Page:Christian Review - War.djvu/8

80 We would now, most respectfully, ask the lovers of truth, if these plain and pointed declarations do not fully establish the point, that the reign of Messiah was to be one of universal peace? We believe all that is necessary to convince the world of the truth of the proposition, that—Christians are not permitted to engage in the bloody conflicts of the infidel nations, is to let these scriptures have their wonted influence upon the mind.

2d. The New Testament teachings will next be considered. To get fairly at the main point, it will be necessary to notice again, briefly, the Jewish polity. It was a national and worldly institution, to serve—"Till the seed should come," and then it was to be rolled up, as a vesture, and laid aside. "The law of commandments," which tolerated war, was "the enmity" between Jews and Gentiles; but Christ "took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;" and, according to Apostolic teaching, there was "a change made in the law."

Again:—we wish it clearly understood that, Christ's kingdom was not to be propagated by flesh and blood relations. Men were permitted to become the "sons of God," not because they were "born of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God."—John 1: 13. Those who were "drawn by hearing and learning of the father," alone came to Christ."—John 6: 45.

The kingdom of Christ then, it will appear, was to differ very widely from the bloody church of Moses. Now it remains to be shown that the differences are so great in the two institutions, that war could be tolerated in the former, but not in the latter.—Before, however, offering our arguments, we wish to say to those who may desire to find fault with us, we are not contending that war is never justifiable in the nations of the earth. Indeed, we doubt not, it is often Heaven's policy, to regulate nations by the sword; but we wish our readers to understand us to say, that the Almighty acknowledges no nation as peculiarly his, at this day; yet he has "a peculiar people," selected from the nations, and perregrinating "as strangers and pilgrims in the nations;" but who have nothing to do with national policy and revolutions.

Our remarks, then, upon war, we wish to extend no further than the boundaries of Christianity.

We may be told, it is no where written that, war was to be