Christianity and Morals by Westermarck Edward Alexander;

Author:Westermarck, Edward Alexander; [Westermarck, Edward]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group
Published: 1939-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter XI

Christianity and the Regard for Human Life

DOI: 10.4324/9780203534472-11

In the preceding chapters we have studied Christian ethics as expressed in theories of salvation, and examined how far these theories are in agreement with the nature of our moral emotions. The remaining portion of the book will be devoted to a discussion of the influence which Christianity has exercised in concrete cases upon ideas and behaviour within different branches of morality.

It inspired a greater regard for human life than was felt anywhere in pagan society. The extraordinary importance it attached to this earthly life as a preparation for the life to come naturally increased the guilt of any one who, by cutting it short, not only killed the body, but probably to all eternity injured the soul; and in a still higher degree than most other crimes, homicide was regarded as an offence against God, because man had been made in his image.1 Gratian says that even the slayer of a Jew or a heathen has to undergo a severe penance, “quia imaginem Dei et spem futuræ conversionis exterminat.”2 The early Christians, in fact, condemned homicide of any kind as a heinous sin; and in this, as in all other questions of moral concern, the distinction of nationality or race was ignored by them.

1 L. Thomassin, Dictionnaire de discipline ecclésiastique, ii (Paris, 1856), pp. 1069, 1074. 2 Gratian, Decretum, i. 50, 40. The sanctity which they attached to the life of every human being led to a total condemnation of warfare, sharply contrasting with the prevailing sentiment in the Roman Empire. In accordance with the general spirit of their religion, as also with special passages in the Bible,3 they considered war unlawful in all circumstances. Justin Martyr quotes the prophecy of Isaiah, that “nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more,”4 and proceeds to say that the instruction in the Word of God which was given by the twelve Apostles “had so good effect that we, who heretofore were continually devouring each other, will not now so much as lift up our hand against our enemies.”1 Lactantius asserts that “to engage in war cannot be lawful for the righteous man, whose warfare is that of righteousness itself.”2 Tertullian asks: “Can it be lawful to handle the sword, when the Lord himself has declared that he who uses the sword shall perish by it? “3 And in another passage he states that “the Lord by his disarming of Peter disarmed every soldier from that time forward.”4 Origen calls the Christians the children of peace, who, for the sake of Jesus, never take up the sword against any nation; who fight for their monarch by praying for him, but who take no part in his wars, even though he urge them.5 It is true that even in early times Christian soldiers were not unknown; Tertullian alludes to such as were engaged in military pursuits together with their heathen countrymen.6 But the number of Christians enrolled in

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