The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1918-02-28

other also''-words that have been the
citadel Of non-resisters from the Quakers
to Tolstoy. Did he mean the words to be
taken literally? To do so would cripple
every effort for social and industrial re-
form, would abolish every police force in
the world. and Of course would make war
impossible for his disciples. He clearly did
not mean them to be taken literally, for
when he was himself smitten he did not
turn the other cheek, but calmly rebuked
the smiter and demanded Justice John
xviii, 80.
Throughout the last half OF the fifth
chapter Of Matthew Jesus IS engaged IN
teaching that the sin does not consist In
the mere outward act, which Is It's out
growth, but In the inner purpose OF tho
soul. Hate, not simply killing: lust, not
an external act only; having two stand
ards OF honor, not the mere uttering Of q
legal ~oath-these are, according to him,
the essence Of sin. Every consideration OF
sound exegesis indicates that here He was
teaching that revenge is wrong. and even
resistance which springs from mere anger;
that a Christian should always, even I'M
der the most personal provocation, be
master OF his own spirit. To interpret the
words go as to make Jesus command III
to stand by and see a murderer kill Q
woman or child and lift no hand, or to
command US to make no effort to restrain
robber nations from working their muir
derous Wills OIL Serbia and Belgium, Is to
do Jesus gross injustice.
1t is cause for gratitude that there Is
growing among men a new sense Of the
sacredness Of human life. The Friends
have long tried to live so as to express
to the world their sense OF its sacred
value. They have, some OF them, hero
ically suffered In this endeavor. Social
SITS and others have now grasped the truth.
y proper appreciation OF this value PROM
ises In time to ameliorate many human
wrongs. To hold. however. that life is
so sacred that man may never take 1t Is
to distort the truth. IT makes the posses
sion Of physical life OF more value than
liberty, justice and right. The evolution
airy process has been Gods method OF
creation. That process involved the TAX
ing of many lives by other finite beings.
They were Gods agents In carrying on
the evolutionary process. Christ brought
to earth the ideal Of a universal brother
hood. When his spirit and that ideal rule
all hearts, 1t will never be necessary for
a human life to be taken by men in the
interest Of society. We are in a transition
period: the Christian ideal has not yet in
fluence with all men. Until Il has we
must still believe that the forces which,
with divine sanction, have ruled brute
force during the evolutionary process still
have the divine sanction, when for the
preservation OF all that is sacred brute
force must needs be restrained. God him
self takes every life that he gives. He
does not hesitate for wise purposes to
take many lives prematurely. He never
theless does II without hate and without
a desire for revenge, all the time making
His sun to rise on the evil and on the
good" Jesus commanded us to be per-
feet as the Father is perfect, not more
perfect tina God! While a due sense OF
the rights Of humanity and the worth Of
human life demands that no life should be
sacrificed until every effort has been
made to redeem II and make 1t helpful to
the world, the writer finds no warrant in
scripture or IN reason for believing that
when men have Enthusiastically and ire
,ocably set themselves to destroy others
II IS not righteous to go even to the limit
Of taking life to restrain them.