WANTED FOR ENGLAND,—A CRUSADE. LTO TIM EDITOR Of TUX "erACTATOS4".1
Stn,—There appears in your issue of March 27th a letter headed "Wanted for England,—a Crusade." I am astonished, in view of the general tone of your paper, that you should publish such a letter, and can only attribute its publication to the fact that your mind appears to be obsessed with the subject of national defence. It is even more astounding that a parson (as the writer describes himself) should call on any one to join the Army (Territorial or otherwise) as a Christian, —" like Christians" are his actual words (i.e., in the name of Christ). The whole teaching of Christ is against anything of the sort. It is doubtless unnecessary to mention many instances of His instructions to the contrary, such as "Love your enemies," as they should readily occur to any Christian. As the world is apparently not yet ripe for Christianity, let young men join the Army if they must, but do not let the name of Christ appear in connexion with it, as it is nothing short of blasphemy. The writer mentions Christian self- sacrifice, unselfishness, &c. Much more of these would be required if the Army and Navy were abolished entirely and a Christian England left at the mercy (or otherwise) of un-Christian nations. If "Pastor Ovinin " can give a single instance of Christ's advocating . anything in the nature of warfare, no doubt the bulk of so-called Christians would be greatly indebted to him, as the vast majority of religious men who advocate war on the score of necessity find it difficult to reconcile their consciences to its existence, and can only surmount the difficulty by saying that the time for its abolition has not yet arrived. It would come at once if all so-called Christians started immediately to act up to their name; they could carry all before them, and this would be the real crusade so badly needed. In the concluding sentence of your article in the same issue on "Our Modern Knights- Errant" you say you "do not suppose they will lack for causes." Here is a great cause, Christianity and peace (they are synonymous), ready to hand, and requiring any number of knights if there are any ready to embrace it. In conclusion, if, as I have no doubt, you have in thinking moments the cause of Christianity at heart, you will publish this letter, even if in disagreement with the views promulgated in it and in spite of the strong terms in which it is expressed. If you have any comments to make, no doubt they will be of great interest to many of your readers, as well as to
AN IIN-CHRIBTIAN ADVOCATE OF FAIR FLAT.
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