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Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clich6, il est f\\n\6 d partir de Tangle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'imagos ntcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m6thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 6 6 L I a € 3 C ^ /^ CloivK, > , AN APPEAL /■/ .. u — TO— -ON THR— '■' ^v'*^' ''.-.■:'' '\:>, Inconsistency of War -WITH THB— GOSPEL DISPENSATION, :« « « « i THE CHRISTIAN PUBLIC,. « -BY THB- "SOCIETY OF FRIENDS," IN CANADA. NEWMARKET: Phiktri. at thk "Nkwmarket Eha" Book am. Job oki-uk, Mai> Ht. 1 869 ■'•7 '> ? AN AFPEAI. HO THE CHRISTIAN PUBLIC, ON THE Inconsistency of War with the Gospel Dispensation, —BY THE— S0CIET7 OF FRIEITDS IIT CANADA. .' AT A M EETI NG F the Eepresentativca of the Ilcligious Society of Friondp, in in the Province of Ontario, Dominion of Canada, under u solemn sense of our Itcsj)onsibility, as professed Christians, to advocate the cause of our glorified Captain — the great Prince of Peace, wo feel constrained in the love of Christ, to lay before the christian public the following APPEAL : m Christian Friends, — The great question of " whether carnal warfare can bo reconciled with the principles and spirit of the christian religion," should, and, may we not hope, is claiming, the serious attention of the christian world. If we view the subject only in its financial relations, a deep consideration of it is well worthy of the profound attention not only of the christian, but of tlio statesman and the philanthropist. The celebrated Thomas Dick says: — "llarl the money which has been expended even by ])rofessed christian nations during the past centurj', in the madness of warfare, been expended for ])hilanthropic purposes, it would have been sufficient to have cultivated all the wastes of our globe, and to have made ' the wilderness to blossom as the rose;' " Isaiah chap. 35 j vor. 1. 0>5 O^ 14> 2 AN APPEAL It is a fact with which every student of liistory is I'amiliar, that nearly all nations, more particularly those called christian, are at this moment groaninj^ under the heavy burden of national indebt- edness, which has been the accumulation of years, and is admit- tedly, to a great extent, the consequence of a preparation for, or engagement in, actual warfare; although a large majority of those interested, may be as infatuated as ever, upon the subject of military operations, and as willing as their predecessors to increase those burdens by augmenting the national liabilities, for these questionable purposes, under the mistaken notion of patriot- ism and duty. Yet, it can scarcely be doubted, but that the time will come when those grievous pecuniary burdens will bo viewed from a different stand-point ; and will then be regarded as a melancholy evidence of the folly and Anti-Christian usages of a by-gone age. It surely is a lamentable consideration, that while the public funds are doled out with a parsimonious hand, (comparatively speaking,) to feed the poor — clothe the naked — raise the humbler classes of all nations from ignorance and its oft consequent effects, crime, and tit theni for their several duties, ua peaceful and law- abiding citizens of the State, that the same funds are not only spent with a liberal hand, but even in reckless profusion, to teach a professedly christian population the most complete mode of human slaughter. Now, we solemnly appeal to the purer feelings of every spiritual christian, who must believe the truth of the apostolic declaration, that "God is love:" 1st John ,chap. 4; 16 ver., and ask him to query with himself whether the present course of the nations of the earth in their efforts to cultivate a military spirit is at all in harmony with the professed spirit of the boasted christian civilization of this enlightened time ? or whether it is not a retrograde movement more in accordance with the bar- barous usages of a by-gone age, where an Alexander was said to weep because he had no more worlds to conquer, and when the highest ambition of the most refined heathen ruler was to make every man a soldier ? We respectfully ask attention for a moment to the i^sition of a soldier, presuming that individual responsibility to the Great Supreme will be freely conceded : and in view of that respqnsibility, how is it possible for any man to pledge himself, by oath or otherwise, to yield unreserved obedience to the will of another ; and as military discipline requires this indisputable obedi- ence, and as military operations could not successfully be carried on without it, does it not plainly follow that when a professed christian becomes a soldier he makes a deliberate attempt to achieve a Scriptural impossibility? viz:— that of serving two' masters. — Matthew, chap. ; vor, 24. ti< w w B that AN APPEAL 3 In looking more particularly at the moral aspect of the ques- ition, strange an it may appear, we lind even tiie professed ehrislian portion of the world, divided in sentiment. While on the one hand it \h claimed that God only works by means, and that ho would fail to protect us though wo should wholly rely upon him if we did not make every possible elt'ort to defend ourselves, when in the language of Paley, " an injury was per[)etraled, attempted or feared." On the other hand it \h claimed that war, under every circumstance, is Anti-Christian and inexpedient: that a govern- ment established upon the oid}' proper basis— the basis of christi- unity, and conducted under the benign influence of its ])ure :i"d peaceable spirit, will need no other protection than the guardian- Bhip of the Supreme liuler of the world. The attentive observer will not marvel at this diversity of sentiment, more especially when he calls to mind, that what