Christianity and Gilded Barbarism
The quality of “Christianity” now passing current in the world is shown in the demand of the “allied powers” for the heads of eleven Chinese princes, as part of the price to be paid for damages by the recent uprising against foreigners in that country. These allied powers include all the great powers of earth, and they all pose as Christian nations, and are universally recognized as such. Whatever may be said of the expediency or propriety of such a demand from a world's political standpoint, it surely is not Christianity. If such a demand had been made by Turkey or China or Persia, or any professedly antichristian power, it would have been shocking to the senses of all “Christendom.” But the war spirit that is crowning the century in its expiring years is fast changing civilization into gilded barbarism. Christianity says, “Recompense to no man evil for evil” (Rom. 12:17), but “overcome evil with good” (verse 21). Any other principle, whatever its necessity, or supposed necessity, in the civil government of a sinful world, is not Christianity; and, therefore, Christians can not legitimately have any part in it.