THEOLOGY V. CHRISTIANITY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1635, 31 December 1912, Page 6

THEOLOGY V. CHRISTIANITY.

Sir,—At this season ,of the year, when we have in mind the birth of tlie great, founder, of Christianity, tho Prince of Peace, your reference to the sending of theologians .to the front to exhort the Turkish soldiery to.exert the warlike ardour and butcher, their fellowinan is particularly opportune, and should surely tend, to remind theologians in our own land that Christ's was a mission of peace —not- warfare. Fighting of any description, whether the illegal battle of the drunks in the street-. or the legalised butchery of the battlefield, is alike antiChristian. Such have their place in tho .world, but the Christians fight is "the good fight , of faith," a warfare which, as; a rule, theologians do not care to bother about, for while we have God's word for it that "the prayer of faith shall save the sick" our cemeteries bear unmistakable witness to the fact that there is practically no faith exercised, or that,, as of old, our prophets don't call loud enough, for they are certainly not heard. While the average, soldier has no objection to church parades, and being blessed by theologians before he goes to war, he looks upon the whole business as a farce, for whatever else- he may be he has an aversion to cant and a consciousness that the , mixing up of the world's doctrines, with the . teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ'is wrong, in fact ho remembersreading if any. preach' another gospel let him .be accursed. Does not, the Bible say: "Love your enemies" . The -Apostles spoke "not tho words which man's wisdom Jxmcheth,' but which the ,Holy Ghost teacheth." .

Many -both in "the Church" and out of .it imagine that when a • theologian gives a discourse, which is diametrically opposite to the teaching of Christ, that' there must be something wrong with God's Word. The Word is very plain in this connection. , No. uncertain sound about it—"let God be true and every iinan .a.liar." - 'It is because the natural man ■ receiveth not the things •of ■ the-Spirit-.of God:, that "there is no great, difference between the spirit of', this. (Mo-slem) enterprise and, the spirit'.of the nations in the West, whero it has always been considered proper, that t on going to wax an army should receive- the blessing and encouragement of the . churches." There is no difference' at all, Mr. Editor. The' spirit -is one and tho' same—antiChrist.—l am, etc., ' '•

OBSERVING. P.S.—lf theology were Christianity, the "best Book in the world'", would, instead of being proscribed, have first place in our schools to-day. '