In this long out-of-print study, first published in the immediate aftermath of World War I, the theologian Cecil John Cadoux makes an exhaustive examination of Christian thought on the subject of war and violence during the first three centuries of Christianity's existence. Through a detailed look at the words of Jesus Christ, the early church fathers, Roman historical sources, and modern writers, Cadoux is able to draw the conclusion that war was absolutely forbidden to Christians by the founder of the faith, a prohibition that extended to participation in coercive government. Instead, Cadoux explains, it was the willingness of some nominal Christians to align themselves with the state power structure of the Roman empire as the religion spread and the acceptance of violent behavior became normalized among those calling themselves Christians that led to the gradual development of the modern position of the churches that murder and Christianity can be reconciled, a position that Cadoux recognizes has nothing but expedience behind it.