Article April 12, 1919 Issue

The world cannot be reconstructed by a formula

Dr. S. Earl Taylor

The world cannot be reconstructed by a formula. No mere agreement among diplomats can heal the wounds of war. No international constitution, however perfect in its phrasing, and no mere economic revolution, however sweeping in its scope, can bring about the universal reign of peace and good will among men. Such a peace is the fundamental aspiration of every human heart, but it cannot be realized through force, it cannot be realized through government, and it cannot be realized through law alone. World democracy ca,n and will be realized only through the practical application of the religion of Jesus, and nothing but faithlessness on the part of the Christian church need delay its realization.

No mere intellectual agreement can end wars. Unless we remove the envy and greed behind these agreements, the thirst for dominion and the lust for power, the peace treaties will turn out to be scraps of paper. Mere sanitation cannot clean up our cities. Sanitation will help, progressive building codes will help, and the church must not be indifferent to these things—but until the human heart is cleansed the body will remain impure. No mere agreements will settle the strife between capital and labor. There must be an agreement based on fundamental justice and something more. What is needed is a full realization of the psychological fact that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Christianity transcends any system of equity—and when the joint boards of employers and employees seriously begin their negotiations with fervent prayer they will get results that neither strikes nor arbitration could possibly bring.

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