Church Army

“ Saint Paul, in writing to the Christians of his day, urges them to be "good soldiers of the Lord Jesus Christ." If every Christian is a soldier, then the Church ought to be called "the Christian Army." And this makes plainer to us what it means to join the Church.
Armies, as you know, are divided into regiments, and regiments into companies. Every soldier in the army belongs to a certain company. ”

“ The first change for the better that I shall speak of is the progress I have seen in church fellowship. The division of the Christian church into denominations is a fixed fact and likely to remain so for a long time to come. Nor is it the serious evil that many imagine. The efficiency of an army is not impaired by division into corps, brigades and regiments, as long as they are united against the common enemy ”

“ Working men are trained as evangelists, and working women as mission sisters, and are supplied to the clergy. The men evangelists have to pass an examination by the arch-deacon of Middlesex, and are then (since 1896) admitted by the bishop of London as “lay evangelists in the Church”; the mission sisters must likewise pass an examination by the diocesan inspector of schools. All Church Army workers (of whom there are over 1800 of one kind and another) are entirely under the control of the incumbent of the parish to which they are sent. ”

“ But I was not to be defeated or turned from the object on which my heart was set in this fashion, so I called them together, and addressing them said, 'My comrades, the formation of another Church is not my aim. There are plenty of Churches. I want to make an Army. Those among you who are willing to help me to realise my purpose can stay with me. Those who do not must separate from me, and I will help them to find situations elsewhere.' ”

“ They never go to a parish unless invited, nor stay when asked to go by the parish priest. Officers and sisters are paid a limited sum for their services either by the vicar or by voluntary local contributions. Church Army mission and colportage vans circulate throughout the country parishes, if desired, with itinerant evangelists, who hold simple missions, without charge, and distribute literature. ”

“ The army was still in dire straits, suffering, on the one hand, from extreme hunger, and, on the other hand, tormented by fear of the pagans who surrounded them. Finally, placing their faith in divine assistance, they observed a three-day fast, instituted by the splendid bishop of Puy. In every church they poured forth suppliant litanies, purifying themselves by sincere confession of sins; when the bishop had granted them absolution, they faithfully took communion of the body and blood of the Lord. ”

“ In these homes the Church Army deals with the outcast, the destitute, and the despairing men, women, girls and youths wholly irrespective of creed or character. They came to us from the streets, the casual wards, the workhouses, the police courts, the prisons. You will be interested to hear that her late Majesty the Queen wrote us : The Queen deeply appreciates and sympathises with the excellent work of the Church Army. The late Bishop of London, Dr Creighton, speaking at the Mansion House, once gave this telling description : A Church Army Labour Home makes no great show ”

“ It exists for the express purpose of combating error and repressing evil, in whatever form it may appear; and whether it be instigated by the devil, or the world, or the flesh. But, let us ask, Who ever heard of an army without a chief? An army without a supreme commander is an army without subordination and without law or order; or rather, it is not an army at all, but a rabble, a mob.
The supreme head of Christ's army—of Christ's Church upon earth, is our Sovereign Lord the Pope. Some will not accept his rule, and refuse to admit his authority. ”

“ The holy days of Lent were also at hand, and were rendered more religious by the presence of the priests, insomuch that the people being instructed by daily sermons, resorted in crowds to be baptized; for most of the army desired admission to the saving water; a church was prepared with boughs for the feast of the resurrection of our Lord, and so fitted up in that martial camp, as if it were in a city. The army advanced, still wet with the baptismal water; the faith of the people was strengthened and whereas human power had before been despaired of, the Divine assistance was now relied upon. ”

“ These Institutions did not originate under the protection of an army; nor did they, at their origination, require an army to protect and keep them in existence. An army is a disgraceful appendage, and destructive of every good principle in the Church:—it is not an honourable appendage to the office of King. To the people, it is a burthen and an immoral pest; less requisite in this island than in a continental nation. Give the people knowledge in their Churches, and they will soon dispense with an army. ”

“ In its special mission of reclaiming and preventing the waste of humanity, the Salvation army has put life and force into the desiccated idea of the ‘Church militant.’ Of this idea, as well as of the poor, General Booth has been for over half a century the prophet, and also the prophet of a human brotherhood, the Christian ideal of which is more largely realized in his army than in any other branch of the church. ”

“ We held our Sunday service at 2.30 in the afternoon, as many of the men were busy in the morning, and others were out quite a distance and could not get in before that time. The attendance varied, as the troops were constantly changing, but it averaged from thirty to forty-five. The room was generally full of earnest, thoughtful men, eager to hear the Word of God. The congregation was made up from all ranks of the army, Generals, Colonels and all classes of other officers and numbers of enlisted men. These mingled and talked together in a way that is only possible through Christian Science. ”

“ A goodly number have decided to begin the Christian life and have taken their places in the ranks of the followers of Jesus Christ. We are thankful that the army of the Lord has received so many new recruits. But there are many more who are not as yet willing to enlist. The number of those who are still outside the ranks is greater than of those who are marching under the banner of the visible Church. ”

“ The fact that the chaplain of a regiment might have members of a number of sects in his audience would tend to create a common interest, and also the fact that whenever the troops were near a church they were ordered to attend regardless of denomination. The incident is related of Washington who was Anglican that he and a number of his men, asked a Presbyterian minister to give them communion in his church, and it was gladly done.176 All of which were factors in bringing about democracy in the church. ”

