A REMARKABLE PETITION.

Evening Post, Volume LCCVI, Issue 126, 26 November 1908, Page 4

A REMARKABLE PETITION.

Parliamentary records (says the Melbourne Age) embrace many petitions couched in unusual terms, and one that was somewhat unique was presented by the Minister of Defence. It was against tho Minister's own Bill, and was from "the arranging brethren of the Melbourne Christadelphian Ecclesia, per S. Mat hews, recording brother." The petition asked for exemption to members | of the sect from the provisions for compulsory training for military purposes, as set forth in the Defence Bill now before Parliament. By way of explaining their position, the petitioners said they were "a community of religious people known as Christadelphians (the Seed of Abraham), who have embraced the Hope, of Israel (Acts xxvi., 6; Acts xxviii., 20), and have therefore disassociated themselves from all political and ecclesiastical parties of the world (James iv., 4; 2 Cor. vi., 17), and are waiting for the personal reappearance of the Messiah- of Israel (1 Thess. i., 10 ; Matt, xix., 28-29), to set up a Divine Politico-Ecclesiastical Government upon Earth (Dan. ii., 44; Acts xv., 16; Rom. xi., 26), which shall overthrow all institutions and Governments existing contemporaneously with His reappearance, and bestow an immortal nature upon such of His brethren as He shall approve of, to qualify them for official status in the Government (1 Cor. xv., 50; Rev. ii., 26-27; Rev. xxii., 12). That during the absence of the Messiah from the earth, your petitioners are commanded by Him not to bear arms (Matt, xxvi., 52; Row xiii., 10) in the service of any political or ecclesiastical system now extant, under pain of exclusion from eternal life. Such commandments are to be found in the Holy Scriptures, forbidding to kill (James iv., 2; James ii., 11), to resist not evil (Matt, v., 39; Rom. xii., 19), to bless them that curse, do good to them that hate, pray for them who despitefully rise and persecute, and to do to men as .they would men should do to them (Matt, v., 44; Rom. xii., 20). Your petitioners fully recognise His other commandments to submit to the laws enacted by_ the Governments under whose jurisdiction they may happen to sojourn (Rom. xiii., 5-7; 1 Peter ii., 13-15), when these laws do not conflict with divine laws ; where they do conflict, as they believe they do in the present cause of petition, they believe that they are compelled to obey God rather than man (Acts iy., 19; Acts v., 29)." The petitioners admitted that they were few in number, and for various reasons were not likely to become rapidly enlarged as a community. The granting of the " request (which was acceded to by the Confederate States during the Civil War) Vf&s not likely therefore to cause any embarrassment. The petition concludes as follows :—: — "Your petitioners humbly beseech your honourable House to grant them this petition and prayer, that they may live quiet and peaceful lives in obedience to the God of Heaven, in whose hands is the breath of all mankind."