Article December 1, 1945 Issue

Signs of the Times

Proving the Christianity We Preach

with contributions from Stafford Cripps, Daniel A. Poling

Sir Stafford Cripps, as quoted by The Rev. Dr. Daniel A. Poling Christian Herald, New York, New York

This is a time for greatness—and I think the first foundation, indeed the only foundation for true greatness, lies in the moral and spiritual faiths of the people. Mere expediency, or the rival interests of individuals, classes, and nations, can never form the basis for great actions. Just as in war we are taken out of ourselves and are cleansed of our selfish desires and enjoyments by the call of our community to sacrifice our personal interests in the blood and sweat and tears to which we are summoned, so in the years that lie ahead we must be prepared to follow the call of Christ at least as faithfully and with as great a measure of sacrifice as we have followed our human leaders in time of war. ...

We shall not succeed ... with the attainment of world peace until our Christian faith has become implicit in our whole lives and in all our relationships. We cannot be Christians in international politics unless we are also Christians in our personal relationships—above all, in our relationship to God. We must waste no time lecturing others on how they should behave, because none of us has yet learned to be wholly Christian himself.

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