Penistone, Stocksbridge and Hoyland Express, etc. — 1916-04-01 (Penistone, South Yorkshire, England)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.  WAR. ETHI('.4. Sir,—Mr. Wo-nersley- still adheres to his statement that the war is "a visitation from God," !int produces no evidence in support of it. Such evidence as he does give only shows that wickedness of various kinds exiet, as it always has done since there was a human race. Ile gives no ground for believing that the world is any more in need of "a visitation from a God" than previously. If he will read Gibbon's "Decline and. Fall of Mome," or Secky's "History of European 'Morals," or any other history of nations, he will see that we are rather 'better than our forefathers. And, if not, then it only shows ' that 2,000 yeirs of Christian teaching, backed up by Oninipotenee, has not done much for the salvatien of the human race. His remarks about drunkenness, immorality, etc. only show that God is entirely out of it, because nations and individuals who do thesis things are quite capable of warring on their own without any assistance from God. And if he had an intelligent idea as ta what a it:4 and perfect God ought to be like he would hesitate before dragging Him into such a disgraceful affair as the present European war. One is tempter' to ask him if wholesale murder, wholesale outraging of women, killand maiming of ,litVe chi ldren., !resulting from "a visitation of a God?" What would happent? if a devil visited us? Mr. Womersley s position seems to be this: Man has sinned, I:keret:ore GA has caused a war to punish him. But how does he know this? When did he sit in the Keret councils of Omnipotence? Which Dart of the war is God's handiwork, and which man's? (hie ion almost imagine Mr. Womersley's Mx' saying " Oh: save me from my friends!" iii 4 quotation from Mr. Bryce is particularly unfortunate, as he very gracefully sweeps both 'Christianity and civilisation out of existence. I am certainly not satisfied with existing conditions, but that proves nothing as to God's part in the matter. Humanig-norance, selfishness, and ambition are quite sufficient to account tor anything in connection with the present cataclysm, and to drag God into this slaughter-house is to libed and degrade Him. Moreover, our friend does not seem to be quite clear himself a, to what he does believe. First. he says the war is "a cisiiation from God," without saying what 'me means by that: then, later, he quotes, approvingly, a Bishop as saying " that it is lil o 'work of men's sins." Now, it cannot be both. Either God or man is responsible. I say the human element is quite sufficient to account-tor it. To my mind the rave has been I fed on lies, aim' the message of the war is to I everyone "Ii do their own thinking." The !iniesses have generally contracted out when it came to thinking. tend now that the results of cent urn's of th is sort of thing hos I burst out on a large scale they find that. they :eaunot contract. out. 11-e shall have to wat:-i, , very carefully that similar conditions to !those existing in Prussia do not develop here I Finally. I reiterate my statement that everything conneeted with the war eall be extile limed on hunian f 1 ountk --Your, etc., Chapellown. A.