ONE of the most famous of English dramatists recently arraigned a certain class of clergymen in the following vigorous phrases:
"They have turned their churches into recruiting stations, and their vestries into munition workshops.
"But it has never occurred to them to take off their coats, and say, quite simply: 'I find, in the hour of trial, that the Sermon on the Mount is bosh, and that I am not a Christian. I apologize for all the nonsense I have been preaching all these years. Have the goodness to give me a revolver, and a commission in a regiment which has for its chaplain a priest of the god Mars, my god.'
"Not a bit of it! They have stuck to their livings, and served Mars in the name of Christ, to the scandal of all religious mankind."
Strong words, these! But do they overstate the matter? The Master's words are very plain: "My kingdom is not of this world: if My kingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight." John 18:36. To Peter He said, when that impetuous disciple had cut off the ear of the high priest's servant in his first effort to defend his Lord with force, "Put up thy sword into the sheath." John 18:11.
The Christian's weapons "are not carnal"; "for though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh." 2 Cor. 10:4, 3. The Christian's armor is not made of steel. Yet he puts on armor, even "the whole armor of God." He wears a helmet, but it is "the helmet of salvation." He bears a sword, but it is "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Eph. 6:11-17.
What a picture! The professed ambassadors of the Prince of peace, the avowed representatives of the gentle Christ, the acknowledged expositors of the Sermon on the Mount, openly espousing principles which the Master repudiated and condemned!
Underwood & Underwood The revolver cannon, invented by E. Duron, a Mexican colonel. It can shoot thirty four-inch shells a minute. It can be disassembled readily, and can be conveniently moved about, weighing only seven hundred pounds.
The ministers of Christ are commissioned to be peacemakers, not military agitators.
The message of the Christ is this: "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." Matt. 5:44.
