The Subversiveness of Christianity
True Christians have nothing at all to do with the evil of mass murder at the hands of young military-age boys whose heads have been filled with patriotic nonsense. There are men and women in the Church who say they believe in peace and spend much time promoting peace, delivering addresses, sermons, and writing books; and of course, the government sympathizes with it all, pretending that they approve of it; just as they pretend to maintain liberty when it is the absence of liberty to which they owe their power; just as they pretend to uphold Christianity when true Christianity is subversive of every government. These blind creatures have established a Christianity which serves to prop up the government rather than to expose it for what it is, an evil den of sinful men who know not the way of peace. A real Christian cannot do otherwise than preach the Gospel of peace, constantly, as long as he lives. But some of these pretend to be Christian, and Christian preachers, who do not do this, there must be a reason, and so long as there is war their excuses only correspond to the misery and suffering laid at the feet of mother, father, wife, or sibling. Still less effective is the voice of any proposal to release from conscription those who through Christian love refuse to kill a fellow human being.
I do not suppose that war can be prevented unless sin itself is taken away, which will only occur at the return of Christ. The Christian is loyal to only one King and Ruler who is the Prince of Peace, who now reigns in the hearts of all true Christians. The natural question that presents itself is this: “Is it the Christian’s duty to take part in the fighting and killing between nations?” The Protestant Church has overwhelmingly said “Yes!” “Our sons must submit and join the carnage and submit to the ruling powers.” Through the mispreaching, misreading, and misunderstanding, of the New Testament, routinely broadcast from the pulpit for hundreds of years, prompted by the government and approved by Christian leaders, Christian young men and even women ignorantly parade off – to win the applause of family and friends – are given medals to blind their minds to the truth – to kill and rampage foreign cousins who also blindly follow orders to kill without consideration or concern; and this is done in the name of Christ; how preposterous, how idiotic!
Every day the world moves closer to engaging the great storm brewing in the Middle East of which many Christian young men will take part and never return home. At that time, Christ Himself will split the heavens and step into view and declare judgment on those who have assembled to do battle with Him. Is it conceivable to those “patriotic” Christians that their warfare is with none other than the One they call their Savior? How sad will that day be for all the deluded Christians who sent their sons and daughters away to not only die but to never return?
True Christians have a heritage to uphold, the heritage of peace as exemplified by Jesus when He chose for Himself a cross rather than to harm any soul, and commanded that His followers pick up their own cross and follow Him.