Hungarian Church Press, 1968 (20. évfolyam, 2. szám)
1968-06-01 / 2. szám
HOP Vol XX. Special Number - 135 ~ (07916) 1968 No 2 cific life situations of the present,, Some of the ethical principles once fomulated with reference to the- still existing Corpus Christianum have since receives, ;a strong question mark chalked after them by the hand of the Sovereign of human history whose power to shape the events of history now, in the period of the dissolution-of the ideas of the Corpus Christianum, is not less than it was ever b.£fj^e^ou^he Christian churches must humbly accept the fact that some of tnese/r >p 11 cations - they themselves v.rere once considered 11 eternal" as Christian principles — have lost their1 relevance and have* in fact, became, to certain extent, hindrances of social life (Let us think, for instance, of the Christian teachirg about property cr. cf certain nationalistically coloured theses about the ethics of international life!)0 Secondly — in line with the former thesis - the, churches must bear in mind that .the world; in relation to the position of Christianity; has radically changed in that the present ‘'world community" is a "pluralistic" community» This means that Christianity henceforth cannot even dream about asserting its ethical norms as universally binding rules of conduct* Hence it is not with bitterness and with a pessimism alien to Christian faith that we accept the secular demand for ,the formalati on of a universally binding international ethos, but we should readily' offer our contribution to the end that these "ethicbl norms of .international life" bo determined by the commandment of love and permeated by the spirit of fraternity. Let Christians realize their to.sk to add to these norms, on the level of practical contacts and everyday life, by the witness of their Christian life, that plus which can only be obtained from the blessings cf the redeeming and reconciling sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christo According to our opinion and experience, it is this dialogue with non-Christians on the practical level of life and cooperation with them in the furthoranco of good human causes that may bring about the possibility of conducting a dialogue on the theoretical leVel as well. Thus it is here, .in tIn yioy leading to coexistence and -within the sphere of collective responsibility and the commitment cf the church as a whole, that great emphasis is laid on the conduct of the Christian as individual, on his personal renewal, on his progress in sanctification, on personal piety and responsibility! k) The Obstacles of Peaceful Coexistence We have so far tried to speak about some aspects cf peaceful coexistence and cooperation to which, after the Geneva World Conference on Church and Society and in view of the necessity further to elaborate the theological bases of practical action, we attach special imparlance» Now we are going to speak specifically cf those problems which directly arise from the present international situation and also of the factors which pose today the greatest threat to peaceful coexistence, And- of course, we should like to tell about the stand of our churches or, these matters*
