Evening star., 1940-06-13

Flanders indi-
cate that within David Lawrence.
the minds of the men on the bat
tlefleld rested a spiritual strength
which enabled them to make the
supreme sacrifices without f1inching.
Spiritual preparedness is often re-
ferred to as an essential part of the
morale of an army and of a people
behind the lines, but because of it's
Intangible nature it is too often neg
lected until the zero hour for war
arrives. Sometimes spiritual strength
is confused with religious feeling or
fidelity to sectarian beliefs. The
very fact that every army carries
along chaplains to conduct relig-
ious services and to give spiritual
comfort to those who need it is
sign that this phase of war in the
past has not been omitted. Chap
lains report that in war men accept
spiritual help irrespective of the
sectarian source from which it is
given. There is in critical moments
only a seeking of spiritual contacts
through the medium of those min
listers of the gospel who brave the
risks of the front to give such aid.
Need for Spiritual Morale.
America is still far removed from
the scene of war and may remain so
for many months to come, but the
great need for the development of a
spiritual morale is here. The
churches realize that their biggest
responsibility is not so much to dis
cuss the merits of the war itself,
but to prepare individuals for the
more important task of accepting
their responsibility in the coming
emergency. While war itself is
always deplored as a futile loss of
a nations youth. there are those
who hold that in nation where
softness and indulgence is the rule
rather than the exception spirit
of sacrifice leaves its impress on
the character and life of a people
after war has ended.
1t Is serious question whether
the men who went to war in 1917
were spiritually prepared for the
supreme ordeal. The theory of the
war itself was so abstract-the slo-
gan of making the world safe for
democracy evidently meant so lit
tie then or afterward-that Ameri-
cans between 1918 and 1910 have
been inclined to take a cynical at
titude toward American participa-
ton in the last war The very un-
selflshness of the effort has been
submerged in a wave of recrimina-
tions against former allies.
Question of Survival of Liberty.
To the question is one of actual
survival of human liberty. The
vanquished will not 60 on living this
time after a treaty of peace, but
will become enslaved. The Nazi
doctrine is one of involuntary servi-
tude for those whom they conquer.
While the moral incentive, there
fore, Of troops in this war is to
protect the women and children and
homes from subsequent attack and
their country from subjugation, the
fact remains that millions of men
as they go forth to battle will for
the first time in their lives accept
spiritual guidance. When millions
of men begin to make sacrifices for
cause, they begin to evaluate their
own lives in terms of broad useful
ness to the human race itself.
They may not have understood
the meaning of sacrifice or applied
the tenets of Christianity before to
their own personal lives, but as the
moment approaches for sacrifice to
be made it can hardly be doubted
that those men will face battle un-
afraid who will have determined
unself1shly to give their lives so that
others may live in freedom.
Creation Requires Time.
The creation of spiritual strength
or the building of spiritual pre-
paredness takes time just as it does
to build airplanes and weapons of
war. But it is a side that free ma
tions cannot we'll regard as an
afterthought. The impact of such
preparation cannot fail to be felt
by the millions who do not go to
war, but who stay behind wondering
whether they are worthy of the sac
rifices being made in their behalf.
1t is not just a matter of prayer and
petition for divine help in crisis,
important as prayer must be, but it
Is matter of adjusting the men
and women who 60 to war and those
who stay behind to the task of hon.
est self examination and self
regeneration without which petit
tions are mere lip service.
The oft-heard outcry for the last
two years has been that the rise of
brute force in Europe was of no
concern to us. Even now arguments
that play upon the feelings of some
who really want to escape from war
because it means sacrifice find ready
listeners because 1t is easier to say
Europe's war is imperialistic or ma
terialistic than 1t is to recognize the
obligations of human brotherhood
which Christianity itself has set as
the standard of civilization. Spirit
ual preparedness gets few headlines
and stlrs up no committees in Con-
gress to expeditions action, but an
army and navy and air corps with
out spiritual strength cannot do
what the British did at Dunkerque