Chapter IX 



CHRISTIANITY AND WAR 



At the World's Great Conference of Religions held 

 some years ago at Chicago, a heathen speaker is reported 

 to have said that they all loved our Christ, but that they 

 did not want our Christianity ; and these words seem 

 to me to express what must be the feeling of thousands 

 of thoughtful pagans all the world over» They had need 

 love our Christ, and alas ! they have almost equal reason 

 to abhor our Christianity, But if we take Christianity 

 to mean, not the creeds and customs of Christendom, 

 but the spirit of our Lord's life and teaching, then I 

 say, without the shadow of a doubt, that no man can 

 read the four gospels with an unprejudiced mind 

 without coming to the conclusion that Christianity and 

 War are diametrically opposed and absolutely irrecon- 

 cilable ♦ 



Take, for example, the summary of our Lord's 

 teaching given in the Sermon on the Mount, That 

 sermon begins with the beautitudes, and the qualities 

 there singled out for special commendation are such 

 as would absolutely disquahfy a man from being a good 

 soldier. Blessed are the poor in spirit, the mourners, 

 the meek, the merciful, the peacemakers, the persecuted. 

 These are not qualities such as we should ever think of 

 ascribing to a Caesar, an Alexander, or a Napoleon 

 Bonaparte ; or even to a Lord Roberts, Lord Kitchener 

 or General French, 



Then our Lord goes on further to elaborate His 



