The Kingdom of God Is Within You | Page 6

confession of faith of such importance to men, that one
would have thought it must have produced a strong impression on
people, and have become known throughout the world and the subject
of discussion on every side. But nothing of the kind occurred. Not only
was it unknown in Europe, even the Americans, who have such a high
opinion of Garrison, hardly knew of the declaration.
Another champion of non-resistance has been overlooked in the same
way--the American Adin Ballou, who lately died, after spending fifty
years in preaching this doctrine. Lord God, to calmly and meekly abide
the doctrine. How great the ignorance is of everything relating to the
question of non-resistance may be seen from the fact that Garrison the
son, who has written an excellent biography of his father in four great
volumes, in answer to my inquiry whether there are existing now
societies for non- resistance, and adherents of the doctrine, told me that
as far as he knew that society had broken up, and that there were no
adherents of that doctrine, while at the very time when he was writing
to me there was living, at Hopedale in Massachusetts, Adin Ballou,
who had taken part in the labors of Garrison the father, and had devoted
fifty years of his life to advocating, both orally and in print, the
doctrine of nonresistance. Later on I received a letter from Wilson, a
pupil and colleague of Ballou's, and entered into correspondence with
Ballou himself. I wrote to Ballou, and he answered me and sent me his
works. Here is the summary of some extracts from them:
"Jesus Christ is my Lord and teacher," says Ballou in one of his essays
exposing the inconsistency of Christians who allowed a right of
self-defense and of warfare. "I have promised leaving all else, to follow
good and through evil, to death itself. But I am a citizen of the
democratic republic of the United States; and in allegiance to it I have
sworn to defend the Constitution of my country, if need be, with my
life. Christ requires of me to do unto others as I would they should do
unto me. The Constitution of the United States requires of me to do

unto two millions of slaves [at that time there were slaves; now one
might venture to substitute the word 'laborers'] the very opposite of
what I would they should do unto me--that is to help to keep them in
their present condition of slavery. And, in spite of this, I continue to
elect or be elected, I propose to vote, I am even ready to be appointed
to any office under government. That will not hinder me from being a
Christian. I shall still profess Christianity, and shall find no difficulty in
carrying out my covenant with Christ and with the government.
"Jesus Christ forbids me to resist evil doers, and to take from them an
eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, bloodshed for bloodshed, and life for
life.
"My government demands from me quite the opposite, and bases a
system of self-defense on gallows, musket, and sword, to be used
against its foreign and domestic foes. And the land is filled accordingly
with gibbets, prisons, arsenals, ships of war, and soldiers.
"In the maintenance and use of these expensive appliances for murder,
we can very suitably exercise to the full the virtues of forgiveness to
those who injure us, love toward our enemies, blessings to those who
curse us, and doing good to those who hate us.
"For this we have a succession of Christian priests to pray for us and
beseech the blessing of Heaven on the holy work of slaughter.
"I see all this (i.e., the contradiction between profession and practice),
and I continue to profess religion and take part in government, and
pride myself on being at the same time a devout Christian and a
devoted servant of the government. I do not want to agree with these
senseless notions of non-resistance. I cannot renounce my authority and
leave only immoral men in control of the government. The Constitution
says the government has the right to declare war, and I assent to this
and support it, and swear that I will support it. And I do not for that
cease to be a Christian. War, too, is a Christian duty. Is it not a
Christian duty to kill hundreds of thousands of one's fellow-men, to
outrage women, to raze and burn towns, and to practice every possible
cruelty? It is time to dismiss all these false sentimentalities. It is the

truest means of forgiving injuries and loving enemies. If we only do it
in the spirit of love, nothing can be more Christian than such murder."
In another pamphlet, entitled "How