The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-02-06

Christianity, he abandoned. To Ju
liam the Apostate, the only reason tina
we find he gave for his conduct wa
this 81 am a Christian, and there
fore cannot fight"
These were not the sentiments, ant
this was not the conduct of isolated in
dividuals who might be actuated by
individual opinion or by their private
interpretations of the duties of Chris
tianity. Their principles were the
principles of the body. They were
recognized and defended by the Chris
tian writers, their contemporaries
Justin Martyr and Tatian talk of sol
diers and Christians as distinct charac'
ters ; and Tatian says that the Chris.
tians declined even military com.
mands. Clemens of Alexandria calls
his Christian contemporaries the "fol.
lowers of peace" and expressly tells
us that the followers of peace used
none of the implements of war"
Lactantius, another early Christian,
says expressly, ut can never be lawful
for a righteous man to 60 to war;"
About the end of the second century,
CELSIUS, one of the opponents of Chris
tianity, charged the Christians aOith
refusing to bear arms evera IN case OF
necessity. Origen, the defender of the
Christians, does not think IF denying
the fact; he admits the refusal, and
justifies it, because war was unlaayful.
Even after Christianity had spread over
almost the whole of the known world,
Tertullian, in speaking of part of the
Roman armies, including more than
one-third of the standing legions of
Rome, distinctly informs us that mot
a Christian could be found among
them"
All this is explicit. The evidence of
the following fact is, however, yet
more determinate and satisfactory.
Some of the arguments which at the
present day are used against the advo-
Gates of peace, were then urged against
these early Christians; and these ar
gunaents are examined and repelzed.
This indicates investigation and in
quiry. and manifests that their belief
of the unlawfulness of war was not a
vague opinion hastily admitted and
loosely floating among them, but that
a minority in attendane who did not
it was the result of deliberate exami-
nation, and a consequent firm convic-
ton that Christ had forbidden it. The
very same arguments which were
brought in defence of war at the pres
ent day, were brought against the
Christians sixteen hundred years ago !;
and, sixteen hundred years ago, they
were repelled by these faithful con-
tenders for the purity of our religion.
1t is remarkable, too, that Tertullian
appeals to the precepts from the
Mount, in proof of these principles on
which we insist that the dispositions
which the precepts anculcate are not
compatible with sOar, and that aOar,
therefore, is i,reconcilable s0ith Christ
ia,aaty.
If it be possible, a still stronger evil
dence of the primitive belief is con-
tained in the circumstances, that some
of the Christian authors declared the
refusal of the Christians to bear arms
was fulfillment of ancient prophecy.
The peculiar strength of this evidence
consists in this,-that the fact of re-
fusal to bear arms is assumed as noto-
rious and unquestioned. Ireneus,
who lived about the year $50, affirms
that the prophecy of Isaiah, which de-
clared that men should turn their
swords into plough-shares, and their
spears into pruning-hooks had been
tuIflled in his time; "for the Chris
tians," says he, shave changed their
swords and their lances into instru-
ments of peace, and they knoaO not hov
to fight" Justin Martyr, his contem-
porary, writes,-"That the prophecy is
fulfilled, you have good reason to be-
lieve, for we, who in times past killed
one another, do not noa0 fight s0ith our
enemies" Tertullian, who lived later,
says: "You must confess that the
prophecy has been accomplished, as
far as the practice Of every individual
is concerned to whom it is applicable. !"
1t is therefore indisputable, that the
Christians who lived nearest to the
time of our Saviour believed, with un-
doubling confidence, that he had un-
equivocally forbidden war and they
openly avowed this belief; and that,
in support of it. they were willing to
sacrifice, and did sacrifice, their for
tunes and their lives.
Let it always be horne in mind by
Christians who are now advocating or
in their minds permitting war, that
they are contending for SINS which
their forefathers abhorred and that
they are making Jesus Christ the sane
toner Of crimes, which his primitive
followers offered up their Nves because