[Dr. James Black, in the Christian World, London, England]

Was there ever a more volcanic age than the times of the early church? Governments were in the melting pot; religious were cracking; morals were in a ferment; civilizations were dying and being born. If there were ever problems of personal conduct, those men and women had to face them; if there were problems of providence, a man like Paul had to wrestle with them; if there were problems of nationality, those oppressed peoples had to puzzle over them; if there were problems of social justice, those slaves and freedmen had to endure them....

The truth, I think, is glorious—a problem, as a fact or an experience, only exists for those who do not see a way out. As soon as I see a way out, my problem ceases to exist. The thing is no longer a problem....

Problems do not exist for those who live on a plane above them. Martin Luther tells in his "Table Talk" how he watched his little boy fretting over a mechanical puzzle, and he remarks that he felt a little as God must feel to us, because, knowing how the puzzle should be worked, he had no problem for himself. If only we have a higher illumination and a deeper knowledge, most of the things we call problems vex us no more. For instance, we speak about race problems and social problems. But it is the level of our life that creates them. If we live on the plane of St. Paul, where "there is neither Greek nor Jew, ... Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free," there is no problem at all! We speak of economic problems and international problems and war problems. But it is all a question of our plane of life! And what about conscience problems or duty problems or moral problems? I assert that there are no problems to those who live on a plane above them. There is not even a problem of God for those, who, like Jesus, live with God.

[Rev. Dr. John McDowell, as quoted by L. H. Robbins, in the New York Times Magazine, New York]

It is the first duty of the church to raise up a breed of men determined never to prosper at the expense of their neighbors. If self-government in industry is to continue here in America, we must have leaders in both capital and labor who believe that things are for men, not men for things; that industry exists for society, not society for industry; that social duty must take precedence over private right.

If the churches remain silent in the face of the present need for light and guidance, then the workaday world will turn away from the churches. It may not be the business of the church to give the world economic program, but it is the business of the church to see that no economic program is permitted to exist under which injustice and oppression and reckless gainseeking find shelter. No program, no kind of social machinery will produce happiness or welfare when selfishness runs it....

Something may be done to solve [our problems] by legislation and by economic manipulation; but an ultimate solution that will endure is possible only through the appeal of religion—ethics, morals, or what you will—to men's hearts. Our present troubles are due to the fact that our true relations have been lost. We must get back the right attitude toward one another.

Nothing else will ever save society. The spiritual must dominate the material, otherwise there can be no assurance of happiness for any individual or any class. The only law under which men and nations can thrive is the law of kindness, mercy, and justice. When we come back under that law and use it in our everday world, men toward men, groups toward groups, nations toward nations, we shall have no more calamities such as the one now paralyzing civilization....

But intelligence alone cannot avert another breakdown. It must take religion for its partner if the broken world is to be surely mended for humanity....

There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be made right by the spirit of brotherly love and the orderly processes of constitutional democracy. And the church and its followers must be prepared, at any sacrifice of their own ease and comfort, to make this affirmation more than an empty gesture. Men must live their faith in the sight of men. Example, not edict, is the thing that will bring out the saving goodness and coöperativeness in human nature.

To spiritualize the world is the most vital step toward world recovery. It is deeper than politics, more fundamental than economics. If the church is to be the guide the nation needs now, it must know that its strength lies not in political policies, economic programs, ceremonial pomp, or material resources, but in the truth it teaches, the life it communicates, the character it creates.

Apply that truth to every human relation and all problems will be solved, faith will be recovered, fear will vanish, and peace will take up its abode in the hearts and the homes of men and in the life of America and of the world. The world has had all it can endure, I believe, of selfish, materialistic, nationalistic philosophy. It asks for a true and a sound philosophy for the future. Religion—all religion that promotes the realization that "I am not only my brother's keeper but also my brother's brother"—offers such a philosophy to the world today.

