162 THE ECUMENICAL REVIEW

the dispossessed. The Commission has always been among those who never ceased to advocate increased support of the humanitarian work undertaken on behalf of refugees. I know that we may count on its continued, active and powerful endeavours which have already been so effective in the past, and are so greatly needed at a time when the tide of refugees continues to rise.

THE TWENTY YEARS AHEAD

by

MAX KOHNSTAMM

Looking back over the past twenty years of international life two facts stand out : East and West have so far avoided a nuclear holocaust, and that part of the world that was “colonial” after the Second World War has attained independence and statehood. Two staggering challenges face the world in the twenty years ahead : for the industrialized part, that of moving from “detente” to organized, stable, lasting peace, and for the new nations of the world, that of finding the road towards effective, continuing economic growth.

What part can the CCIA, as an organ of the World Council of Churches, play in finding an answer to this double challenge?

Let us for a moment look back to the relations between Church and World in the period before the world wars. In Europe and the United States, the period between the first industrial revolution and the Second World War was dominated by the social problem - the problem of social justice. Members of our churches were engaged in that battle, but the official voices of our churches had very little of relevance to say about what now appears to have been a battle for the dignity of man, Why? Because the churches talked and preached charity, and over- looked problems relating to the structural reform of society. The break- through towards relevancy came when the churches, turning away from individualistic thinking, began to emphasize “the significance of the economic, social and political structures of life, and the need for changing

THE TWENTY YEARS AHEAD 163

them, not merely of converting individuals to Christ.” In international affairs, our Churches will speak relevantly about the double challenge of the next twenty years insofar as they address themselves to the necessity of changing the structure of international relations.

Today the accent in politics, both internal and international, is on pragmatism. That is all to the good, provided that two things, not rooted in pragmatism, are kept in sight, namely, that the only legitimate objective of policy is man, and what the nature of man is, both as an actor in and as an object of policy.

As Pope Paul said before the United Nations, the biblical message makes us “experts in humanity.” The Churches must constantly tell man and nations - nations are nothing but men ! - that they are under command to be each other’s keeper. Furthermore, the Churches must constantly remember that man’s nature is such that goodwill between man and nations is not enough - that “law” in its deep, dynamic sense is also necessary. Without an understanding of the fundamental importance to human life of God‘s gift of the “torah” no relevant contribution from the Churches to politics - to the affairs of this God-created world is possible. The understanding of human nature has profound implications (which cannot be discussed here) for the problems of the necessary transformation of international relations from anarchy into an ordered peace and justice-preserving structure,

Here lies the greatest contribution our Churches can make both as far as the organization of peace between East and West is concerned and in regard to the problems of economic development.

The greatest danger for the Churches in the next twenty years ? To get so absorbed by the burning problems of everyday life that they turn themselves into an nth. statement-producing organization. As far as these burning questions are concerned, our Churches should remember that “the ministry of love is the reopening of communication” a But the reestablishment of communication between two parties who have closed themselves off from each other can only in the rarest of cases be carried out by public statements. Such statements are mainly useful because they soothe the conscience of those on behalf of whom they

Rev. RONALD H. PRESTON, Economic Growth in World Perspective, edited by Denys Munby (Volume I11 of the preparatory volumes for the 1966 Conference on Church and Society), p. 103.

Ps. 9, v. 20. GIBSON WINTER, The New Creation us Metropolis, p. 103.

164 THE ECUMENICAL REVIEW

are made - but rarely do anything to help the parties in conflict because they do not reestablish communications between them. The prophetic task of the Churches in the field of international policy is to preach to the world : man as the only possible end of policy, and the nature of man. The pastoral task of the Churches is to help the world draw conclu- sions from this for the necessary transformation of the structure of international relations and the immensely difficult re-establishment of communication between parties engaging in armed or unarmed polemics, instead of peaceful dialogue - something seldom to be achieved unless far away from the spotlights of publicity.

LOOKING BACKWARD AND LOOKING FORWARD

by

FRIEDRICH-WILHELM KRUMMACHER

It is just twenty years since the monthly review “Die Zeichen der Zeit” (The Signs of the Times) was started - a paper which is still extremely important for everyone working in the Church in Eastern Germany. Its second number in 1947 already included a long article about the tasks of the “Commission of the Churches on International Affairs” of the World Council of Churches. Already then two things were emphasised as characteristic and indicative of the work of the CCIA : wise spiritual understanding and expert knowledge based on exact information. For the Christian Churches in Germany which had just made the “Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt” to the World Council of Churches (1945), this meant spiritually a frank readiness to make atone- ment, and in the political sphere a readiness to listen and learn about the problems confronting the world. During the 20 years which followed, the Protestant Churches in divided Germany observed the work of the CCIA with growing respect, and have played an active and responsible part in it, especially since the Assembly at New Delhi. From our own experience I should like to stress the necessity for the work of the CCIA in future from four aspects.