An Inquiry Into the Accordancy of War with the Principles of Christianity

his commendation, his precepts, his example; and that the former is so, in no part of its composition. This morality shows, at least, that no two things can be more different than the heroic and the Christian characters. Now it is proved, in contradiction to first impressions, to popular opinion, to the encomiums of orators and poets, and even to the suffrages of historians and moralists, that the latter character possesses most of true worth, both as being most difficult either to be acquired or sustained, and as contributing most to the happiness and tranquillity of social life.⁠—If this disposition were universal, the case is clear; the world would be a society of friends: whereas, if the other disposition were universal, it would produce a scene of universal contention. The world would not be able to hold a generation of such men. If, what is the fact, the disposition be partial; if a few be actuated by it amongst a multitude who are not, in whatever degree it does prevail it prevents, allays, and terminates quarrels, the great disturbers of human happiness, and the great sources of human misery, so far as man’s happiness and misery depend upon man. The preference of the patient to the heroic character, which we have here noticed, is a peculiarity in the Christian institution, which I propose as an argument of wisdom.”55

These are the sentiments of Dr. Paley upon this great characteristic of the Christian morality. I think that in their plain, literal, and unsophisticated meaning, they exclude the possibility of the lawfulness of war. The simple conclusion from them is, that violence, and devastation, and human destruction cannot exist in conjunction with the character of a Christian. This would be the conclusion of the inhabitant of some far and peaceful island, where war and Christianity were alike unknown. If he read these definitions of the Christian duties, and were afterwards told that we thought ourselves allowed to plunder and to murder one another, he would start in amazement at the monstrous inconsistency. Casuistry may make her “distinctions,” and philosophy may talk of her “expediencies,” but the monstrous inconsistency remains. What is the fact? Muhammadans and Pagans do not believe that our religion allows of war. They reproach us with the inconsistency. Our wars are, with them, a scandal and a taunt. “You preach to us,” say they, “of Christianity, and would convert us to your creed;⁠—first convert yourselves; show us that yourselves believe in it.” Nay, the Jews at our own doors, tell us, that our wars are an evidence that the Prince of Peace is not come. They bring the violence of Christians to prove that Christ was a deceiver. Thus do we cause the way of truth to be evil spoken of. Thus, are we, who should be the helpers of the world, its stumbling-blocks and its shame. We, who should be lights to them that sit in darkness, cause them to love that darkness still. Well may the Christian be ashamed of these things: Well may he be ashamed for the reputation of his religion: And he may be ashamed too, for the honored defender of the Christian faith who stands up, the advocate of blood; who subtilizes the sophisms of the schools, and roves over the fields of speculation to find an argument to convince us that we may murder one another! This is the “wisdom of the world;” that wisdom which is, emphatically, “foolishness.”

We have seen that the principle on which Dr. Paley’s Moral Philosophy decides that war is lawful, is, that it is expedient. I know not how this argument accords with some of the statements of the Evidences of Christianity. We are there told that the non-resisting character possesses “the highest intrinsic value,” and the “most of true worth;” that it “prevents the great disturbances of human happiness,” and destroys “the great sources of human misery,” and that it “contributes most to the happiness and tranquillity of social life.” And in what then does expediency consist, if the non-resisting character be not expedient? Dr. Paley says, again, in relation to the immense mischief and bloodshed arising from the violation of Christian duty⁠—“We do not say that no evil can exceed this, nor any possible advantage compensate it, but we say that a loss which affects all, will scarcely be made up to the common stock of human happiness, by any benefit that can be procured to a single nation.” And is not therefore the violation of the duty inexpedient as well as criminal? He says again that the warlike character “is, in its general effects, prejudicial to human happiness,”⁠—and, therefore, surely, it is inexpedient.

The advocate of war, in the abundance of his topics of defence (or in the penury of them) has had recourse to this:⁠—That as a greater number of male children are brought into the world than of female, wars are the ordination of Providence to rectify the inequality; and one or two moralists have proceeded a step farther, and have told us, not that war is designed to carry off the excess, but that an excess is born in order to supply its slaughters. Dreadful! Are we told that God sends too many of his rational creatures into the world, and therefore that He stands in need of wars to destroy them? Has He no other means of adjusting the proportions of the species, than by a system which violates the revelation that He has made, and the duties that He has imposed? Or, yet more dreadful⁠—are we to be told that He creates an excess of one of the sexes, on purpose that their destruction of each other may be with impunity to the species? This reasoning surely is sufficiently confident:⁠—I fear it is more than sufficiently profane. But alas for the argument! It happens most unfortunately for it, that although more males are born than females, yet from the greater mortality of the former, it is