Religion: Invaluable 10%

In his “spiral” theory of civilizations, famed British Historian Arnold Toynbee holds that the pressure of outside challenge produces a civilization’s strongest response. He also sees psychic and spiritual factors as more potent in history than material ones. Last week, in a Founder’s Day address at California’s Pomona College, Toynbee brought both tenets to bear on the main issue of his own time:

“How can the Western nations successfully combat Communism unless they establish an active, working Christianity? At present, too much reliance is being placed on nationalism, too little on basic ethical conduct . . .

“Because Communism extols the community and the state, it often seems to be a more lasting religion than Christianity, which extols the supreme value of the individual . . . The West must . . . learn to fight … by a more intense practice of individual Christian living.

“If we are to fight Russia on equal terms, we must make our faith clear in our behavior. We must increase the percentage of our belief in Christianity and our actions as Christians. Even a five to ten percent increase would be invaluable.”