PEACE AND WAR

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23013, 16 October 1936, Page 7

PEACE AND WAR

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS DIVISIONS IN.THE CHURCH (Feu United Press Association) AUCKLAND, Oct. 15. " To-day the prevalence of a totalitarian policy with its State worship, its disregard of personality, and real brotherhood, its fear and suspicion of its neighbours is a menace to world peace," said Archbishop Averill in his address when opening the Auckland Synod. "If the nations develop a stunted vision and can see only potential enemies on the other side of the national boundaries, what can we expect but a frantic race for an increase in armaments and a feverish development of selfinterest? " People spoke of the failure of the League of Nations, he said, but the League had received its death-blow before it was actually born. How could any league hold together wh'pn the signatories to its covenant put self-interest before loyalty and manifested no sense of honour? Any future League of Nations—and the present one had stood for a definite principle which was, he believed, akin to the mind of Christ—must give more attention to the question of justice as a primary foundation for peace and face the obvious but difficult question of the natural desire for expansion on the part of prolific races and overcrowded countries.

Were the people of New Zealand alive to the danger of the country's diminishing birth-rate and of its scanty population? In the midst of changing conditions the Church had a most important duty to fulfil. Humanism, Godless Communism or Fascism, could not be the right approach to an essentially good life or to the development of man's freedom and personality, inasmuch as each ignored the implication of the Fatherhood of God, and inasmuch as Christianity alone witnessed to God's estimate of human personality and freedom and provided the power of attainment.

" If the nations are moved by fear to strengthen their defences in view of possible attack," said Archbishop Averill, " the Church must be moved by principle to be prepared for insidious attacks upon the one stronghold, the Christian faith, which stands between freedom and chaos. The challenge may come to us sooner than we imagine, and it is useless to talk of peace, peace, where there is no peace." Because of her divisions the Church could not present a united front to the enemy, and so it behoved each Christian to act in accordance with liis vision of God's will and understanding of the teaching of Christ.