MURDERER STATES

Evening Star, Issue 23481, 23 January 1940, Page 11

MURDERER STATES

“ The Rev. John Thom, in 1854, preached a memorable sermon on 1 The Religious Spirit that Befits This Crisis ’ —the crisis being the resolve of Britain and France to resist _ the inordinate demands of Russia, which, if conceded, would allow—to quote Mr Thorn’s words —-‘ Barbarian Power to make a mighty step towards universal dominion.’ “ Face to face with that situation, this is what Mr Thom said; “ ‘ It is true that we have but a choice of terrible evils and that war is the greatest, of crimes. But are great crimes not to be resisted? Are great criminals to be the undisputed masters of the world? “ ‘ The enormity of wars of ambition, of selfishness, of aggression, is the very circumstance that makes it a duty to withstand them. “ ‘ True, war is the bane and reproach of mankind, but so is all crime, in its measure—so is murder, so is robbery, so is lust. But is the murderer to be unrestrained? Is the robber to go at large? Is the spoiler to spoil where he pleases? “ ‘ And if. war is all these in one, is not the civilised world to band ; ts?lf against the aggressor or is this world where God would set up His Kingdom, to be given over to high-handed wickedness? The more you prove the wickedness of war, the more you prove ’t to be the duty of the nations to unite against him who unrighteously -u-Mirts to it, as against the common enemy of mankind.’ “ For that virile statement of the case we are grateful to a great and honoured leader.” says the Rev. Lawrence Redfern. in the ‘ Tnrmirer.’