.140 English insanity about French invasion,.157 Why no more preaching on Peace,. .......143 British influence on intemperance in Excess of females in England,...........143 India,.... Responsibility of the pulpit for war,. ..114 Glimpses of Battle,. Triumph of non-intervention in England,151 Members,... Way to Peace,.... *****.... ............ THE ADVOCATE OF PEACE. NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, 1860. TESTIMONIES TO THE CAUSE OF PEACE. It may well seem superfluous to array the authority of illustrious names as vouchers for a cause so clearly, so eminently Christian as that of Peace. Few, if any, will deny its merits in the abstract, as breathing the true spirit of the gospel, and aiming to accomplish one of its grandest and most glorious objects, while the mass of Christians practically ignore or neglect its claims on themselves. We cannot believe that any of them would treat it thus, if they would only look at it with the care it deserves, but would view it in the same light with those distinguished men of different denominations, who have given it their fullest, most earnest commendation, as worthy of support from every follower of the Prince of Peace. "America," said Archdeacon Jeffries, of Calcutta, "has the honor of inventing two of the most valuable institutions that ever blessed mankind the Peace Society, and the Temperance Society; and if every American viewed them as I do, he would join them immediately." "I hail the establishment of Peace Societies," says Judson, the Apostle of Burmah," as one of the most auspicious signs of the present eventful era, and regard them as combining, with Bible and Missionary Societies, to form that three-fold cord which will ultimately bind all the families of man in universal peace and love. Since war has been universally advocated and applauded, it appears to me that it is not optional with any to remain neutral or silent on this great ques We put into this No. matter designed to give general view of our Cause, with some reference to the annual concert of Preaching, Prayer and Contribution on the subject. tion, since, thus remaining, they must be considered as belonging, of course, to the war party. Notwithstanding, therefore, I am a mission ary, I have determined to make whatever efforts are necessary to comply with the dictates of conscience, and wash my hands of the blood that is shed in war. I regret that I have so long delayed to enter my protest against this practice by some overt act, a measure which appears, in the present state of things, the indispensable duty of every Christian." "Much may be done," says Chalmers, " to accelerate the advent of perpetual and universal peace, by a distinct body of men embarking their every talent, and their every acquirement, in the prosecution of this as a distinct object. This is the way in which some of the other prophecies of the Bible are at this moment hastening to their accomplishment; and it is in this way, I apprehend, that the prophecy of peace may be indebted for its speedier fulfilment to the agency of men, selecting this as the assigned field on which their philanthropy shall expatiate. Were each individual member of such a scheme to prosecute his own work, and come forward with his own peculiar contribution, the fruit of the united labors of all would be one of the finest collections of Christian eloquence, and of enlightened morals, and of sound political philosophy, that ever was presented to the world. I could not fasten on another cause more fitted to call forth such a variety of talent, and to rally around it so many of the generous and accomplished sons of humanity, and to give each of them a devotedness and a power far beyond whatever could be sent into the hearts of enthusiasts by the mere impulse of literary ambition." "It is high time," said the late John Angell James, "for the fǝllowers of the meek and lowly Jesus to study the genius of their relig. ion. A hatred of war is an essential feature of practical Christianity; and it is a shame upon what is called the Christian world, that it has not long since borne universal and indignant testimony against that enormous evil which still rages not merely among savages, but among scholars, philosophers, Christians, and divines. Real Christians should come out from the world on this subject, and touch not the unclean thing. Let them act upon their own principles, and become not only he friends but the advocates of peace. Let ministers from the pulpit, writers from the press, and private Christians in their intercourse with each other and the world, inculcate a fixed and irreconcilable abhorrence of war. LET THE CHUrch of God be A SOCIETY FOR THE DIFFUSION OF THE PRINCIPLES OF UNIVERSAL PEACE." |