Participating in a war effort differs in most respects from that of peace. Yet in human experience both peace and war have certain things in common. One of these is unity. The unity which is being achieved through common necessity is as essential to peacemaking as to the making of war. The claim that men unite in periods of danger but will not work together otherwise is not basically true. Because it is a false claim it must be intelligently seen for what it is and overcome through an understanding of the spiritual nature of God and man.
Peacemakers in the past have often failed because of too limited an understanding of the true nature of peace. This has induced many students of history to believe that enduring peace is a will-o'-the-wisp. It has been believed that peace is a period in which more formidable wars are incubated. This mistaken sense has deceived humanity into believing that recurring wars are inevitable. But this is not so.
The Apostle Paul clearly indicated the basis of everlasting peace when he told the people of Athens that God "hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth." Present-day peacemakers should not overlook this spiritual fact, but should seek to understand it. Responsive to the impulsion of divine Love, the human heart maintains its integrity undisturbed by the upsetting emotions of conflicting ideologies. The attempt of the carnal mind to keep men divided into irreconcilable habits of thought is doomed to failure, for in the light of Christian Science it is seen that no such mind actually exists.
