The Literary echo, and Pawcatuck advertiser. [volume] (Westerly, R.I.) 1851-1854, 1852-04-15

trespassr against you reDuKe MIN, no
repent forgive him, even to seventy
times seven."-"Be ye all ofone mind,
having compassion one of another, love
as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous,
not rendering evil for evil, or railing for
railing. -" BY this shall all men
know that you are my disciples, if you
have love one to another. -" Walk
with all holiness and meekness, with long
suffering ,forbearing one another in love-"
-" Live in peace. Be gentle, show
ing all meekness unto all men. -
See that none render evil for evil unto
any man. Lay aside all malice. Put
off anger, wrath, malice. Let all bit
terness, and wrath, and anger, and
clamor, and evil speaking, be put away
from you with all malice. -" Avenge
not yourselves. If thine enemy hunger,
feed him; if he thirst, give him drink" f"
~" Recompense to no man evil tor
evil. -" Be not overcome OF evil.
Overcome evil with good. -" The
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
long suffering, gentleness, goodness
faith, meekness, temperance. -" BE
kind one to another, tender-hearted,
forgiving one another. p" DO all
things without murmuring or disputing,
that ye may be blameless and harmless. "
-" The servant of the Lord must
not strive, but be gentle unto all men
in meekness instructing those who oppose
themselves. Follow peace with all
men. -" Forbearing one another,
and forgiving one another if any man
have a quarrel against any, even as
Christ forgave, SO also do ye. -
Charity beareth all things, endureth
all things, suffereth long and is kind"
think that have quoted passages
sufficient to show what is the spirit and
the letter of Christianity as taught by
Jesus and his apostles. And if they do
not condemn war in all its forms, l ask,
What do they mean' Is it to bless an
enemy, to lombard his towns, to throw
shells into his cities, to bore him through
with bullet, cannon ball, or dirk To
feed ones enemy when hungry, Is it to
make it treason for oneself or country
men to do it; To pray for an enemy,
Is it to invoke the aid of Omnipotence
in order to sink them in the ocean, or 20
trample them to death with a war horse
To forgive our enemies, Is it to take
them by the hand and then stab them
with poignard? Is, not to avengc
ourselves, to revenge ourselves even unto
the death of our enemies: To recon-
pensc no man evil for evil, Is it TO pay
him off in his own coin, viz, blow toi
blow, bullet for bullet, grape shot fol
grape shot To overcome evil viii
good, Is it to deal death and destruction
in self-defence To render good foI
evil and blessing for cursing, Is it t.
hang spy, when taken, by the necl
until he is dead, praying God to have
mercy on his soul, when we would have
none on his body
- To ask the above questions is t
answer them. For if Christianity re
ouires one to suffer wrong rather than t
do wrong, not to avenge oneself, not to re
turn evil for evil, but to overcome evl
with good, then it does, and any ac
to the contrary, whether as an individua
or nation, must be violation of il
and therefore rot permissible by it.
Having shown that all acts of violenc
or injury to our enemies, are contrar
to The spirit of Christianity, it follows
course, that what is called defensive wa
must be incompatible with it, as it ncces
sarily involves more or less Of thos
acts, which only can flow from a spiri
not cousonant with Christianity. Fo
all those who seek our injury or hun
must be enemies Therefore as Christ
ianity requires us to love our enemie:
to forgive them even though they murde
us, and in no case to avcnge ourselve
on them, in no instance to return ev
for evil, but in all cases to overcome ev
with good, it is plain that as defensiv
war must involve the contrary of thos
= precepts, it must be contrary to Christ
ianity. For these precepts ale unlimit
ed in their meaning they do not re