In 1914, Europe went to war, because of German expansionism, but without a central moral purpose as in 1939. Christian leaders had to scramble to find justification, which they soon located in our sinful nature, and most particularly the sinful nature of the opponents. In major respects, therefore, the First World War was a religious war, battling against the infidel. Anglican leaders, like the Bishop of London, Arthur F. Winnington Ingram, urged the necessity of killing Germans; and Lutheran leaders on the other side, like Adolf von Harnack, were no less bloodthirsty. There was an often-despised pacifist minority. In England, this included the philosopher Bertrand Russell, who was very much not a Christian, and members of the “Fellowship of Reconciliation,” who very much were Christians. In America, the Episcopalian bishop of Utah, Paul Jones, got the sack because of his pacifism, and the Catholic Ben Salmon was sent to jail and refused communion by his church.
