WORLD CRISIS

Hokitika Guardian, 18 October 1933, Page 8

WORLD CRISIS

THE CHALLENGE OF COMMUNISM

THE CHURCH AND POLITICS

AUCKLAND, October 14. t “The world has dome to a crisis,” said Archbishop Averill,' when delivering his charge to yesterday. “Communists insist that they can show us the' way to surmount the 'crisis land find real life. Christians, on the other hand, deny the Communist claim Kind declare that its plan bag fatal flaws in it, but are we going to prove ourselves as much in earnest over building the Kingdom as those others are about building their Communist State ? “It is perfectly useless to shut our eyes to the tact that Christianity has not permeated civilisation even in socalled Christian countries, and has not extended the Kingdom of God over financial, economic, industrial, socjjj ci'd international life. It is perfectly useless to restrict the Christian'religion to individual conduct and salvation and to leave no room for Christ in the business, political, and economic life of the world. “As we look at the world to-day, can we possibly imagine any semblance to the Kingdom of God ? Can we see any clear-cut sense of right and wrong? Is the world capable of ns'ng aright the prodigal gifts of natural science? Now that science has made all men and all nations .near. neighbou'-S, ere me.n capable 'of ira-cting neighbourly? Is there any;spirit, of God, of love„_ of serviceji of sacrifice, in m.iionol .relationships ;to-dayWhat is the value of treaties and pacts and conferences when nation® dishonour their own sig-i;-atures and promise of allegiance and have no sense of loyalty to truth or to one another? “The world, urged on by the world sp'rrih, is drifting into secret or open antagonisms, into mutual suspicions which are the very .antithesis of brotherhood. The failure of Diswuiament and Economic Conferences and ‘the secret and open return to a .recrudescence in the naice of armament® can only end ■in one way. .because the power of'(Christian public opinm'o is too weak to be an effective antidote. “Men. and nation® cling,,to old. a'~d in some c~, S e s effete, iiistitptions and systems and shibboleths —arid the &ank and die naturally resent the prospect of being used for cannon-fodder and are prepared to follow any gleam, which seems to promise the , dawn of a saner world. The spread of Commum ■ism in Russia, and elsewhere is w. re-, action firom the failure of the present system to . establish justice, honour, brotherhood and' peace on the earth. “Tt is useless ’-to shut our eyes to

facts. Christianity is failing to control the ideals of nations, international relationships, and soci.:l relationships a n d readjustments. Men may offer lip service ’to God,., but do they really permit Him to have a voice in national relationships or world readjustment? There may be ®efciional, class and P al 7 brotherhoods in the world, but where is the brotherhood in God? A religion which is self-centred ; and does not penetr te into every relationship in life is

failing. “The truth is that it is not C'hr-®*- o Christianity which is failing, but: the presentation of Christ and Christianity. Communism can never succeed unless Christians become apostates inasmuch as it .attempts to ignore the spiritual instinct in man. to dethrone God and His Christ, and to- belittle man and man’s personality, and yet it is useless to close our eyes to the fact that there are some underlying principles in Communism itself which are more Christian than the attitude to life and moral and social questions of many who. process and. call, themselves Christians. .‘■‘A real revival of Christianity ..in the w6rld—-a real sense of brotherhood and recognition:"of the Father God and man’s ..true relationship to Him, a real attempt to bring the principles and spirit of Christ to bear upon mm’s relationship to man, upon the stewardship of money and talents, upon commerce and industry, and upon racial and national relationships—would save the world from deifying the ‘collective’ and ignoring personality.

RACE ANTAGONISM AND WAR

“If Communism makes the ‘collective’ its god, the Christian needs to beware of making the individual .his god and: ignoring the .rights of others. Judging by the .present .world spirit, I can see no possibility of avoiding race antagonism ending in war unless men' a TI nations accept the only alternative, Jesus Christ. If the white races continue to commit race suicide, and turn their bucks' upon God and His Christ, they may easily stand in a very different relationship to the coloured races from what they do to-day. "We have been told ad nauseam tn» u the Church’s duty is to uphold a.id teach ideals and to abstain from interference in politics. That suiely is only a half truth, and is sometimes responsible for the ineffective witness and work of the Church. It is quite true so long as it 'refers to political partisanship, but, inasmuch as the Kingdom of God ruleth over all, the Church must be prepaied if necessary to enter the political arena in her endeavour to be loyal t<? 'God and to His Ch-nst and to carry her own faith into practice Id the sake of saving men from exploitation and for the redemption of the social order wherever it is contrary to the ethioal teaching of her Lord and Masters