“ Is not the idea horrible, and of the worst description, that a Church and King, or Church and State, should exist and hold together on no better tenure than a military power; than that of an army constantly under arms to keep the people from carrying their complaints to an extent disagreeable or alarming to the men in office? Yet such is all that you can boast of in the present state of the Institutions of the country. ”

“ Fourth—These churches and this army are under, and are led by pastors who are for the most part the children of this Association. This means thorough equipment, and discipline, and effectiveness, and aggressive work.
When we look at what has been done in the line of church work in our vast field, and compare it with our limited resources, we are satisfied and speak the praises of the noble men and women in the field and in the office. We have garnered fruit grandly proportionated to the planting. ”

“ Each chaplain has the freest scope for work. The methods of men differ in many walks in life; so with the Army chaplains. Each is encouraged to work in his own way, applying his own particular gifts as he thinks best. You will have gathered already that the door of the Army is open to ministers of all denominations, and that these ministers receive their appointments when the soldiers professing to belong to a denomination have reached a given number. No special favour has been extended to the Established Church; she enjoys no advantage except that which her numerical strength affords. ”

“ History has repeated itself once more and the new kirk has fought its way to a place alongside of the old kirk. It has been an interesting process, and the outcome is notable as an illustration of the liberalizing tendencies of modern opinion, whether religious or political.”
Such was the tolerant and friendly attitude with which the public as a whole accepted the appointment of Christian Science chaplains in the army and navy. ”

“ Commissioned Acting Chaplains—All Creeds Participate—Stories of Christian Workers at the Fighting Base—Pluck, a Miracle Worker—A Whole Regiment Praying—More Chaplains' Stories—The French Mayor's Speech—Protestant Service in a Roman Catholic Church—An Old-Fashioned "Revival"—The Cross upon the Field of War—A Hospital Confirmation Scene—Y.M.C.A. at the Fighting Base—The Story of the German Sniper.
Perhaps this is the best time to say a word about religious ministrations in the Army.
When a soldier enlists he is expected to "declare" his "religion." ”

“ The Army's invariable principle of avoiding even the appearance of attacking any other association of religionists, or their ideas or practices, renders it difficult to explain fully either why William Booth became the regular minister of a church, or why he gave up that position ”

“ The Bible would seem to give the impression that the church is the army of the Lord of Hosts, a disciplined army of hardy, heroic souls, each soldier aiding his fellow in working out the salvation which God is working in him. ”

“ The Evangelical Lutheran Church is the State religion, but all other persuasions are fully and freely tolerated. Education is compulsory, and is largely disseminated. The army consists of 60,000 men, while the navy is quite small, having a personnel of about 4000 officers and men. ”

“ What is the response many people make to Christ's command to feed the soldiers with Divine Food? “Send them away. We have nothing to do with soldiers. We do not like them or their work. Send them away. We do not feel called to provide for them. They are a self-willed multitude; their calling must make them hard and callous. Nothing good can be done with soldiers. Amuse them if you will. Keep them in a good temper, for an angry Army might be inconvenient; but send them away from the Church of God. Let the State do its best to make them skilled life-destroyers by keeping them from drink and lust ”

“ So it was once common to speak of the Church of France, the Church of Spain, although the Catholics of these lands were in no way separated from their fellow-Catholics in other countries. The analogy of an army may make this idea clear. The French and British armies are really separate; they obey no common authority, they have even in the past made war on each other. But, on the other hand, the French army is one army; it works together and obeys one common authority. ”

“ Brethren, the Church of Christ is a great army of valiant and able-bodied soldiers, sent out to battle with evil, led on by officers who ought indeed to encourage and care for the men, but whose main duty, nevertheless, is to lead them to conflict and conquest. ”

“ A minister who had taken six months’ leave of absence from his church to do Y.M.C.A. work in France asked one of the boys why he liked the Salvation Army girls and he said: “Because they always take time to cheer us up. It’s true they do knock us mighty hard about our sins, but while it hurts they always show us a way out.” The minister told some one that if he had his work to do over again he would plan it along the lines of the Salvation Army work. ”

“ Describe the march of the army through Salt Lake City. 12. Where did the soldiers camp? 13. When did they leave Utah, and where did they go?
CHAPTER XXXIV. PROSPERITY.
The action of the "Mormons" in again leaving the homes they had newly made in the wilderness of the West, called the whole world's attention to them. Many honest people began to see what a mistake it had been to send armed soldiers against an innocent people.
When the army was withdrawn, peace once more prevailed, and the Church was again busy preaching the Gospel to the world and gathering the honest from the nations. ”

“ And yet, to those who live near enough to notice it, the exercise of force by means of church steeples and bells is far more violent, all the year round, than the utmost attack of the average Corps upon some few occasions. ”

“ Monasticism made this conviction peculiarly personal. The organised Church asserted it on every occasion. The conversion of the barbarians was viewed, in a broad sense, as an invasion and a conquest. It was a campaign with all western Europe as its field. In time it covered six centuries or more. The generals, the able strategists, were the competent and zealous Roman pontiffs, and the subordinate officers were emperors, kings, princes, bishops, and abbots. The army was that great host of devoted monks, of consecrated priests, and earnest Christian laymen. ”

“ This made it possible for the members of these denominations to have the services of a chaplain of their own faith and to have services conducted according to the tenets of their church.
A person seeking a commission in the army as a chaplain must make application to the Adjutant General in Washington. He must be a citizen of the United States over 21 and under 45 years of age; must be a graduate of a recognized college or university or able to pass an examination in certain subjects named by the Adjutant General ”