Religion and the WarYale University. Divinity School
Religion
Religion and the War
Yale University. Divinity School
World War, 1914-1918; World War, 1914-1918 -- Religious aspects
Doubtless the pacifist will emphasize the line, "The zeal of Jehovah
of Hosts will perform this," taking here the view of the Pharisees,
who in contrast with the fanatical nationalism of the Zealots opposed
the aggressive militarism of the later Maccabees with a doctrine of
quietism. Their cry was, "Leave all to God." Against the Zealot they
appealed to the proverb: "They that take the sword shall perish by the
sword," from which the inference is plain that if the aim be never to
lose one's life one should never take weapons. But perhaps Isaiah the
"non-resistant" is entitled to one more chance to prove himself not a
Pharisee, even when he expects "the zeal of Jehovah of Hosts" to win
the victory of peace. Fortunately he tells us _how_ he expects
the zeal of Jehovah to operate, in the doom he pronounces upon
"drunkard" Samaria, the city whose luxuriant mountain-top was crowned
with mingled towers and olive groves, like the fading wreaths upon the
heads of drunken revellers. In contrast to Samaria's fate Isaiah has
this promise for the temple-crowned hill of Zion, shadowed under its
altar smoke:
In that day will Jehovah of Hosts become a crown of glory
And a diadem of beauty unto the residue of his people,
_A spirit of justice to him that sitteth in judgment,
And a spirit of strength to them that turn back the battle at the
gate_.[3]
II
It should hardly be necessary to explain that Jesus in deliberately
giving up the career of purely non-political preacher, teacher, and
healer, to assume the career of _Christ_ and Son of David, fully
conscious as he was of all the dangers it implied, was neither
ignorant of the Isaian ideal, nor out of sympathy with it. When he
rode into Jerusalem accepting the acclamation: "Blessed be the kingdom
that cometh, the kingdom of our father David," he was not betraying
the national hope; he was lifting it toward ultimate realization at
the cost of Calvary.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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