Back of the immediate causes which have to do with the present awful conflict in Europe, there is an underlying one which we should not ignore.
We stand amazed at the terrible sacrifice of human life, of the tens and hundreds of thousands of souls ruthlessly slain on the fields of battle-on land and sea, and even in skies; and we ask ourselves:Why is all this ? Why this terrible slaughter ? In trying to form some idea of it all, the mind is staggered at the contemplation. Is human life after all only a game of chance ? Is it, as the philosopher put it, but "the survival of the fittest"? Yet we have had some dreams of Universal Peace; we have built our Peace Palaces, and had our Peace Conferences, and we are rudely awakened to find all our fond hopes dashed to pieces! We are as far as ever from a solution of this fond hope of universal peace and of human destiny.
If evolution be true, how are we to account for the fact that the most enlightened nations are the very ones engaged in this death-struggle ? The very ones who had given the bright hope of peace and prosperity are now convincing us of the folly of ever expecting such a thing from men, be they ever so enlightened or progressive, if indeed progress can now be taken in any other sense than the ability to invent means for the destruction of our fellow-men. For though the responsibility of this awful war in a great measure rests on the shoulders of a comparatively few, can those few, or the many, or all mankind put together, stop this gigantic conflict ? Is it not, rather, like a fearful conflagration which has got beyond human control, and needs a master-hand to subdue it ? But where is that master-hand to be found? And why is it not stretched forth to stay the conflagration which has caught the mightiest nations, and is ravaging some of the fairest countries of the earth, leaving myriads upon myriads of homes and hearts desolate ?
May we not go further and ask, If this destruction could have been prevented, why was it not prevented ? These are questions which have agitated the minds of many. What is the answer ?
The answer is dependent upon another question -"Is there a God ?" For if God is not, then we are indeed but irresponsible animals; more intelligent than the horse or sheep, but just as unfortunate; for today we eat and drink, and to-morrow we die. Then the sooner we die and end our misery, the better.
But we cannot subscribe to the Suicide's Creed after this fashion; the whole nature of man revolts against it, and everything around us in its normal condition testifies against it too. Ah, yes, there is a true and living God, who is absolute Sovereign, master of every situation, no matter how difficult; One who is never taken by surprise, but is prepared and competent for every emergency.
Why, then, does God not prevent or arrest such i thing as war ? If He has almighty power, why is it not put forth in such a way as to give us universal peace and prosperity? How often do we hear the denial, or the blaspheming, of God on these very grounds:That if there is a God, why the permission of evil ?
It may not satisfy the average reader to say that a time is fast approaching when God will manifest Himself in the subduing of all evil; when He will be universally owned and submitted to in His government over the earth. Such however is the case, and must fee if God exists at all; for of necessity, He must sooner or later be recognized by all His rational creatures, and His authority must be owned. But it' there is one thing more than another that this period of which we speak as coming will manifest, it is that mere power cannot really subdue evil; for as soon as God's hand is removed, the evil springs up in an intenser form than ever, and God will be obliged to put it down, and keep it down forever, by the power of His wrath.
The whole question, then, is this:If God is to be God, His intelligent creatures must give Him His true place among them as Sovereign; they must manifest their loyalty to Him by unfeigned subjection and obedience. But is not this the very thing that God has been denied by His subjects? Has there not been a conspiracy against Him by those who should be loyal to Him ? Is not this the basic reason of all the ills that affect the world, that man has proved a traitor, and instead of working in the interests of his King and Sovereign, he has worked into the hands of an arch-rebel, and joined in the rebellion against the God of creation ?
Can we wonder then that things are going wrong with man, or that he has troubles that he cannot cope with ? Little as he may be willing to admit it, there is no other answer that the universal conscience of man can give. W. Huss