Media gallery Pacifist and Christian socialists Some New Zealanders opposed the war on Christian or moral grounds. Others believed in peaceful methods of solving conflict. Some Christian socialists based their opposition to the war on what they saw as the egalitarian and anti-establishment message of Jesus Christ, who spoke against the religious authorities of his time. Pacifism -- opposition to war or violence as a means of settling disputes -- covered a spectrum of views. These ranged from the belief that international disputes should be peacefully resolved, to absolute opposition to the use of violence, or even force, under any circumstances. Many of the pacifists who opposed the Military Service Act did so because they believed that war, and indeed any use of force or coercion, was morally wrong. We will not cease: Archibald Baxter Archibald Baxter (father of the poet James K. Baxter) is one of New Zealand's better-known pacifists from the First World War. His book We will not cease records his opposition to the war. In his words, the book is 'the record of my fight to the utmost against the military machine during the First World War. At that time to be a pacifist was to be in a distinct minority.' Baxter considered enlisting for the South African War (1899 -- 1902) before becoming interested in pacifist ideals. He rejected the First World War both as a pacifist and as a Christian socialist. He was balloted for service and arrested soon after conscription was introduced in