The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-07-25
Gardiner SPRING on War.

lie lOllOWluS SSlScGlOuS lIOlu Cue
published writings of DR.. Spring, one
of the very ablest and best ministers
of the American Presbyterian Church,
who died about twenty years ago, are
well worthy of careful reading, and
especially to those Christians who
profess to believe that war is agreeable
to the Christian religion. No wonder
that infidelity and immortality greatly
abound in all Christian lands, when
the professed followers of peaceable
and loving Saviour, by vast numbers
rush in opposite armies to fields OF
murderous slaughter. Of all abomina-
bic crimes and cruelties ever COM
mitted on earth, and especially when
done and approved by professed Chris
tians, mutual butchery in war is un.
questionably the greatest and the most
horribly abominable. Let "Chis-
tians" stop their wars by arbitration il
they have not religion enough to do 1t
by love to each other:
'"Whatever NAV be our refinements
in reasoning on the question whether
war justifiable, we cannot be mistaken
when we say that a martial Spirit is
not the spirit of Christianity"
eff we were called upon to write an
elaborate dissertation In defence of the
Scriptural doctrine of human apostasy
and the entire and unmitigated sinful
ness of the human heart, as it is by ma
ture, one of our strongest evidences
would be the subject of war. We
should have a chapter entitled
"War, a proof of total depravity."
ut is an indelible blot on the the
pages of Paley's Moral Philosophy
"If an injury be either perpetuated,
attempted, or even feared, there is just
cause for war" A more corrupt, pes
tilent, attrocious sentiment has rarely
been advanced than this. The in
jured, or suspicious, or ambitious ma
tion is, of necessity, the sole jndge OF
the injury perpetauted, attempted, OF
feared. This wide range of precau-
ton, defence, or reparation would have
better suited the moral philosophy OF
such man as Robespierre or Napo-
leon. No wonder nations 60 to war.
DR.. Paley did not seem to perceive that
he views he has published to the worlds
amounted to classification of the most
of the wars that ever scourged the hu-
man race"
"The immense latitude give by some
writer's to the definition of defensive
war enables it to embrace most OF those
wars which are properly and strictly
offensive. amounts to a vindicatlon
of all wars whatever, as full and COM
pIete as the most sanguinary and des'
potic tyrant could desire"
| sa nf n 70 thai
is not as truly chargeable to some one
as premeditated murder"
II look upon the Christian church
as divinely organized Society for the
promotion of Peace. She is, or rather
She ought to be, the most effective
Peace Society in the world"
"On no subject does the tone OF pub.
lie sentiment need to be changed more
than on war. verify believe that on
this matter the minds of men have fol
ages been under the power OF the
Prince of Darkness. His throne is on
the battlefield; glory and dishonor
victories and defeats, are like the con-
quests of his empire. There his power
is felt, and his authority acknowl'
edged and they are no other than the
power anu dutuOTlGy VI LudI oto DC
pent, the devil and Satan who de
ceiveth the whole world The max
inns of war are his maXims. The laws
of war are his laws"
This language against war is, ]
think, as severe and pointed as any ever
used by William Penn, Jonathan Dy-
mond, Noah Worcester, William
Ladd, Thos S. Grimks, Elihu Buritt,
or any other writer on the sin of war