Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 10
Prime Minister Asquith publicly said sincere objectors “ought to be able” to use exemptions, but those using conscience as “a pretext… were guilty of… cowardice and hypocrisy,” and later the Home Office scheme aimed to ensure objectors didn’t get “cushy” work compared to trench suffering; how does that framing of conscience (“honest conviction” vs. “cloak”) mirror how Christians today label dissenters within the church, and what concrete decisions would you make differently at work, in politics, or in family expectations if you believed Jesus’ enemy-love must govern “any part in the military system whatsoever”?
Another way to ask: How does calling some objectors “sincere” and others “cowards using a cover” sound like the way Christians today label people who disagree in church? If you truly believed Jesus’ command to love enemies rules out any role in the military system, what would you do differently at work, in politics, or with family expectations?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Asquith’s framing divides dissenters into “sincere” and “pretext” cases, treating conscience as acceptable only when authorities approve the motive; the transcript suggests similar dynamics occur when communities judge dissent as either faithful or merely selfish. If enemy-love governs “any part” of participation, the transcript points toward refusing roles or actions tied to coercion or military control, even at the cost of jobs, reputation, or comfort.
- Asquith: men with “honest conviction” “ought to be able” to use exemptions, but others are guilty of “cowardice and hypocrisy” and will be treated “with the utmost vigor.”
- The Home Office scheme sought alternative work but with an attitude that objectors shouldn’t get “couchy, easy job”; they should “suffer too” like soldiers.
- The speaker notes public hostility: posters mocked COs, calling them weak and ridiculous.
- After release, COs struggled for employment; a Daily Mail item protests CO work “thereby deplacing discharged soldiers.”
- Brocklesby’s personal example: as a teacher, when schools discovered he was a CO, he was asked “to leave.”
- Norman Gotti’s stance: refusing “any part in the military system, whatsoever,” grounding it in “the spirit and teaching of Christ.”