has happened may again transpire, " and as the leadej-s of the people once caused them to err:" i&aiah, chap. 9; ver. 10, even so now in reference to the subject before us, may we not trace tlie errors in public sentiment, not only to the cause of many ministers of tho Gospel, but to the melancholy fact that some of those professedly delegated shepherds of the flock are actually found defending tho practice, and encouraging their brethren to engnge in its bloody work. Some of us can call to mind a lamentable illustration of this truth, during the time of the Crimean war. On a certain occasion, while the allied armies lay before Scbasto])ol, a prominent minister of a highly respected christian church, delivered a public lecture, in which he undertook to defend the anomalous doctrine that the meek and devoted followers of the Prince of Peace might justly engage in war; and as the present one was, he assured them, altogether justiliable, that christians ought to pray for its onward progress. Said lecture was published for general circula- tion, as would appear, under the sanction of the church itself. TVe can scarcely divest ourselves of the belief that this unfortunate state of the case arises inainly from tho want of a candid inquiry into the Scriptural grounds of the question. This belief is further strengthened by the course too generally pursued by tho clerg;y of the United States, during the late civil Avar. They no doubt greatly encouraged the combatants on both sides, not only by their prayers and exhortations, but some of them engaged in the service, and became active combatants themselves ; and if reports say true soon shared the leavening influence of the School in which they were being instructed. "Know ye not," says tho Apostle, "that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump:" Galatians, chap, 5 ; ver. 9 : thereby clearly proving that the camp and battle-field are not the most eligible places to cultivate the graces of the spirit. AN APPEAL AVo claim that it is iiiuttor of liistorical record, that in the first and purest ages of the ciiristian clmrch, its votaries did not bear arms. They evidently ('((nsidercd it no jiart of their business to slaujgfliter each other, or even to learn the Art. Like as they pro- fessed to be the followers of the rrinco of Peace, and iy.K it to be their bcnmden duty, faithfully, to follow Ids self-denying unresist- ing example, they knew he liad conimajided them not only to love one another but even their euenii(^s: Matt. chap. 5; ver. 44; and that if they would be his friends, they must "obey his commands:" John, chap. 15; ver. II. They 2)raycd for their sovereign; but took no part in his -wars. They declared that the Saviour, by disarn\ing Peter, had disarmed every soldier; and that since that time, it had been unlawful for christians to fight, because the pro]diocy had been fultilied and the time had arrived when the people of (lod "should not learn war any more:" Micah, chap. 4; ver. 3. They evidently took the same view of the origin of war that the Apostle did when he (queried — "From whence come wars and fightings among yn loi- all his needs and which is that alone that will ever be famd to be the healer of breaches and the restorer of man to his primeval state " when the morning stare sang together, and all the sotis of (rod shouted for joy:" Job, chap, 38; ver. 7. "When in every place incense shall be olfered to his Holy name a pure ottering:" Malachi, chap. 1; ver. 11. We declare oyr conviction, that it is the (rospel of Jesus Christ alone which will renovate the world, and that we are not warrant? ed in expecting any other (Jospel, or, in looking for any new op marvellous display of J'ivine power to usher in the golden ago of the Church, which christians have been apparently expecting for eighteen centuries. And here we would ask, if there is not a serious danger that christians, in reference to this important point, may be Ibund o.ccupjMng similar ground with the Jews of old, res])ecting tjhe advent of the blessed Saviour. They believed in his coming, t^nd that the time had nearly arrived when he should appear — were daily looking for him, and no doubt daily pra3'ing for the auspi- cious event; and although everj' circutnstance conspired to bei^j* testimony to his claim as being, He that should come, yet they refused to receive him, or listen to his highly instructive message^ of love, which he so freely offered for their consideration. The christian church is also looking for a second advent, when it is expected his peaceable Kingdom will be established ; and it is a serious (question, whether upon this subject the views of its members are not tc^o outvvard and carnal, and hence fail sufficiently to recognize, the great Gos])el truth that the Kingdom of God is within — "that it cometh not with observation," Luke 17 chap., 20 ver., " but with power," 1st Corinthians, 4 chap. 20 ver., "that it does not consist in meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost," Eomans, 14 chap., 17 ver. — And that as citizens of that Spiritual Kingdom, Christians aro bound to render imj)ljcit obedience to all the laws, by which it is governed. Wo have plainly unfolded in tho Scriptures of truth, a pode of the most sublime doctrines and purest ethics ever delivered € ANA V 1* F A L . to man, bcui'iiii; oviiloiiL .stump of llioir Divino ori;Lcin, luiving the soal ot the ^roat Kiii^ ami (^iily la^v^•ivel' and ri^^htt'ul head and ruler of his people. We lind thcni throu^li(jiU inculcating tbiw undeniable truth that (jrod i« love and that they oidy are his people who dwell in love. We ma}' draw instruction from tlio fact that the advocates of war thouj^h professedly christian, depend uluiost exclusively for its defence on the Jewish Scrijjtures. Thoy wisely refrain from any laboured attempt to make the Prince of Peace, or his inspired apostles, the abettors of war. They, however, generally refer to two passages in the New Testament as a kind of negative testimo- ny in their favour. We trust these will be found, after a candid investigation to give no countenance to such a doctrine. The fact that the Saviour accepted the faith of the Jiotnan Centurion with- out noticing his profession, no more proves that he approved of war, than his sijence in reference to his idolatory, proves that his dis- pensation admits the worship of idols. As to the language of the Baptist; had he directly a])proved of war, it would have had no bearing on the duties of the christian, because he only lived during the old dispensation and we might naturally suppose that his teachings would be in harmony therewith. This was not the christian system : ho only predicted it to be near at hand. It however appears difficulty to see in what way he approved of war, or how that univei'sally acknowledged evil could be pur- pued under his instructions True, he did not directly declare against the military system; but he assuredly i>rohibited its practice when he charged the boldiers to "do violence to \\o man," Luke, 3 chap., 14 ver. -v •;>-.••,;,; ^'u:- ,^ •:••. .>.:,. •..,'■'.,... Probably Paley offered a sufficient explanation in reference to the course pursued by the followers of our Lord on this question, which says, — "Christianity sojiciting admission into the various portions of the earth " abstained, as l)choved it, froni moddlingwith the civil institutions of any," but does it follow from the silence of scripture on the subject that all the existing institutions, were good, or that the bad should not be exchanged for the better. — We trust it will be admitted that the most learned casuist would labour in vaiq, should he attempt to show in what way a successful campaign could be conducted on christian principles, or in ficcordance w}th the teachings of the Baptist. Surely he would not recommenii that an army, on the eve of a battle, should be pharged "to do violence to no man," norw^ould he recommend that their thirst for blood should bo lessened, by teaching them "to iovo their enemies," Matthew, 5 chap., 31) and 44, vyrs., and Bom. 12, 2 ver., to give them food and drink, and above all "tQ fesist not evil." The truth in this case will best appear by adoptr ng the •rtd and 11^' tbiH ?nteH of oly for in from nnpirod refer to eistimo- eandid Mie fact n witb- of war, his dis- e of the had no y lived 386 that not the md. It •oved of )e pur- declare practice ' Luke, forence uestion, various mgwith .silence IS, were letter. — ; would ccessful or in would lould be nd that em "to rs., and all "to Y adoptr A \ APPEAL ing the rational coiicUusion of Wellington, when he .significantly said '* that no man \vith any nice Honst; of roligion had any busi- ness in the army." Jt remain.s to be the settled conviction of the society of Friends Ihat nil vvarM are nut only aiiti-christian and inexpedient, but wholly impolitic and urinecessary ; and that should an honest ett'ort be made by any of the great ])owers of Europe or America to establinh an international court, clothed with ample powers to take cognizance of all national disjmtes, such an ettbrt, so in harmony with the principles of Christianity and philanthropy must inevitably be crowned with success. We would hero suggest that no christian Ouglit to engage in any work or calling on which be cannot in sincerity of faith, ask the blessing of God. In view of this fact, wo a.sk the reader mentally to visit one of those horrifying scenes presented by a battle field at the close of a stubbornly contested engagement. — We do not wish to bring to his view any of those sanguinary conflicts once waged between Greece and Persia, or liome and Carthago, bloody and repulsive as they are recorded in history, these being the work of the heathen and comparative barbarian ; nor yet, to the more modern battles of Wellington and Napoleon. Neither to those dreadful slaughters in the Crimea, at the account of which the ear was pained and the soul sick with the daily report; but we will draw attention to ono of those revolting scenes presented in the late civil war, among our neighbours, brethren of the same household of faith, w()rshi])pors professedly of tlje( same God of love. Take for instance tbouattle of G'etteysbiirg : can we suppose that any sane man can possibly believe that what is represented, as being there presented to the view of the beholder, could be the work of christian brethren, when the dead and dying were spread in dread confusion over the bloody field, when' human beings originallj'^ created in the Divine image designed to' reflect the glory of God and to be his ministers in works of mercy and benevolence, when those for whom a Savour bled and' died,* lay wounded and slaughtered by hundreds and thousands ih* every conceivable form — when the groans and shrieks emanating from these mutilated forms of humaiiity, were enough to melt the most stony hearts, and then tell us, can such be the fruit of our Holy Religion, the Religion of Jesus ? Can any one believe that such' "Work was ever perpetrated by the true followers of Christ? " Ye shall know them by their fruits, do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles," Matthew, chap. 7, 16 ver. ^'By this shalPall; men know that ye are my dosciples, if ye have love one to another," John chap. 13, 35 ver* " His servants ye are to whom ye yield* yourselves servants to obey," Rom. chap. 6, 16 ver. And "every' tree is known by its fruits," Matthew chap. 12, ver. 33. 8 ' A N A P P E A T. Tho follower oC Mjihomot may indcetl uppear consiatent when Bupplicatin^ for ai