Religion: War, Peace and the Church

Is America's war just and righteous? Yes, said the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. last week. No, it decided, 24 hours later.

Has the U.S. any business being in the war at all? No, declared the Northern Baptists.

These actions highlighted the annual meetings of two great U.S. denominations last week—the Presbyterian General Assembly at Milwaukee, the Northern Baptist Convention at Cleveland.

Presbyterians. At Milwaukee shrewd, silver-tongued ex-Moderator Hugh Thomson Kerr of Pittsburgh caught Presbyterian pacifists off guard on the next to last day. In a silencingly eloquent speech he got the Assembly to declare that...