bereft of the face of
God, deprived of His mercy and in the direct line of divine wrath.
Therefore, they have shunned each other most rigidly, exercising mutual
animosity and rancor. Consider the record of religious warfare, the
battles between nations, the bloodshed and destruction in the name of
religion. One of the greatest religious wars, the Crusades, extended over
a period of two hundred years. In this succession of great campaigns the
western crusaders were constantly invading the Orient, bent upon
recovering the Holy City from the hands of the Islamic people. Army after
army raised in Europe poured its fanatical legions into the East. The
kings of European nations personally led these Crusades, killing and
shedding the blood of the Orientals. During this period of two hundred
years the East and West were in a state of violence and commotion.
Sometimes the crusaders were successful, killing, pillaging and taking
captive the Muslim people; sometimes the Muslims were victorious,
inflicting bloodshed, death and ruin in turn upon the invaders. So they
continued for two centuries, alternately fighting with fury and relaxing
from weakness, until the European religionists withdrew from the East,
leaving ashes of desolation behind them and finding their own nations in a
condition of turbulence and upheaval. Hundreds of thousands of human
beings were killed and untold wealth wasted in this fruitless religious
warfare. How many fathers mourned the loss of their sons! How many mothers
and wives lamented the absence of their dear ones! Yet this was only one
of the "holy" wars. Consider and reflect.

Religious wars have been many. Nine hundred thousand martyrs to the
Protestant cause was the record of conflict and difference between that
sect of Christians and the Catholics. Consult history and confirm this.
How many languished in prisons! How merciless the treatment of captives!
All in the name of religion! Consider and estimate the outcome of other
wars between the people and sects of religious belief.

From the beginning of human history down to this time the world of
humanity has not enjoyed a day of absolute rest and relaxation from
conflict and strife. Most of the wars have been caused by religious
prejudice, fanaticism and sectarian hatred. Religionists have
anathematized religionists, each considering the other as deprived of the
mercy of God, abiding in gross darkness and the children of Satan. For
example, the Chri