Alexander Campbell Christians Should Never Be in War.

The Civil War tested the unity of the Disciples of Christ and determined the future direction of the church. In addition, it was a test for the conscience of the individual Disciple as to what role he would play in the war. As the war approached, many Disciples continued to adhere to the pacifist stand of the leaders of the Disciples while others joined in the preparations for war. The Disciples' fellowship was divided into "theoretical pacifists, practical neutralists, and militant Northern and Southern war hawks." Which group was most influential cannot be determined, but while many of the preachers North and South were urging non-participation, thousands of Disciples in both sections were enlisting in the armies.

For almost all of 1860, the religious journals of the Disciples remained silent on the conflict, but by 1861 editors were publishing appeals for moderation
and urging unity above all else.

In June, 1861, Alexander
Campbell urged Christians to avoid the war for the Christian is "not permitted to redress his wrongs by taking vengeance
upon the wrong- d o e r — he is to commit his cause to Him to whom vengeance belongs."
The dispute, Campbell said, was an honest difference of opinion concerning the rights and powers of governments over its citizens and the grievance should be settled without war. No true Christian,
Campbell states, "shall be found in the ranks of so unholy a warfare" but rather should "be peaceable and gentle towards all men.""

(Johnnie Andrew Collins. PACIFISM IN THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST: 1866-1945.
A dissertation presented to the Graduate Faculty of Middle Tennessee State Universityin partial fulfillment of the requirementsfor the degree Doctorate of Arts. December, 1984)

Most Church of Christ Preachers Were Moderate Pacifists

"As the events leading to the Civil War occurred, the Disciples remained unsettled and unsure on the issue. However, almost all of their leaders were moderate pacifists due to the influence of Stone and Campbell. These preachers focused on their disdain for the affairs of the world,and their emphasis was upon New Testament primitivism.
Opposed to them were those preachers just as ready to accept the war with Mexico as a means of fulfilling the millennial destiny of Protestant Anglo-Saxon America.""

(Johnnie Andrew Collins. PACIFISM IN THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST: 1866-1945.
A dissertation presented to the Graduate Faculty of Middle Tennessee State Universityin partial fulfillment of the requirementsfor the degree Doctorate of Arts. December, 1984)

War Fought By Those Who Never Start Them.

The outbreak of the Mexican War in 1846 became the first real test of the pacifism of the Disciples(Church of Christ) and triggered the first major discussion of the war question in the Disciples' periodicals. Alexander Campbell had long opposed war. In the first issue of the Christian Baptist in 1823 he wrote:

"And stranger still see, the Christian general, with his ten thousand soldiers, and his chaplain at his elbow, preaching as he says, the gospel of good will among men; and hear him exhort his generals and his Christian warriors to go forth with the fight the battles of God and their country; praying that the Lord would cause them to fight valiantly, and render their efforts successful in making as many widows and orphans as will afford sufficient opportunity for others to manifest the purity of their religion by taking care of t h e m ! !"

In 1845 Campbell wrote an article against war in general but refused specifically to condemn the Mexican War. After dismissing various justifications for war, he pointed out that the teachings of Jesus, particularly in the Sermon on the Mount, opposed war: "If he would not have any of them to render evil for evil, and if he pronounced the highest honor and blessing on the peace-makers, who can imagine that he could be a patron of war !

Campbell's most famous statement on this issue was before a meeting of the Wheeling Lyceum in Virginiain 1848 when he strongly declared his beliefs on the evils of war. Wars, he said, have always been fought for selfish motives and "not one for defense alone." To him "war is not now, nor was it ever, a process of justice . . . it is either a mere game of chance, or a violent outrage of the strong against the weak."

Moreover, the men who fight wars do not make wars, thus those who are innocent as far as beginning the wars suffer the consequences. Wars, he concludes, resultfrom men's lusts and evil passions and Christian precepts
"positively inhibit war."""

(Johnnie Andrew Collins. PACIFISM IN THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST: 1866-1945.
A dissertation presented to the Graduate Faculty of Middle Tennessee State Universityin partial fulfillment of the requirementsfor the degree Doctorate of Arts. December, 1984)