War Chowder, James White, Sept 9, 1862

This is a response to letters received re: “The Nation” editorial August 12, 1862

REVIEW AND HERALD, VOL. XX.
BATTLE CREEK, MIGH., THIRD-DAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1862.
No. 15.

To Correspondents

DEAR BRETHREN : Many of you have written in reference to your duty in case of military draft. This trial has unexpectedly come upon you, and be assured it has been to us a most perplexing subject. Your communications have occupied much of our time. And, probably, when many of you have been enjoying .refreshing sleep, we have been in anxious meditation and prayer over this subject. Some of you have urged us to take a position, but we waited, fearing we might err. And we knew, from the experience of the past, that whatever position we might take, we should suffer censure. Some have tried to draw us out with series of ingenious questions, requesting an answer to each, yea or nay. We have been pressed on this subject with the prophetic inquiry, ” Watchman, what of the night ?”—a question more easily answer- id than to tell what every man’s duty is, at this dark hour of the night.

We finally ventured to briefly state our position under the caption, ” The Nation,” a few weeks since. Some of those who seemed most anxious for light on the subject, now object to that article, and speak against it with positiveness. We inquire, Did they ever feel their need of light on the question ? If they did, how have they obtained it?

Some write as though they thought we were pleased with all our laws, officers, and the manner in which the present war has been conducted. In this they do us great injustice. Let them read that article again, free from the fever of excited prejudice, and they will not mistake our position. . We have spoken against slavery and the rebellion in the most unsparing terms. We have taught that slavery would exist till the second coming of Christ, and that the prosperity of the nation was gone forever. We have never encouraged any one to join the army, and have trembled for those who have voluntarily put themselves in a position to break the Sabbath.

Some, in their reckless fanaticism, will never be satisfied unless they can drive us to oppose enlisting, denounce the government, and bring upon our people the brand of secession, and unnecessarily expose life and property. We can cheerfully resign our position in the cause, but never yield to any man’s fanaticism, and bear the responsibility of disgracing the Seventh-day Adventists, and the truth they hold. In reference to misunderstanding our position, Bro. R. F. Cottrell speaks in the following:

BBO. WHITE : Last sixth-day morning I wrote to you an inquiry respecting the duty of our people in case they should be drafted for the war, whether they should refuse, and lay down their life rather than go. At evening of the same day I received your answer in the Review. I have nothing to object to your position; but hope you have the mind of Christ. All we want to know is, how the Lord would have us act. We can well afford to trust in God when we know we are doing his will.

But I am satisfied that your article will be wrested from its evident meaning by some of military propensities, who will claim that it is right, voluntarily, to put themselves in a position to break God’s commandments. Your words, I say, will be wrested by some, notwithstanding no such idea is contained in them, but the reverse. I trust you are right in what you have written, and it will be a relief to some minds that were inclined to think it would be duty to die rather than become a soldier.

God is able to deliver his people in any way he chooses. He can save them from being drafted, which I trust he will. I think it is his pleasure to save his decided, honest children from being forced to break his commandments.

Bro. M. E. Cornell also writes—

“I was glad of your remarks on the present crisis, in the last Review. I have feared that some of our people would bring upon themselves unnecessary trouble by their rashness in speaking or acting in these perilous times. While we would be ‘harmless as doves,’ we must not forget to be ‘wise as serpents.’”

Some get up Daniel in the lion’s den, and the three Hebrew worthies in the fiery furnace, as parallels to being drafted. If the war was against Seventh-day Adventists, this might do. The events of Rev. xiii,15-17 are doubtless a parallel to the above-named cases. In reference to the Sabbath, may not the position of the Hebrews in Egypt be a parallel to drafted Sabbath-keepers in the army? They could not keep the Sabbath, neither could these. God did not, so far as the record is concerned, hold them, responsible for doing what they could not help. Would he these? Would God have been honored by their resisting unto death ? Could he thus be honored in these?

We have not been expecting to see our brethren drafted into the service at present. God has affairs in his hands yet. If we humble ourselves before him, and send up our united petition for this evil to be averted, instead of giving way to excited prejudices, he may have mercy upon us. One thing we have noticed: those who have been most highly tinctured with the fanaticism growing out of extreme non-resistance, are generally the most clamorous against our article. Should we give all that we have received since the appearance of the article, all sides would be argued, and we should have what might be called a war-chowder.

One thinks the article all right. Another thinks the American war of the Revolution right, but to fight in the present war would be a violation of the sixth commandment. Conclusion. It was right to violate the sixth commandment then, but not now.

Query. If what is called civilized warfare be a violation of the sixth commandment, then did not God in the former dispensation require his people to break the sixth commandment ?

A third starts off with the text, “Resist not evil,” and after showing the evils of the requirements of the present war, concludes that we must not resist, but go. However, we question the use made, of the text. A fourth gets up Paul and Silas forbidden to speak in the name of Jesus, and makes their case parallel to a military draft, and concludes with their declaration, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” A fifth says, if government compels us to go to the seat of war, we should willingly go, and. further, if possible, and quotes as proof the words of Christ, “Whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.” And so we might multiply novel positions.

A man who will take a few texts, and, regardless of the context, run them in sustaining his views till he blindly runs them across the plainest Scripture facts, is not a safe expositor of the sacred Scriptures. When the Word is correctly understood, a harmony will be seen. Well-written articles, harmonizing the Scriptures on the subject, will be thankfully received.

http://www.adventistarchives.org/docs/RH/RH1862-V20-15/index.djvu?djvuopts&page=2

Tags: Civil War, James White, Military Draft, Moderate, Uncategorized