The War In China (1900) — The Will of God?

Massillon, Ohio, 1900

THE WAR IN CHINA.

Mrs. Guinn Believes 'tis the Will of God.

GROFF SAYS SATAN RULES.

The Well Known Bible Student Sees in the Situation the Beginning the Fulfillment of God's Prophecy — John O'Connor Says the Rich Man Makes Wars and Should Fight them.

The Rev. Mrs. Guinn, of Allegheny, who will appear at the African Methodist church on Sunday for the first time since her appointment to the charge, expects to shortly deliver a sermon having to do with the war in China. Mrs. Guinn has carefully studied the situation in the East, in connection with biblical assertions and prophecies, and her ideas on the subject are interesting in the extreme.

"Millions will be killed,," said Mrs. Guinn today, "but when the war is over I think we will see that it was a blessing in disguise. Every great good that has ever been accomplished has been through suffering. Many Chinese have already embraced the Christian religion, and the war will bring many more to Christ. The war, I believe, is the will of God, and its sole purpose is the betterment of the world. I feel that this will be the last war the world will ever see. At its close all nations will point to Christ. Paganism will exist no more."

A SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT VIEW.

Dr. F. Z. Groff, well known as a student of the Bible, takes a somewhat different view of the situation. "Satan rules," remarked he Saturday. "The prophecy of the Lord that perilous times shall come and men shall become lovers of their own selves, covetous and so on, was fulfilled many centuries ago. Even in the Dark Ages such a condition existed. Now that other prophecy, appearing in the twenty-fifth chapter of Jeremiah, is being fulfilled. All the nations of the world are at war, as the prophet predicts; all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms, of the world are involved. And as Jehovah says, 'they shall drink and spew and fall and rise no more, because of the sword I shall send among you.' We are now beginning to realize what was meant by those words. The ministers of all creeds and all religious men are saying that we are on the verge of some great climax. What is it? Let them read their Bibles. Let them look to the prophecies. It is a great situation. All the people of the world perished once before. The Bible tells of what now is to happen."

AS JOHN CONNORS SEES IT.

"We've got no business sending troops to fight those poor people," said John Connors Saturday. "Why can't we leave them alone? If Americans want to go over to make money they ought to take their chances of being killed, and not expect this country to send troops to fight their battles for them. And if all the people were like me there would be no troops sent. I would not take up a gun and go to China, and it they'd all say the same thing there'd be no one to go. Why should free Americans be forced to lay down their lives in a heathen land? Make the men that's getting the money out of the war do the fighting, not the poor man who can figure on nothing but a bullet. This war business is all wrong anyhow. It's no concern of this country if the Chinese want to be heathens. That's their right."

—The Massillon Independent, Massillon, Ohio, July 30, 1900, p. 1.