The Real Jesus of the Four GospelsAtwater, John Birdseye
Religion
The Real Jesus of the Four Gospels
Atwater, John Birdseye
Jesus Christ -- Biography
From this it does not follow that nature's forces do not make for
altruism. As the family, the tribe or clan, the race, and the nation are
successively evolved, the scope of self-interest widens and the means
necessary to attain its ends become less individualistic and more
humanitarian. As Fagin impresses on Noah Claypole, even in a band of
thieves, the number one of Noah must also include the number one of the
other members of the gang. In a modern community, whether Christian or
heathen, the successful business or professional man must necessarily
practice, to a greater or less degree, the same virtues inculcated by
Jesus; otherwise he makes himself an outcast--an Ishmaelite--against
whom every man's hand is turned.
"Honesty is the best policy" of the utilitarian leads to the same
results as the Gospel maxim "to deal justly with all men."
Also the growth of a world-wide commerce, with the accompanying spread
of international law, develops constantly a spirit of international
morality. A nation today, planning a war, must look beyond the question
of how its course will affect the self-interest of other nations. If it
has wisdom in its councils, it must also reckon with this spirit of
international morality. If its cause be too palpably unjust, or the
means it adopts to secure victory be too barbarous, it may shock this
international morality, and bring upon itself unexpected enemies, who
may balk its best laid plans. The possibility of such contingencies
arising will have far more weight than any argument based on the
teaching of Jesus.
THE NECESSITY OF COMPROMISE
In Physics a body acted on by two divergent forces takes a course which
is the resultant of (a compromise between) the two different forces. So,
if Christianity is to survive as an efficient force in man's evolution,
compromises must be made between the ideals of Jesus and the natural
forces expressed in the terms of the struggle for existence and the
survival of the fittest. It is possible that the day may come, when all
nations of our planet may be converted, to put into practical operation
in international affairs the ideals of Jesus. But the experience of the
world during 1914 shows that little, if any, progress has been made in
that direction since the Crucifixion. Suppose the Christian nations of
Europe and America should announce today the doctrine of non-resistance,
dismantle their fleets and dismiss their armies, how long would it be
before the Moslems, or the "yellow hordes" of Asia, would enslave them
and exterminate all Christian religion and civilization? Fortunately,
such a result is unthinkable, and the Christian nations will, until some
unknown time in the future, continue their compromise with Jesus'
ideals. The unspeakable Turk will continue to understand that, if he
massacres some Christian villages, the other cheek will not be turned to
him, but, on the contrary, a righteous retribution of bayonet and shell
will be meted out to him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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