The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1908-12-25
THE CELEBRATION OF CHRIST
MAS

MOhNNtANA S'oAs VI 'IS -hdn y an
lee.
When this babe was born we are
told there was a mighty hallelujah
among the heavenly hosts, and a
great hosannah rung out, the refrain
of which were in these animating
words:
GLORY to God in the highest, and
on earth peace. good will toward
men,"
Afterwards this babe was nailed as
the Prince of Peace" but unfortu-
nately the nations so hailing him did
so clothed in the full armament OF wal
and heralded the proclamation around
the world al the head of standing ar
mics with flashing sabres and frOwn.
ing guns loaded with shot and shell.
What has been the result?
During the whole nineteen hundred
years throughout all christendom
there has never been fifty years of
continuous peace.
Here and in all Christian lands the
churches have bowed down and wor-
shipped at the feet of the man in uni
form.
Every Christian nation today is a
military encampment, and the nation
that can show the largest standing ar
my is the nation that commands the
highest NEED of praise from pulpit,
press and people.
Where the Bible is mostly read the
earth is mostly bedecked with the
symbols of war-fife. drum, sword,
cannon. cannon balls. tattered flags
and monuments 20 military chief
tains.
The war spirit is universally in
stilled in every youthful mind. and in
a manner that appeals TO the highest
instincts of patriotism and bravery.
Fed and nourished on the war spir-
il. wars are inevitable.
We reap that which we SOW.
War. however. is not the saddest
side of the picture.
The universal tribute paid to war
tells Us that there is something that
touches our higher natures and ap-
peals TO our admiration.
When We behold soldier marching
forward without a tremOr at the word
of command into the very Jaws of
death we instinctively pay him hon.
age.
II is when war is reduced to its last
analysis and the individual, in imita-
ton of his government, thinks it is
necessary for men TO become a walk
ing arsenal. then we have the more
repulsive picture.
Sad. too. the picture, for the pur-
pose Of stimulating this debased idea,
is 10 see the big establishments for
the manufacture of firearms and 9th
er deadly weapons i'm our own and
other Christian lands.
Go where YOU will, you will see on
display all sorts of death-dealing i'm
ploments-dirks. bowie knives. pis-
tolls. rifles. shotguns. and the shoot
ing down OF men on our public thor
oughfares has gotten TO be an aristo-
Cratic crime.
Carmack is shot down i'm the streets
of Nashville and Annis is killed at a
pleasure resort and i'm the presence of
his wife in a New Jersey town, and
we stand amazed, yet we feed the
very spirit that leads up to these
crimes
We create a spirit that leads to the
shedding OF blood and put too small
a price on animal and human life.
Sad as this picture is. still it is not
the saddest
Our courts are established for the
protection of the citizen and the pre-
servation OF society.
When a. is set aside and we usurp
its functions. we become lawless; yet
1 see how often this is done.
You can scarcely pick up a daily
| pepper that YOU do not see where the
law is trampled upon and lynchings
/ occur.
All of which is largely due to the
creation Of the spirit TO shed blood.
II has its beginning when we give
/ the child the toy pistol and culmi
mates when all Christian nations join
in applause the moment a man-of-wal
OF the Dreadnaught class is launched
We feed this appetite all along the
/ line
The toy pistol, the toy gun, the
club, the spear, the cross bow, the
flint and steel. the Enfield, the Krag
Jorgensen, the Krupp, the Dread
naught,
There you are-it is one cory pic
lure all along the ages.
Since the great tidings were pro
claimed, Unto you is born this day
in the City of David, a Savior, which
is Christ. the Lord" and he was hail
ed by the multitude of heaven, shout
! inc. ssClOrN- tn Cod in tho HIGHEST am