Evening star., 1959-11-22
SPIRES OF THE SPIRIT
The Tie That Binds
By DIR. FREDERICK BROWN HARRIS
Chaplain Of the United States Senate

1t is a frightening realiza-
ton that in our time q social
system based on atheism has
swept a third Of the human
race under its iron sway. For
many millions q ceiling has
been substituted for the sky.
OF course, all that does not
change the fact Of God. One
day the ceiling will come
tumbling down and the de-
luded devotees Of "dialectic
materialism" viii know that
the blue sky Is the truth.
History fairly shouts that
nothing endures which In its
reckoning leaves out the
Eternal, and that God comes
down many stairs.
In this day Of fanatical
assault on unseen spiritual
verities the hour has struck
for all believers to unite in a
worldwide witness. There
is no other way to challenge
atheiStic communism. God
forgive US that, ss Swift put
it, I'VE have had enough
religion to make US hate, but
not enough to make us love
one another" Who has not
felt the relative unimportance
of the shibboleths which di-
vide those to whom God is
the supreme reality If one has
heard Marian Anderson sing
"He Holds the Whole World
In His Hand"
There are many signs that
the God who has been often
more hidden than revealed by
the differing interpretations
Of those who have lifted up
their hearts to Him is emerg-
ing in this day of global
battle as "the tie that binds"
all in any religion who draw
near to Him with full purpose
of heart.
This is not to suggest that
religious men should cease
all effort to clearly focus their
traditional faith and defend
their position. But disagree
ments can be faced without
being disagreeable. This is a
plea that in this day of
assault on the very citadel
Of all religion, that the most
effective strategy is to stress
the things that God-domi-
mated lives hold in common.
Always they prove to be the
essential things.
Recently in the Capital of
the Nation a group of Amer
lean Christian leaders met
with three Muslin leaders
from Iran. 1t was a signifi-
cant scene, as, in the twilight
Of a November day, in the
lovely headquarters of
Friends of the Middle East,
representatives Of the Chris
tian faith sat in a circle with
their Islamic brothers
wearing their striking dress.
They had been travelling
about the United States with
what they called "a mission
idea, which is that Muslims
and Christians, forgetting the
divisive things clouding their
respective backgrounds, must
now join minds and hearts
in a cry resounding around
the earth There is but one
God, and He is sovereign
over ALL" These devout and
wise men of the East had
come in a sense Of oneness
and understanding to plead
that the Cross and the Cres-
cent unite in building bull
warkS against the flood of
atheism loose in the world.
These distinguished men,
dedicated, cultured, and
splendidly trained, were here
to emphasize the one tie that
binds-GOD.
1t is a happy omen that
this consciousness of togeth-
erness in the essentials of re-
, ligiouS faith is increasing
rapidly in our own dear land.
In visits to Dallas, that pro-
gressive, expanding Texas
metropolis. I have been i'm
pressed by the lack of acri-
mony among different reli-
gious groups. The tie that
binds is there emphasized to
the benefit Of all concerned.
There is wholesome co-onera- =