RELIGION AND DEFENCE.
The "Guardian," which has taken up a strong position in regard to the religious duty of defending one's country, and which has been subjected to some criticism in* consequence, says: Wo confess that we do not find it easy to understand exactly wh-at it is that our critics want. Do they (Usire their country to possess means of defence? If so, ought those defences to he efficient or inefficient! '? If they wish th.:m to be sufficient and efficient, what is their quarrel with us ? If, on. the other hand, they think that to be prepared against attack is as wicked as the making of aggressive war. we would venture to refer them to a familiar little parable about the strong man armed. Everybody, except, apparently, Socialist clergy and fanatics of peace at any price, is aware that the most certain method of preventing war is to be so strong that no one dare attack you. We apologise for repeating so elementary a statement, but we do so for the benefit of correspondents who are unable to appreciate the difference between wanton aggivssion and defending oneself when attacked. The former is a contravention of the Christian law of peculiar virtue ana the latter .is a religious duty, and it is because it is so that we are anxious for England to adopt that universal service which would protect us from grave danger and save a possible enemy from the guilt of picking a quarrel.
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WAG19130506.2.16
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 6 May 1913, Page 4
Word count
Tapeke kupu
246RELIGION AND DEFENCE. Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 6 May 1913, Page 4
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Wairarapa Age. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.