25 MARCH 1916, Page 12

[TO THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."]

Sra,—If the principles of Christ's Kingdom are to be defended by the sword, why did Christ state so emphatically to Pilate " My Kingdom is not of this world: if My Kingdom were of this warkl, then would My servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews" (St. John xviii.) And what can be the meaning of the whole of John's Gospel, notably the 15th, 16th, and 17th chapters, in which Christ, whose words are as clear as pellucid crystal, shows that neither He nor His are " of the world " at all, but they are to be " hated by the world," for His prin- ciples ! That God has a purpose in this war, and that purpose the crushing of Germany and the victory and brotherhood of the Allied kingdoms, no prophetic student has any doubt, and the cementing of their alliance (which has always been broken up before) proves this very specially. But the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, and they (" a little flock " indeed) who " hold this faith and a good conscience's

ought not, surely, to be confounded with " the unstable souls " who have neither, and whose folly is only too manifest on the surface.—