Easter Thoughts.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume 36, Issue 1, 1 April 1945, Page 13

Easter Thoughts.

Nearly two thousand years have sped away since the divine promise of peace was first definitely made known to mankind; and to-day the nations of the world. are engaged m a titantic effort of destruction. It might have been hoped that, quite apart from •Christian teaching, the united commonsense of mankind would have long ago evolved' a method of settling disputes without recourse to the old barbaric resort to slaughter. Yet. it is a striking fact that singularly little advocacy of peace — apart from' - that of Christianity— was advanced, among civilised men until comparatively recent times. •

It is true that the Old Testament, though presenting a spectacle of many fierce conflicts,' does give a few, a very few, hints of a day when men shall learn ■ war no more. It might have been expected that the Greek thinkers who ascended to regions of idealistic thought would have conjectured, even if they had not advocated, a system of adjustment of disputes other than that of the savage. Yet Greek literature has little to say about peace.

The greatest of the Greeks' comic dramatists certainly shows the folly of war and counsels a better way; and one of their great tragic writers deplored the insane fratricidal strife that was ruining both Athens and Sparta. "How much better," he said, "is peace for. mankind than war, — peace, the friend of the Muses, the foe of lamentations, peace rejoicing m numerous offspring, and m prosperity. Wicked men that we are who throw to the winds these blessings and choose the decision or war — thus man enslaves his weaker fellow- man and State oppresses State!" That •outburst and the few others like it fell on heedless ears.

It was not till a generation before the birth of Christ that Virgil, the poet of imperial Rome, gave a brief vision of the happy day to be when a new generation of men would appear on earth who would beat their swords into pruning hooks. But as the whole of Vigil's great poem the "Aerieid" is a glorification of arms, it cannot be claimed that he had more than a fleeing poetic glimpse 'Of the return of the golden age. No other writer of great note gave a depiction of the value arid need for universal peace till Dante wrote his exposition of a world-monarchy m the thirteenth century. His thesis was that as the products of the mind were the greatest" of human things, and as peace was necessary to the successful prosecution of the activities of the mind, therefore universal

peace' ■;■ was the requisite for the advancement of "human welfare. : ' <

How far the early Christian writers had . advanced m this region; <xf; thought only a deeply-read ecclesiastical scholar could say.. No .doubt .many hiimble Christians* both lay and clerical, from the very first years of the inauguration of Christianity had dimly described m their own hearts and. brad extended to all humanity the new. principles • of kindess, mercy and charity that were to. prevail when the war-drums throbbed no longer and the spiritual darkness that covered the whole earth had receded before the oncoming of a new heaven and a new earth. In modern times, despite the dreadful carnage of war, that hope has .widened and widened. Even m the face of the present sufferings, thinking men cherish the unconquerable hope, still seek the inviolabie spirit of goodwill.

Human beings are powerless to foresee, and to some extent, too weak to draw, the map. of their own destiny. But it is permissible to hope that the merciless logic of events will prevail over the illogical passions of mankind and finally reinforce those higher and saner aspirations that are .always immanent, if not always visible, m the human mind. And certainly at this Easter.; season, which should be one of peace and goodwill, there can be no more fervent hope than that peace victory—a long, long peace — may once more be the lot of the nations that are battling for justice, and may thus be shared m ultimately by all men everywhere.— Otago Daily Times.