[From the Fort Madison Democrat, Iowa]

Many folk, when using the term "divine service," refer to church services. The term is, of course, correct when used in that sense. But one should not confuse divine service as meaning only church service.

Divine service, in reality, is any task in living the life of a true Christian. It may be the giving of a "cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple." Any act of kindness, encouragement, or helpfulness, in the spirit of Christianity, is a divine service. Such a viewpoint gives one an insight as to what actually constitutes divine service, and reveals to him the possiibility of being constantly engaged in divine service.

Attendance at church is not to be discouraged. In fact, it should be encouraged. But divine service is something in which we may be engaged at all times, daily, yes, even hourly.

[S. M. Berry, in St. Martin's Review, London, England]

In the things of the Spirit we are learners to the end, and as comrades upon the road of life we share the lessons we have learned and the things we have seen from the angle of our own individual experience....

When Christianity comes to us it is like light. Its coming is ... clear and convincing. We do not find it; it finds us. We may argue about it at great length, and yet be strangers to it; and sometimes when we possess it most surely we find it extremely difficult to put into words. All we can tell is that when it has come it brings with it a sense of light, as though for the first time we saw things clearly. Although after that light has come many mysteries still remain unsolved and many baffling problems trouble us, we are content to wait for the unraveling of the tangles, ... certain in our hearts that behind all the strangely perplexing facts ... there is an infinite source of wisdom and love....

In any case, whatever the circumstances in which Christianity finds us, it never allows us to remain selfish in our assurances. The light which shines from God searches out the darkness in our own natures, and humbles us to the dust in honest confession. It makes us fight the forces of evil in our own lives, against sensuality and against selfishness and meanness in every form, against the habit of excusing ourselves and condemning others; in short, against everything included in that unpopular word "sin." Then after that cleansing of self, which is a continuous process, it will not let us rest until we are using our lives for the sake of our fellows' good. It chases us from all those motives which are centered upon self; disturbs and dislodges us from the little satisfied and comfortable positions, and makes us use whatever we have and are for the welfare of the world. The light which shines in our hearts is not like a private lamp to give a comforting radiance to ourselves: it is a light which points us to adventures from which, often enough, we shrink. All Christian history tells the story of what that light means when it comes into the lives of men, and however we may be disposed to criticize the religion of today, we cannot imagine what the world would be like if that light, and the people who live in it, were suddenly withdrawn. It would be a world robbed of its strongest characters and finest inspirations. The thing which is saving the world from corruption at this moment is the spirit of Christ in its numberless expressions.

And what the world needs today more than it needs anything else is for that light to shine into the lives of all men. It would give to the life of the individual the sense of worth and value which is so largely lacking; for this age of ours, with all its boasted freedom and liberty of self-expression, is haunted by the doubt as to whether there is anything worth expressing. The spirit of cynicism and disillusionment which is so prominent in life and literature is the gravest peril, for it means that men are in danger of losing any sense of personal responsibility. Everything great decays with the decay of faith. Any scheme of reformation for society and the world is hopeless apart from that change in individual outlook and spirit, and for that a real religion is indispensable.

[Dr. Edwin McGrew, as quoted in the Star-News, Pasadena, California]

There are certain scientific and intellectual persons who say that since the great war there are no more standards of character and conduct. Some may fail to mesure up to the standards; some people's religion fails—but that is different from saying that God and religion are a failure. We have seen the standards of Christ in individuals about us; they are not erased from the pages of our civilization.

[From the Malvern News, England]

Apparently, among native Christians in certain parts of the African bush, what is known as "Forgiveness Week" is an annual festival. During that week everyone pledges himself to forgive his neighbor any real or fancied slight or wrong which may have been a cause of trouble between them.

It has been found that "Forgiveness Week" does, in fact, lead to a great many reconciliations and to a very real understanding of the Christian duty of forgiveness. It has been suggested that it be a good thing if the custom were transplanted from Africa to other countries!