THE VANISHING "WORLD CONSCIENCE"
By J. E. F.
IT is interesting to look back to the period just before the present great war, and read what popular journals had to say on the prospects of war. The following is taken from a then leading American magazine, Harper's, and is an index of what many of the leading men of the world thought: "Although recent events indicate we are yet a long day's journey from universal peace, they yet emphasize a marked advance. The rising standard of intelligence renders wars for trivial causes less and less probable. Very ignorant and suspicious men fight and kill each other over imaginary slights or trivial values. For thousands of years, nations fought over the most insignificant differences. In the future, wars will not be fought unless something big is at stake.10 "Another significant advance is the development of world conscience. Every nation tries to set itself right before the world when entering into conflict. In the old days, just as corporations were supposed not to need souls, so governments were supposed to have no conscience toward other nations. Pride and bitter resentment were supposed to be their only emotions. Any concessions, even when just, were considered a national disgrace. If a nation took a stand, right or wrong, it must fight. A Matter of National Honor
"THE world conscience is removing that ridiculous standard. It is becoming a matter of national honor to concede what rightfully belongs to another, and even to yield minor points merely to avoid trouble. And even after wars have begun, this conscience plays a part in bringing it to a close." Now, after two years of terrible war, how does this all sound? It is what many of the leading thinkers of the world were but recently giving, a sort of "peace and safety" assurance. But where has the "world conscience" gone? If by education the world had been led to overlook "trivial values" and "imaginary slights," and to develop a "world conscience," what is the matter now? One belligerent nation points to the other as the cause of this titanic struggle. But who is able to give the reason why the nations are fighting? We can remember the death of an archduke — perhaps quite enough for inquiry; but certainly with a "world conscience," one man’s death would never be expected to cause all Europe to deluge its fair lands in blood. Now while that which we quote above is a fair index of what people generally thought, it is not what the Bible taught. The Bible teaches that in the last days, a madness for war takes possession of the nations. It says that the nations will prepare war and make war. For centuries, all this has been in the Bible; and for over half a century, Seventh-day Adventists have preached this; and they will continue to warn men that all this talk about the rising standard of intelligence which makes war less probable, as nice as it sounds, is a delusion, and contrary to Scripture. Twenty-seven centuries ago, the prophet Joel wrote it all out for us, and it has been there all the time. "Proclaim ye this among the gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong." "Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision." Joel 3: 9, 10, 14. This word is truth. "Let God be true, though every man a liar." The end is near. What we see raging in Europe is one of the sure signs that we approach the consummation.