if the wrong people get hold of it,

如果错误的人控制了它
begin to attack or erode their society.

它可能危害和侵蚀社会
There were a lot of people,

有许多人
particularly in the North but then quickly in the South as well,

尤其是在北方的但是很快也有南方人
who when this war broke out

在这场战争爆发的时候
began to see it in terms of cosmic dualism,

开始从宇宙二元论角度看待这件事
good and evil--God was entering history.

善与恶上帝走进了历史
Right away, Christian America began

美国的基督教很快就
to interpret this in millennial terms.

以上千年的措辞来解释这个
God had a quarrel with America,

上帝和美国吵架
people started arguing;

人们开始争论
and they're going to really be arguing this

人们真正开始争论这个问题