New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-03-17
Clergymen Of City Debate
Whether Jesus Was Pacifist
Controversy Almost Reaches Dramatic Climax in Man
haitian Church When Pastor Orders Flag Taken
Down-Colors Now Fly Inside Edihce

Was Jesus a pacihst? Did He teach
neutral morality? Should a Chris
tian ever go to war? Such questions as
these assail the listener to-day in every
church, and indicate something Of the
debate that threatens TO produce two
distinct schools of Christian thought,
one holding that Jesus would be pro-
war and the other that he was pro-
peace. In ono instance this contro-
yersy almost reached a dramatic climax.
The minister of a leading Manhattan
church recently returned TO the c!ty
and found the American flag flying IN
front of his church. He Immediately
ordered il taken down. His religious
scrupleS, he declared, forbade patriot
ism. His board of trustees insisted,
and a compromise was reached whereby
the national colors are now shown IN
side the church.
In another church, equally infuen'
tial. upon whose roll are names OF ma
tion-wide reputation, the national
colors are always flying and at the
close of the Doxology each Sunday the
organist plays My Country, lis OF
Thee"
There are some things worth dying
for" said DR.. George A. Gordon. OF Old
South Church. Boston. among these
are the sanctity of womanhood, the
safety of children. the security of the
things essential to mans life. the IN.
tegrity of the state, the majesty OF
righteousness. the honor and the free
dom Of the United States of America.
The disciples OF Jesus, while slow 10
accept the challenge Of brute force. can
not allow themselves and their cause 70
be crushed out of the world by bar
barian man. There is nothing UNI
Christian. as last resort, to refuse 70
allow the worst men 10 degrade the
best. Jesus recognized the necessity
of government He recognized, there
fore, the ultimate necessity, when all
other ways and means have failed, as a
last woful resort, the appeal to arms
in a purely defensive warfare against
the enemies of society and for main
tanning in being the sovereign achieve
ments of civilized and Christianizcd
men
His Place in the Ranks
IF war we're declared my place as
chaplain of the 18th Regiment. y. c.,
y. Y, would be in the ranks" de-
clared DR.. Nehemiah Boynton, former
moderator Of the Congregational
Church. Furthermore, let a German
warship drop shell IN New York City
and you would not find pRcitist with
in a hundred miles. When you ask
whether Jesus was a paCihst. you
should define the word pacitist, be-
cause paciism includes men all the
way from the peace at-any-price kind
10 the men who would defend peace
with arms Jesus was not an ultra
pacifst. First, He had a religion COM
prehensive enough to cover all the
facts OF life, and. second. He expected
and taught ideals that were 20 be dc.
Tended by His disciples. To set up an
IDEAL and then disallow its defence IS
a contradiction in terms. One Of the
Christian ideals that is incarnated IN
America is freedom. IL was brought
here bv Christian forefathers TO Amer
lea. They set that ideal up when they
arrived. In defence of that ideal they
nut I'D four cannon on the first meet
ing house at Plymouth. The Minute
Men at Lexington, the Revolutionary
War. the Civil War, were all IN de-
fence of freedom. IF the parson at
Lexington who prayed every time ne
loaded and fred was mistaken; II
Washington was overzealous and LIN
coin was likewise mistaken with ms
convictions of Christian duty; il all
these were wrong, then possibly ultra
pacifsm may be right
"Tolstov is our greatest preacher OF
extreme non-resistancc," said Dr. 10
semi Dunn Burrell, Of the Classon Ave
nue. PRESBYTERIAN Church. Gle re
peatedly informed the world that. II
Won saw a brute Of a man maltreatng
p child il would be your duty not 20
interfere. This neglects a fundameh-
tai fact in human life-that the most
difficult problems arise from con
fict Of duties, the necessity OF choos-
ing between two rights. In TINS case
one owes a duty not only 70 Inc man
but also TO the child. when outy
comes first? Obviously, IN ChrisI
shirt. our duty toward the weak shoulu
be first. Was il right for the BeIglahs
TO resist the oppression or tnelr "oiileI, =,
children and aged by the NermanS
Aeerredlv. no matter what the cost
c;r,ilerlv Christ's words about turn
Inc, the other cheek and surrenderlhg
your coat should not appear aDsuIu'
Tor He is illustrating Obligations thaO
~ d;Stinct and not in conflict with any
higher duty. Compare the command 10
emf of ones right hand, which teaches
that no price is too great to pay ioi
overcoming sin. The uitra'pa .,'h;oh
Tcsts his thinking on liberalism, which
tiileth. Christ, II seems to me, was
nacifst. but not at any price
Kinds of Pacifsts
Christ is TO me the eternal war
rior said the Rev. Frederick r. Snan
non OF the Reformed Chuch-on-tne
Heights. therefore whenever ne
Word is drawn in the cause OF rlgnt
coysness. the spirit Of Christ IS IN the
older drawing that sword. There are
noci6sts and pacifsts. There Is tne
p pccaa,c,c,--at-any-price kind. He believes
ibet wrong should never be, resisted
by force. no matter what the larger Is
nos ~ righteousness and justice may
he. There is the second type VINO h i- ;
oar But he also believes that there
are some principles both IN the news
~ nations and individuals so precious
"a inyiolable. that, rather than nave
.goo disregarded or trampled undeI
,bc iron heel Of tyranny, war to inc
destb we're thousand times more
preferable. ,-- ..a. &, Cbr;s.
sIicd7 The first holds that he dlsbp.