CHRISTIANITY VERSUS HUMAN RETRIBUTION.
By W. N. G.
The United States has been declared a “Christian nation” by the Supreme Court, and the popular churches of the day have in the main assumed that this declaration establishes the assumption as a fact. But our government’s minister to Turkey is charged with the duty of securing indemnity from that government for the destruction of the property of American citizens, and bringing to justice persons guilty of such outrages and others against the persons of Americans. Like demands are being made upon Spain for offenses against the persons and property of American citizens in Cuba. All this is human justice, a species of retribution which civil governments can not forego and long maintain the respect of its own citizens or of foreign nations. But it is not Christian; it is not in harmony with the principle laid down in the Sermon on the Mount:— “Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth; but I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.”
Here is the principle upon which alone an individual may be a Christian, a recognized child of the heavenly Father. Does Christ make one condition to the individual and another to the multitude? Does Christianity come cheaper by the quantity? Must the individual be justified by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, manifested by obedience to his Word, while a combination of individuals may be justified by means of politics? Does Christ lay down certain principles through which to reconcile individuals to God, and then compromise those principles in order to reconcile nations? Verily this “Christian nation” theory is badly out of harmony with the doctrine of Christ. W. N. G.