Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-12-17

! vealed in the life and death Of Jesus
Christ is the only sufficient basis of
human society, that 1t is the only
power by which evil can be overcome
and that in order to establish society
upon such basis those who believe
In this principle must accept It fully
ana dedicate themselves unreservedly
TO the enthronement of Love in every
sphere of personal and social life
The movement thus launched diff
ferentiates itself from others oc-
casioned by the war in certain parti-
culars which arrest attention. 1t IL
obviously not simply an addition to
the already long list of peace So
cieties. While there is no doubt that
the members of the Fellowship stand
absolutely against war. the acceptance
| OF the spirit of Christ as the only
sufficient basis of society clearly in
wolves for them very much more than
! opposition TO war. Their view was
not as an isolated phenomenon but
as only one out of many unhappy
consequences of the spiritual poverty
OF society. While the question of
war may at the present time be the
most serious and most pressing prob
lem confronting them, they conceive
their task to be no less than a COM
mon quest after an order of society
in accordance with the mind of
| Christ.
]
80 great a purpose, seriously un-
dertaken, necessarily implies that the
| Fellowship is not to be primarily a
protest but a power. It's reason for
existence is not in the letter which
| killeth, but in the spirit which
{quickeneth. To those who take this
position it seems that no amount of
negation, no literalistic theories of
nonresistance, no prohibitions of the
use of force, can cure our social dis
eases or eradicate war. The funda-
mental need is a new discovery of
God, fresh return to the sources OF
life, preparation of living channels
of power. 1t is to this deeper work
that the Fellowship is dedicated.
| The Fellowship has no program
to offer as the one path toward its
goal. 1t realizes that it is not dealing
with a single problem, and that there
is no one exclusive way through
which the Spirit works. Its members
are not committed to an organization
or any propaganda, but are devoted
| to the expression of principles, a
| spirit and a message.
| Nor are the members of the Eel
| lowship under any delusion as to the
extent of the gulf between the pres
| ent state of society and the ideal con-
ceived, Yet they squarely differ from
| those who hold that individuals are
thereby excused from attempting the
! immediate realization of that ideals
| To tie members of the Fellowship
the very failure of the world to ac-
cept these principles constitutes the
challenge to apply them unfinchingly
here and now in every relationship.
| Only by such daily faithfulness, they
are convinced, can the spirit of love
| be woven into the very fabric of per-
sonal and social life.
Reconciliation by Reconstruction
o.
| that the Fellowship is as radical as
any of the great religious Reforma-
tions. For it would reconstruct the
church's entire practices, in the mat
| ter of human relationship. The for
NAL platform states the case more
concretely:-
after prolonged thought and con-
ference. without wishing to bind
themselves to any exact form of
words, they recorded their general
agreement on the following points,
81. That Love, as revealed and in
terpreted in the life and death of
Jesus Christ, involves more than we
have yet seen, that it is the only
power by which evil can be overcome,
and the only sufficient basis of human
society.
49, That, in order to establish a
world order based on Love, 1t is m
cumbent upon those who believe in
IHlS 10 II lullyt pOIn
for themselves and in their relation
to others, and to take the risks in
volved in doing so in a world which
does not as yet accept it.
"3. That, therefore, as Christians.
we are forbidden to wage war, and
that our loyalty to our country, to
humanity, to the Church Universal,
and to Jesus Christ, our Lord and
Master, calls us instead to a life
service for the enthronement of Love
in personal, social, commercial, ma
tional and international life, with all
that this implies.
"a. That the Power, Wisdom, and
Love of God stretch far beyond the
limits of our present experience, and
that He is ever waiting to break forth
into human life in new and larger
ways.
"5. That, since God manifests
Himself in the world through men
and women, we offer ourselves to Him
for His redemptive purpose, to be
used by Him in whatever way He may
reveal to us"
This movement is one of the most
formidable signs of the fundamental
spiritual reconstruction of society.
brought about by the present world
tragedy. There is a timeliness in
herewith making public at Christmas
tide the program of group of Chris
tians who dare to trust all to Love.
THE RELIGIOUS RAMBLER. ~