though dark be my way, since He is my guide,
'Tis mine to obey, 'tis His to provide;
Though cisterns be broken and creatures all fail,
The _word He_ has spoken will _surely_ prevail."
Pursuing the course of the Lycoming, he struck the west branch of the
Susquehannah, at Williamsport, thence to Lewisburg, where he arrived on
the evening of March 6th. On the 7th, he spoke for the first time to a
small audience on the subject of heaven; from this time his assemblies
began to increase and his words took effect among the people. Mr. Bacon
had been somewhat successful in preceding years in that place. Mr.
Badger preached several sermons in the open air, as no house would hold
the assemblies that convened. He there received one minister into the
fellowship of the Christian connection from the Methodists, Mr. Andrew
Wolfe, a German of property, character, and respectable talent, who
preached in the German language;--had three baptizing seasons, which he
regarded as glorious, preached on the laying of the corner-stone of the
new church, from Matt. 16: 18; a house which its builders designed to
have in a state of completion the coming autumn, the time of Mr.
Badger's contemplated return. In Milton, Mifflinsburg, Buffalo,
Whitedeer, Chilisquaque and Northumberland, he also preached; and it is
unnecessary to state that the impression he made was strong and lasting;
particularly in Lewisburg, where he did much in establishing order in
the society for whom he labored; where he called out the best minds in a
free investigation of religious subjects; and where, at different times,
he interested the community with the rich and varied resources of his
ministerial power; his gifts and character were ever held in admiration
and esteem. Many ministers of acknowledged ability have spoken to that
community, but from personal knowledge I say that none, taking all
things into consideration, have occupied so high a place, for true
eloquence, for real power over a congregation and a community, as he.
At this time, Mr. Badger became acquainted with Rev. James Kay, of
Northumberland, a fine example of English gentility and politeness, a
man of classical and general education, and a theologian of no ordinary
accomplishment in the Unitarian school of English divines. From his able
pen, the pages of the periodical which Mr. B. began to edit in 1832,
were frequently enriched. Northumberland is a quiet town of intelligence
and wealth, in the environs of lovely scenery, the waters of the north
and of the west branch of the Susquehannah there joining in graceful
amity, whilst the perpendicular walls of rock tower in calm solemnity
before it. There indeed is the resting-place of the philosopher
Priestley, who lived a life of study and of thought; who enriched
science by numerous discoveries and the cause of human liberty by his
political views; and, at the close of an arduous life, died in the light
of the confiding piety in which he had lived; on whose tombstone is this
inscription: "I lay me down to rest till the Resurrection!" To the
congregation founded by him did Mr. Kay for many years preach, and to
the same did Mr. Badger communicate on his two or three occasional
visits to that place. From a letter of Mr. Kay, dated September 29,
1823, I discover that Mr. Badger was in Lewisburg at that time, and that
he contemplated a meeting at Northumberland.
From Lewisburg, under date of October 7, 1823, he writes to Mrs. Badger
as follows:
"You have doubtless heard of the fatal sickness that now
rages in this place. It still continues. I preached a
funeral sermon last Thursday, and I am informed six or
seven lay dead last Sabbath in the neighborhood. But I had
good assemblies at our newly finished meeting-house, on
Thursday evening, Sunday and Sunday evening. I found the
Church in a low state. Mr. Bacon had sowed much discord;
but I have nothing to do but to preach Christ and his
Gospel, which are calculated to make mankind love each
other and to live in union. God only knows the burden and
trials I felt in this place for the first week. I was
constrained day and night to ask God for wisdom, and at
length we are assisted by his power. Everybody who can,
turns out to bear the word, and very many of my hearers are
those whose pale faces declare the reign of disease.
"I have had two church meetings and was determined to
establish order in their affairs, or give them up for a
lost and deluded people. I succeeded far beyond my
expectations. 1st. I examined into the state of all who had
ever been received into the church, found that one had been
excluded, three had died, ten had removed, thirteen needed
to be specially visited, as they were low in spiritual
enjoyment and zeal, and fifty-nine were willing to serve
God with all their hearts. 2. I called on them to appoint
two persons to take the oversight of the temporalities; F.
L. Metzger and John Moore were appointed. 3. I got them to
appoint Andrew Wolf and John Dunachy, to take charge of the
meetings in my absence. Thus you see that they are coming
into order, with which they seem generally well pleased.
They depend much on me. I expect to visit them again in the
winter. I have been almost every day among the sick; some
days have visited more than a dozen families, but never
enjoyed better health. Sunday coming will make three
Sabbaths I have been in Lewisburg, and on Monday or
Tuesday, I design to visit Smithfield, Bradford County,
Pa."
June the 20th, Mr. Badger officiated as Chairman of the New York Western
Conference, at which time seven new churches were reported, and some
important ideas of church polity were discussed. In August of this year,
he described the city of Rochester, then a town of 3000 inhabitants,
connected by water communications with Albany on the east, Quebec on the
north, and Lake Superior on the west. He speaks of a small church, in
that city, with whom he had labored half of the time through the summer,
and expresses the hope that they will accumulate more strength in that
growing town. In the early part of August, he attended a general meeting
at Rochester, and, in the same month, another at Cato, Cayuga County, N.
Y.
Letters from different parts of the country show the inclination of the
people to make demands on his public gifts and labors; and, could we
institute a close comparison between the width and depth of the interest
called out by the great public meetings of those days, and of similar
meetings in our own times, we are satisfied that the preference would be
greatly in favor of the past. They were more in numbers, and the
religious interest was more general and intense. At West Bloomfield,
1822, for instance, there were thirty-five ministers present at a
general meeting, and, in those days, the most of such occasions seemed
to be a centre of interest for a wide area of the country.