The Rev. P. B. Schaffner
Beacon-Journal, Akron, Ohio

Frank Gervasi, world traveler, writer and lecturer on international affairs, in speaking recently before an Akron audience, defined democracy as a "political application of Christianity." This is a clear and significant statement in our times when we seek to bring peace out of social, economic, political ... chaos.

We firmly believe in democracy. We believe as ardently in Christianity. We believe that the greatest ultimate good for our whole world will come from its individual and collective application in every realm of life. We also believe that the four freedoms and every other worthy liberty will have a better chance in the Christian democratic atmosphere.

But where there is liberty there is also responsibility. That responsibility also reaches down to the last individual in a measure commensurate with his opportunities and capacity. Otherwise our visions of a better world are but utopian and impractical dreams. They need not be such. The secret of their practical working is to be found when we do our part in our prayer: "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.'" Our Teacher has said:

"As my Father has continued working to this hour, so I work too. ... I can do nothing of my own accord. ... my aim is not my own will but the will of him who sent me" (John 5:17,30. Moffatt). If we work under divine leadership, each for all and all for each, we can have a Christian world.

The Houston Chronicle
Texas

Democracy is government by the people. It was proclaimed in our Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights. ..." And whence came this conception? From the Bible. "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him." ...

How is democracy to be preserved? Not merely by force, by defeating in battle those who would overthrow it. Not merely by legislation.

As a nation, let us restore the foundations of democracy by taking to heart that ringing affirmation of the dignity, the worth, the nobility of the individual human life and soul which our Declaration of Independence sets forth. Let us find within ourselves a deeper recognition of the immeasurable grandeur of the origin of man. ... Restore, strengthen, broaden the foundation, which is spiritual, and democracy will flourish.

The Rev. Merrill R. Abbey
The Christian Advocate, Chicago, Illinois

In the Continental Congress, when the Founding Fathers were tempted to compromise ideals in the name of immediate expediency. George Washington made a memorable speech. "It is too probable that no plan we propose will be adopted." he said. "Perhaps another dreadful conflict is to be sustained. If, to please the people we offer what we ourselves disapprove, how can we afterwards defend our work? Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair: the rest is in the hands of God."

Men and women of faith must lift the same principle today. Granted that ... we shall not wake up some morning in Utopia. Granted that the road is a hard and painful one, with many a disappointment and setback. Granted that no plan we draw today will be fulfilled tomorrow just as we drew it. Still we must go on planning and toiling toward the fulfillment of our plan.

We must devote our deepest faith to the convictions that undergird it, for, despite all setbacks and disappointments, that prophetic dream of a world in which men live together in an order born of integrity and unselfishness, so that violence no longer holds sway, is still the most durable reality. In some generation—if we fulfill the conditions, it can be ours— it will yet be true, as the prophet said: "Mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. ... They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain."

The Rev. Herbert Barnes
Evening Chronicle
Newcastle-on-Tyne, England

There is a graphic figure of speech employed by the prophet Ezekiel. ... Thinking of his nation under the metaphor of a wall, he upbraids those false prophets who connive at expediency, and refers to them as building up a wall and daubing it with untempered mortar. ...

Untempered mortar is imperfect mortar; it is that in which insufficient lime is used.... Hence, under the wear and tear of the elements, the mortar disintegrates and the stones fall apart.

Ezekiel says that the false leaders and teachers of his people had been building the walls of a nation's strength and defense in just that way. In their dishonesty and deceit and lack of integrity they had been daubing with untempered mortar. ...

Honesty and fair dealing are the only principle upon which individual or national life can safely rest. Whatever the party in power, there must be a vision beyond party. The structure can only endure when built with the tempered mortar of justice and righteousness. ... Our imperative concern, now and always, is to build character and manhood. No wall of national greatness is built securely unless it is tempered with that mortar.

In our own land today it is well to remind ourselves that the building of the wall of our national strength is not wholly an affair of Westminster, It still remains the affair of homes and schools and churches.

Benld Enterprise
Illinois

"Almighty God, we make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection; that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government; to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens of the United States at large." ...

Our nation was founded upon the principle which is the foundation of all monotheistic religions— the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. We gave allegiance to this credo when we accepted as the cornerstone of this republic the declaration that all men are created equal.

Consider this prayer of our first President. He prayed first for divine protection for" the United States. Next for the willingness of Americans to submit themselves to the haws which they themselves make to the will of the majority. And lastly he prayed that they have brotherly affection and love for one another as fellow citizens. Here was no mention of race, creed, or color. ...

Our need for brotherhood is even greater today than it was when the republic was founded. If we are to survive as a nation, if we are to take our proper place in the world of nations, we must have brotherhood—not a condescending charity toward those whose ancestry, faith, or work is different from ours, but a wholehearted acceptance of the kinship of all right thinking men of the brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God. America, is made up of all races and creeds, but Americans, if honest, must respect individuals for what they are. ... The strength of brotherhood is the strength of love. If we as individuals cannot get along with, our neighbors, how can we ever hope to live peacefully with other nations? Prejudices and bigotry are the subterfuge and the foundation of all wars.

The full expression of brotherhood is the Golden Rule, which has never been surpassed as the most practical rule of life and as the only basis for peace on earth. As we celebrate the birthday of the father of our country, let us pause to pledge ourselves again to that Golden Rule of life—"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets."

Chaplain Edward L. R. Elson
The Chaplain
Washington, District of Columbia

We are a covenant nation, recognizing our dependence upon God. Before the Pilgrims landed in New England they drew up a contract in the "Mayflower" cabin which began with the words, "In the name of God, Amen." From the very beginning our destiny was asserted to be derived from God.

We are heirs of democracy. But where does democracy get its power? We say democracy means that the individual and not the state is of supreme value, ... that men can be trusted with their own destiny. Where do we get that? It emerges out of the Jewish-Christian tradition, It comes out of the church.

We say democracy means freedom of worship, of assembly, of speech, and of press. Where do we get that? To be sure, it is guaranteed in instruments of government called the Constitution and Bill of Rights. But it emerges primarily from our religious tradition.

We say democracy means that ordinary men can be inspired and led to put the common welfare above their own selfish interests, that they know the meaning of service. Where do we get that? It comes cut of the Sermon on the Mount and shines forth from Calvary 's cross. It comes out of the church. Indeed, democracy, as we know it is so much a product of the Christian church, and especially the Reformed tradition, that it may be doubted if democracy can survive where Christ does not redeem and inspire large sections of the population. "In God We Trust" is not only a motto on a penny: it is a foundation for national existence.

Dr. Archer Wallace
Christian Herald, New York, New York

The great philosopher, Plato, said that the best rulers are those who rule unwillingly, who hold office because they have a deep sense of responsibility. Washington shrank from official leadership, but in 1775 he wrote to his wife: "You may believe me when I assure you in the most solemn manner that, so far from seeking this employment. I have used every effort in my power to avoid it. ... I shall rely on that Providence which has heretofore preserved and been bountiful to me not doubting but that I shall return to you in the fall." After his death an intimate friend wrote. "He carried the spirit of true piety both in his private and public life."