political, cultural, economic, and military level, and out of these
162 CHRISTIANITY AND OTHER FAITHS
groups that are sharply different from us. We cannot be satisfied with a general condemnation of Communism. We must move beyond this to a deeper appreciation of those neglected truths and forgotten emphases of our Judeo-Christian heritage to which Communism is impelling us. "What do ye more than they?" would be Jesus' question to us today. The Christian Church may be subject to a sterner judgment because of the high faith that we profess and yet often fail to practice. And our understanding must extend farther than ideas and systems to the persons involved in Communism—those who have committed themselves to the Marxist cause, and the much larger number who, without fully supporting Communism or fully rejecting it, have to live and work daily under its control. Finally, if understanding is to be more than sentiment or knowledge it should lead us on to positive Christlike love, even for those whose philosophy and behavior may be repugnant to us.
5. Communist governments meet other governments on the political, cultural, economic, and military level, and out of these meetings come agreements, conflicts, or uneasy truce. Christians in both Communist and non-Communist lands have to judge the policies of their governments and take some stand with regard to these policies. Naturally, the Christian in the Soviet Union or the Chinese People's Republic looks at certain questions quite differently from his fellow Christian in the Western world or in neutral
- countries of Africa and Asia. The armament race and the "balance
_ of terror" as both sides increase their stock piles of nuclear weapons
and ballistic missiles, affect Christians everywhere, but we should not let the meeting of Christian minds and hearts be limited to
political and economic channels. Christians in the West look on national defense and collective security as a rampart behind which certain freedoms may be protected and certain ideals be achieved;
_ no doubt many Christians in the Communist empire look at us from
behind ramparts which appear necessary to the protection of their liberties and aspirations. The important thing to remember is that fruitful meetings of Christianity and Communism, or of Christians
the two worlds, cannot take place on the level of government reions, economic competition, or military struggle; they must be n the ground of a common humanity and a common concern for ill individuals and groups in society, linked on our part with steady in God's loving purpose for all His children. We must free elves from the hard stance of our governments, who bear the __