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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
July, I93S
c _Around the King’s Tables By Louis T. T albot
homes, makes of our citizens wretched butchers. War stinks to high heaven as a product o f human sin. But the question to which we must address ourselves is, “ What shall be the Christian’s attitude toward war ?” Is he to flee from it as a coward would do? Should he plunge into it with all the fervor o f his life, setting aside, for the time being,.personal scruples? Is he to prove a “ slacker,” dodging the “ draft” just as long1as he can ? Would such a course be honorable, or would it be more like a Christian to accept some position in which he could assist his fellow patriots but still be among the noncombatants ? Should he scorn the position o f a chaplain or a Y . M. C. A. worker and consider that the most Christian thing for him to do would be to get into a regular uniform of the army or navy ? What attitude should he. take toward the “ draft” ? Does it hurt his conscience to be trapped into service? Or, on the other hand, is. he, as so many are suggesting at the present time, to be a full-fledged conscientious “ objector,” an abso lute “ pacifist” ? Surely there faces us here a formidable array o f real questions. W e give devout thanks to think that no major issue is so pressing upon us at the present moment that our boys need answer these questions in hurried fashion; yet, men all about us are answering these questions, and perhaps it would be well for us in these days o f peace to think the matter through carefully. The real question is : “ What saith the Scripture?” And to this we answer that the Scriptures give to us a long line o f definite principles which we are to apply to our individual cases in answering these questions. That list of principles is altogether too lengthy for us to adduce it here in any detail. W e can only suggest the faintest outline o f some of its most salient articles. With these in hand, no man need go astray before a God who gives “ to all men liberally, and upbraideth not,” when we ask o f Him without wavering. First, then, to the question; “ What shall be the attitude o f the Christian toward war?” W e answer that with all his heart he will hate war as a product o f human sin. He alone understands fully that war is a product o f human sin. As a Christian, he will make every effort to prevent war from coming upon the nation and the world. He will not buy peace at the price o f his conscience, but he will be loyal to all o f those who labor honorably to be peacemakers when war is imminent. Failing to maintain peace, he will accept war as an evil and will continue to hate it with all his heart. In a word, he will believe in fighting the Adversary and all his works. Certainly, war is one o f the Adversary’s works. In the second place, the Christian will not allow the fact o f war to disrupt his faith in Christ. He will steadily maintain his faith. In times gone by, war has proved a major instrument in the hands o f Satan to weaken and destroy the religious faith o f men, but a Christian will never permit his faith to be shattered. He knows that the Lord Jesus Christ has bought him with His own precious blood. He knows that his Lord has risen again and has created in him a new heart o f faith. He knows that his Lord is the sovereign, triumphant Lord o f the Scriptures. He knows that all things work together for good to them that [Continued on page 250]
[The matter for discussion this month is presented by Rev. Paul Prichard, a member o f the faculty o f the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. President Talbot, whose com'ments usually appear on this page, has been absent from the Institute, filling engage ments in the East. — E ditor .] The Attitude of the Christian Toward War H ere is a subject that has “ arrived.” The air is full o f it. Over ten thousand ministers o f the gospel have definitely gone on record, stating that they will never take part in war again. The religious press wastes reams of paper discussing it. International figures ytter solemn sen tences regarding it. Student groups, colleges^ and univer sities keep the pot boiling, while patriotic organizations and religious denominations pass scores o f resolutions re lative to it. Even the movies keep it before the general public. Perhaps, then, we can add but very little to the. multitude of things already in print. Some have suggested that this1question has “ arrived” in the same fashion as other questions have “ arrived.” The question o f slavery, is an illustration in point. If you should go to Egypt, Palentine, and Babylon, you would find mas sive monuments which testify all too clearly of the presence of slavery in early days. Immense rocks were hoisted into place upon the backs o f human beings. Great droves of toiling, sweating, dying men were cursed by this human institution which began almost at the dáwn o f history and has continued almost to our day. Into a world run by slave labor tlTe Lord Jesus was born, and, strange to say, He seems never to have said a word on the subject o f slavery. Nevertheless, in process o f time, His gospel has produced a world that is now set against the ownership o f human be ings as chattels, and for this outcome we all rejoice. And. many voices are proclaiming that in like manner and in the process o f time, war is to disappear from the face o f the world. Here aga'in we have a subject about which Jesus seems to have said little or nothing. .Nevertheless, the matter shall receive consummate and effectual treatment, say our present-day leaders. The Christian who knows the Bible, however, is not tricked into thinking that the institution called “ W ar” is going to yield easily to the magic wand o f the modernist who bids it be gone. W e learned some time ago that a “ peace pact” easily becomes a “ scrap o f paper.” W e ought to learn, along with that, that sin is sin. It festers and cankers and breaks out in open rebellion everywhere. It makes the individual rebellious against his God and out of harmony with his fellow man. It does the very same thing with groups o f society, whole nations and groups of na tions, and that spirit o f strife spells “ War.” So long, there fore, as sin is here in this world, war is a potentiality. We can expect it to be an actuality. The Christian who has his Bible open has learned the facts concerning the Antichrist, Armageddon, and many other matters pertaining to future conflict. Let us take no time describing war in its terrible aspects. Every one knows that war brings desolation and distress o f every kind. It wrecks the ordinary course o f society’s life, brings us to the verge o f bankruptcy, sunders fond
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