WAR AND CHRISTIAN SERVICE IN WAR.
I. Theory and Ethics of War. Ethics of War (§ 1). Patristic and Medieval Views (§ 2). Clerics and Military Service (§ 3). II. Movements and Societies for Mitigation of Horrors of War. Origin of Societies for Care of Wounded (§ 1). German Societies (§ 2).
I. Theory and Ethics of War: Though war is undoubtedly an evil, it is not unmixed with good, and the view that condemns it unconditionally is one-sided. To base this view on the words of Jesus
in the sermon on the mount (Matt. v.
1. Ethics 39-44) is to misinterpret the passage.
of War. It is true that in the kingdom of heaven
there will be no place for war, and that the development of the work of salvation among men points directly to the abolition of war; but the future can not be anticipated. The Christian must bear with patience present evils and tribulations (Rom. xti. 11). Did not Moses say, “‘ The Lord isa man of war” (Ex. xy. 3)? David confidently recommends his martial doings to the Lord (Ps. ix., xviii., Ix.). There is no reason for restricting the validity of this view to the time of the old dispensation, for nowhere does the New Testament reject war unconditionally. John the Baptist did not ask of the soldiers that they abandon their profession (Luke iil. 14), nor did Jesus ask such a thing of the centurion of Capernaum (Matt. viii. 5-13), or Peter of Cornelius (Acts x.). God has given the sword to rulers that they may punish evil-doers and maintain law and order. It was from this point of view that Luther wrote Ob Kriegsleute auch in seligem Stande sein kénnen. He maintained that unnecessary war is a sin, but that necessary war is a duty. The part of the individual Christian in war is a matter of duty to the ruler. It is not for him to decide whether or not the war is justified. This view of the Reformer has not been changed greatly by later Evangelical ethics. The right of intervention, which is now generally recognized, offers a difficult problem; and it is questionable whether, in matters pertaining to the kingdom of God, the sword should be drawn at all (Matt. xxvi. 52). Strategy in war has been recognized from time immemorial, and is justified, in that it serves to shorten the war and diminish loss of life. As regards the care of the
RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Wandering in the Wilderness War and Christian Service
wounded and the life and property of non-combatants, warfare is now conducted on more humane principles than formerly. Even Luther regarded robbing and burning as unavoidable. It can not be too strongly emphasized that the only proper purpose of war is to restore peace and reestablish law and order, and that no more damage should be done to the enemy than is necessary for the accomplishment of this purpose. Recent attempts to secure a world-peace by disarmament are based upon economic considerations rather than upon Christian principles.
The early Christians abhorred war, partly on account of a misinterpretation of the words of Jesus to Peter, “for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword” (Matt. xxvi. 52); partly
because military service brought them 2. Patristic in contact with many idolatrous rites. and Medi- The State seemed to them an expreseval Views. sion of the godlessness of the world and its hostility to Christ. In this spirit Tertullian treated the subject (De idol., xix.; De corona militis, xi., both in ANF, vol. iii.). Nevertheless, in spite of the reigning aversion, many Christians served in the Roman army (Tertullian, Apol., xlii.; Ad Scap., iv.); and when, under the reign of Constantine, the relation between State and Church became one of intimate friendship and alliance the objections of the Christians to war were gradually silenced. Augustine, who maintained intimate personal and epistolary intercourse with many distinguished statesmen, such as Marcellinus and Bonifacius, considered war a social benefit, and military service an employment of a talent agreeable to God (Hpist., cevil. ad Bonif., and Epist., exxxviii. ad Marc.). In his book against Faustus (XXIL., Ixxiv.) he exclaims, ‘“‘ What is there bad in war’? Later on, when it became the great task of the Church to convert the Germanic tribes no objections to war were heard. ‘True, its horrors and cruelties were mitigated by the ‘‘ Truce of God” (q.v.), the sanctity of sacred places (see Asytum, Rieut or), etc. Indeed, the Church instigated the wars of the Crusades, which were regarded as wars of God. Nor is the attitude which Luther assumed with respect to the Peasants’ War and the war against the Turks different in principle from that which the Latin Church originally assumed with respect to the Crusades. In the ancient church the clergy were absolutely forbidden to participate in war; and no one who had served in the army after he had professed Christianity was admitted to holy orders. During the Middle Ages it was not rare to find great generals among the bishops. Such a one was Christian of Mainz. After the decay of the feudal system the clergy were freed from all personal military service.
Now that military service is required of all in Germany, the question of military service by clerics
has again become a vital one, and has
3. Clerics occasioned much discussion. It has
and Mili- been urged that military duties are intary Service. consistent with service in the kingdom
of God, and that the obligations of the young clergyman to his church should take precedence of secular duties, From the point of view
of the Church it is highly objectionable that the work of preparation of the theological student should be unnecessarily interrupted by a period of military service, which may prove both expensive and demoralizing. [For views traversing those of this article see Pracr Movements, ] (Kart Burceryt.) II. Movements and Societies for Mitigation of Horrors of War: Felddiakonie is the German term for voluntary service rendered to combatants in time of war. . In its origin it partook of the nature of Christian ministration, but was also influenced largely by the spirit of secular humanitarianism. The care of the sick and wounded in 1. Origin war presupposes three essential eleof Societies ments—the existence of a trained and for Care of devoted body of voluntary workers, Wounded. their harmonious cooperation with the regular military sanitary department, and the recognition of their neutral character by international law. Up to the middle of the nineteenth century the fate of those wounded in battle was pitiful, and even the Crimean War, which witnessed the heroic labors of Florence Nightingale and the first beginnings of organized sanitary activity on the part of volunteers, deprived war of but few of its horrors in the field and the hospital. It was the Lombard War of 1859 that gave the great impulse to the movement. Stirred by the dreadful sights of the -battle-field of Solferimo Henri Dunant of Geneva began to plead the cause of the wounded soldier, and so eloquently as finally to convince the entire world of the necessity of radical improvement in that sphere. On Aug. 22, 1864, was concluded the Geneva Convention by which the sick and wounded in war together with the staff devoted to their care and all utilities appertaining to the work were declared inviolable under the sign of the Red Cross (q.v.) on a white field. But of more avail than the specific conditions of the Geneva convention itself was the impulse thus given to a great humanitarian movement which speedily came to constitute one of the most wide-spread fields of beneficent human activity. The basis had been laid for the foundation of numerous societies which may be divided into two general categories according as the moving spirit is one of Christian mission work or of secular humanitarianism and patriotism. Of Protestant associations the Knights of St. John trace back to the time of the crusades. The bailly of Brandenburg in the grand priory of Germany was disbanded in 1812, and revived in 1852 as an Evangelical order devoted to the 2. German defense of religion and the performance Societies. of works of mercy. Both in peace and war it has been active in the care of the sick through the erection and maintenance of hospitals and the knightly protection of sisters engaged in their work of mercy on the battlefield. In 1898 the order counted 770 active and 1,747 affiliated honorary members, and maintained 48 establishments with 2,297 beds, attended exclusively by the members of the sisterhoods. In time of war it can place 1,600 women nurses in the field. Among Roman Catholic orders the first place belongs to the Knights of Malta, divided into two associa-
War, Hebrew