The Dominion. SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 1920. THE SPIRITUAL BASIS OF RECONSTRUCTION

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 90, 10 January 1920, Page 6

The Dominion. SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 1920. THE SPIRITUAL BASIS OF RECONSTRUCTION

' The New Year message to the British Empire from the Prims Ministers of the British Commonwealth is a- remarkable document. The Prime Ministers recognise that the great problems which face tin; civilised world are fundamentally floral and religious problems, and that their right solutiori depends upon the realisation of the supremacy of "those spiritual forces which are the one and only hope for the permanent foundation of world peace." The, war'has shown mankind- that the only sure basis of international ,concord is the moral law. A horrified world has witnessed the consequcnces of the German doctrine that international relationships lie outside the sphere of morality. That doctrine has been judged by its fruits, and damned for'ever. The establishment of the League of Nations is nn impressive declaration to mankind that nations are moral agents, and that they must act justly and honourably to each other. It is a 1 recognition of . the fact that States have duties and obligations-as well as ricrhts and interests. The relations between civilised nations are becoming increasingly comnlex, and their points of contact more numerous, and the extension and strengthening of the authority, of law in this snhere will hasten the coming of the time when the whole human race will be weldpd into an organised community of friendly States working together for their mutual' benefit. This idea of a real fellowship of all nations is. of course, in full accord with that "central message of Christianity" referred to by the Prime Ministers. Their insistence on the supreme importance of the spiritual foundations of reconstruction is an indication that the leaders of political thought have been forced to the conclusion that materialism is a very shaky basis for civilisation.

The Prime Ministers tell us that the principles of Christianity provide the only sure guarantee of "an ordered, harmonious life for all men." Order is Heaven's first law, and without law : and order there can be no real freedom or progress. The sacredness of the State was proclaimed to the Christian world in the declaration of Sr. Paul that "the powers that be are ordained of God." This means that the State is a divine institution. It docs not mean that tyrants and autocrats are divinely appointed, or that resistance to an unrighteous Government is sinful. It does not confer a divine right to govern wrong. The Apostle holds that political authority is an essential part of the divinely ordered constitution ■ of society. In his book on The Influence of GhristianUy on Social and Political Ideas, Dr. A. J. Carlyle remarks that the sacredness of authority lies in the end or purpose for which authority exists. It exists for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a just order. The State is sacred only in so far as it represents the principle of justice. The Christian conception of human society finds expression, says Dr. Carlyle, firstly in the principle of human equality, the principle that all men are possessed of reason and capable of virtue; and we cannot rest till their intrinsic equality finds some reasonable form in the condition and opportunities of human life. Secondly, it finds expression in the principle of the sacred character of the State, sacred because it is the necessary method of the i unity of_ human life, because it is • its function and end to set forward : the supremacy of righteousness and justice in the relations of man to man. Unless the State is built upon these moral foundations it canrtot guarantee "an ordered, harmonious life for all men"; it cannot ensure that "good life" which, according to Aristotle, should be the object of political organisation. The Prime Ministers emphasise the importance of recognising a , divine purpose for the world. Un- ' less such a purpose exists we have no logical justification for belief in human progress. The materialistic interpretation of the universe leads to pessimism. The Christian belief that the moral order is an essential part of' the structure of the universe, and is at least as real as the : world order—that there is "a Divin- ' it.y that shapes our ends rough hew j them how wo may"—provides a rational foundation for optimism. In these momentous days when men of good-will are endeavouring to bring order out of the chaos caused bv the war, and to build a new and better world, it is encouraging to have t-hn assurance that mankind is.' ■ not drifting hopelessly along a dark road that ends in a precipice; but is surely, if slowly, working out its salvation.. The Prime Ministers can find no other justification for this assurance than faith in the eternal validity of those spiritual • forces which are striving to secure the fullest possible measure of "good life'' for humanity. The New Year message strikes a deep religious note. Let us hope that it foreshadows a resolute effort on ;hc pan of the statesmen of the British Empire to raise their leeishtive and ' administrative activities to a hifhin plane, to get out: of th n wretch'''! old nils of political prejudice ami j partisanship, ami to take their stand firmly and courageously on the everlasting principles of justice in all dealings at home and abroad. If statesmen were sufficiently strong, wise, and sincere to make policy and diplomacy conform Co I th" requirements of Christian | cHiies fli" way would lie opened for . the realisation of the highest hopes of the best minds. A now and happier world would soon be created.