CHRISTIANITY AND WAR 141 



(3) On another occasion our Lord said : ** Think 

 not that I came to send peace on the earth* I came not 

 to send peace, but a sword/' Here, again, our Lord 

 makes a simple prediction, this time concerning what 

 the effect of His coming would be. The bringing of the 

 sword was to be the consequence, not the reason, of 

 His coming. No one in his senses would argue that the 

 reason of our Lord's coming was to bring the sword. 

 In the Bible (as in other Eastern writings) cause and 

 effect are never clearly distinguished. The effect is 

 often spoken of as though it were the cause, as, for 

 example, when our Lord's miracles are said to have been 

 performed in order that prophecy might be fulfilled. 

 Moreover, if this text is to be used to justify war, it must 

 equally be used to justify family quarrels. For our Lord 

 goes on to say,'' For I am come to set a man at variance 

 against his father, and the daughter against her 

 mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother- 

 in-law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own 

 household.'* 



(4) Lastly, our Lord once said : *' He that hath no 

 sword, let him sell his garment and buy one." On this 

 occasion, as on so many others, the disciples understood 

 literally the metaphorical language of Jesus, and one of 

 them eagerly suggests to Him, ** Lord, here are two 

 swords," whereon our Lord sadly answered, '* It is 

 enough." It is enough ! Two swords amongst twelve 

 men surrounded by bitterly hostile enemies. Could 

 any language have been more obviously ironical ? Yet, 

 notwithstanding the obvious irony of our Lord's reply, 

 some of the disciples seem actually to have provided 

 themselves with swords in consequence of what He said, 

 and one of them, Peter, used his sword, bringing upon 

 himself the stern rebuke of the Master, to which I have 

 already referred. Surely it is obvious that if these 

 words of Jesus are to be taken as a literal command they 



