"F. S." Express and Echo, Exeter, England

Philosophers tell us that the birth of a great idea is the birth of a revolution. That being true, how much more is it true when the new idea springs not from mere human philosophy but from a new conception of God and becomes a holy, dynamic passion of faith and love. When that happens a battle royal begins with the entrenched enemies of universal brotherhood, and the armed warriors of righteousness march forth to save the world. Yes, the world.

In ancient Athens the word "church" denoted a company of conscious freemen, and their vision was a free world. Our Saviour used the word without defining it, but the New Testament shows us a city with twelve gates, and those entering come from north, south, east, and west. Men, women, children, of every nation, color, creed, are welcome. The invitation is to all. The key word is "whosoever"; no one is excluded. That is the glowing breadth and length and height and depth of the church as our Lord and the apostles proclaimed it. That is the imperialism of the Spirit, the universality of divine Love.

St. John saw a "holy city,... coming down from God out of heaven." It was to be, is to be, the city of men, of kings and peasants, of every clime and tongue; children playing in the streets; a city of brotherhood, in which no evil has place....

Dogmatic narrowness and bigotry have no place in the Sermon on the Mount. We are brethren, of one flesh and blood, and God the Father of all.

The great word is: Come; whosoever will may come. That is Christian imperialism.

So here we are, you and I, to see in our fellow man a brother, in the woman a sister. The gospel of Christ knows no class, no caste, no sect; it speaks to you, to me, to all people of every nation.

Journal-Herald Dayton, Ohio

There is an eternal law which makes our fellows' welfare our own. No one can gain true joy, a rich knowledge of the kingdom of the Spirit, unless he is willing to share this joy with everyone. ...

We cannot attain to the consciousness of God, which is the kingdom of righteousness, and keep the lease of mankind out. Not one of us can say, "I am the inheritor of grace and this other is not worthy." and sense Love to be around us flooding the universe with light. None of us can pray with the Pharisee, "God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican," and drink from the fountains of His grace.

But how can we, realizing that sin must be annihilated, look upon an erring brother and not condemn him? Without the instructions of Christianity in this matter we would be lost. Without the counselings of Jesus of Nazareth we would remain helpless. Through him we learn to judge just judgment. Through him we learn to behold our brother perfect even as God is perfect.

Has our brother accused us falsely? Has he sought to cheat us? Has he thieved? Let us not hate him for this. Nor yet let us be apathetic and browbeaten. He may need to be punished after the judgments of this earth. Indeed, such a process may be necessary to his awakening out from the flesh and into the Spirit. But let us see to it that our thoughts are not embittered. Let us raise him consciously to the eternal domain. Look upon him as the potential inheritor of the kingdom.

Our reward may come slowly. It may come swiftly. It will come surely. For he who learns to be the keeper of his brother, learns to recognize his brother's potential good, shall have a foretaste of the glory experienced by those to whom has been said, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: ... enter thou into the joy of thy lord."

The Rev. Dana McLean Greeley The Boston Herald, Massachusetts

The hour has arrived for world organization and world order. ... We believe in one God, the Father of all. Why not then one family, including all of the children of God, the whole of mankind?

Dr. Rollin H. Walker The Christian Advocate, Chicago, Illinois

Talk about the great scientific discoveries of the future! They will be as nothing compared with those discoveries of happy and glorious spiritual life which will come to Christians when men of all temperaments, all grades of culture, all races, and all denominations learn the secret of being one in Christ Jesus.

Imagine, for instance, what would happen if, in place of the present tragic industrial tension between labor unions and the employers, the men were all real, cooperative Christians. Then everyone would be alert to increase production. There would often flash upon the humblest worker in the shop an idea that would revolutionize a certain process, and in the middle of the night the employer would get up to note down some new way of making the workers happy, and safeguarding their lives. When that spirit prevails, an unbelievable happiness will pervade the factory, and the blowing of the whistle that summons the men to work will be like the ringing of Christmas bells.

For Christians in a world inflamed by war-engendered hate to appreciate Paul's teaching that we are all parts of the body of Christ is just now unspeakably important.

M. Ashby Jones Constitution, Atlanta, Georgia

I love the word "neighbor." It is the old English "nigh-by." ...

It stood for something very beautiful in our southern life in the years gone by. Indeed, the charm of what we love to call "southern life" was to be found in the fact that it was a neighborhood life. It was the story of a commerce of kindliness, the exchange of needs, and the mingling of ministries.

That was before we moved to the city. But even here in the city the principle is the same. Neighbors are not necessarily those who live next door, but those whose lives are near to us. ...

We have first to change radically our attitude toward other people. Stop thinking about them as "aliens" ... and think of them as "neighbors," and bear not false witness against our neighbors. Whether we like it or not, modern improvements in communication and transportation will force us to live "nigh-by" the other peoples of the world. Shall it be as enemies, or as neighbors?

J. D. McCrae The United Church Observer Toronto, Ontario, Canada

If there is one single word which more than any other contains in its meaning the answer to humanity's most pressing problems today, surely it is the word "fellowship." ...

If we are to have a world-wide fellowship it must spring from an interest that is world wide. Jesus visioned it on such a scale. He came into the world to give the knowledge of God which is eternal life and he wanted that for every human soul.

He himself encountered hostility against his program, and he knew that as his followers and the succeeding Christian church pursued the program they would be opposed. He prays especially for them, therefore, that they may be one.

The fact that he so prayed should be enough to move the hearts of all Christians—not necessarily to abandon views on which opinions differ, but to subordinate them to the supreme aims so that they should never retard progress toward the coming of the kingdom.