The Bay of Plenty Beacon FRIDAY, DEC. 14, 1945. PEACE ON EARTH

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 32, 14 December 1945, Page 12 (Supplement)

The Bay of Plenty Beacon FRIDAY, DEC. 14, 1945. PEACE ON EARTH

THERE is a ringing challenge in the dawn of Christmas •1945. The season of goodwill and happiness was never more put to the test after six years of World War 11. Traditional Christmas with its holly and mistletoe; its candles ; its sym-> bols; its innocent childish-laughter is as nothing if the 400,000,000 Christians in the world are still to be the pioneers of another and more violent period of anarchy, hatred and ruin. Christmas dawns on a sobered world, in which the merry-making is largely curtailed and in which the joy-bells which for centuries have ruyg out the: glad tidings of great joy, lie silenced in the ruin and rubble of what were once fair towns. Peace on Earth falls like a pale light of distant . comfort on the war-weary. It is as the rising sun to the tortured and enslaved. It comes in the brightness of renewed hope for those pioneers who profiting from the bitterness of humanity's two frightful lessons, assert with dogged determination. 'It shall not happen again.' Does the average Christian ever pause to reflect that the nations which have allegedly followed the Cross have been directly responsible for every war of any consequence which has occurred over the past century. Does he realise that within two decades so-called Christian countries have brought about the deaths of approximately fifty million persons! Appalling record! Sufficient to make the humble Gallilean whose birth We celebrate at Christmas, turn away from his> followers in broken-hearted remonstrance. Christianity has led to our greatest social reforms; It has built up our communities in a manner which is a triumph of achievement. It is a blessing which has given the white races the leadership of the world. Science has bequeathed legacies of untold richness throughout all the lands of Christendom. The standard of intelligence, of learning, of living is highest by far in Christian countries. Yet, wo doubt if any heathen country, less enlightened, less .blessed, has a record as black for sheer horror and destruction, as our so-called Christian federation based, supposedly, on the doctrine of the 'brotherhood of man.' The whole truth of the matter is that many so-called Christian countries are not what they claim to be. There is 'a great gulf fixed'' between the true interpretation of the gentle creed and their own diabolical actions,, which have shamed the tortures of the Middle Ages., Again the world has been spared the bleak spectre of a militaristic victory but the faith of humanity has been shaken to its very core. Nothing appears to be as concrete, as lasting, as substantial as it was. There is a sense of mistrust and of uncertainty which ( only a simpler creed and appreciation of the eternal values can mend. Christmas is with us, but its traditional laughter and happiness, still seems very far away. For the sake of our children, cf the future generations to come, and the security of humanity at large it is our duty and our sober privilege to bring them back again together with all the life, love and heartiness with which the centuries have endowed Christmas in the past.

GREETINGS

WITH the approach of Christmas, the BEACON takes this opportunity of wishing its many friends,, subscribers, advertisers and readers, the Compliments of the Season, and the best prospects for a Bright and Prosperous New Year. It has ever been the objective of this paper to bring before the reading public those questions and controversies which have occupied the local mind from time to time. The warm support which has been accorded our efforts in this direction has been deeply appreciated. Town and district communities have combined to lend us the greatest encouragement and we are truly grateful. Our district is a favoured one, destined perhaps for great and historic progress. The future lies before all of us. It is in our hands to mould it for the greatest benefit of all. The demand is for co-operation and progressiveness in all directions. Christmas is in the offing, with, we hope years of peace and prosperity ahead of it* Our opportunity is now ! A MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL.