" CHRISTIAN CIVILISATION "
SIR,—We often see it stated that we are fighting for the defence of Christian civilisation ; but it seems to me that the meaning of the phrase needs to be brought home to the mass of the nation by some clear and brief statement of the Christian principles on which our civilisation is based. So much of our debt to Christian thought and tradition is taken for granted.
In the hope that someone with greater authority will undertake the task, may a humble layman suggest that Christian civilisation stands for these things, among others?
First, the sanctity of human life. The death penalty has been abolished, except for murder, which is itself a denial of that sanctity. It is the mark of paganism to " liquidate " those who oppose the State's authority. Even Bernard Shaw, that most humane pagan, would, I understand, eliminate in the gentlest manner those who refused to perform the prescribed amount of work in a Socialist Utopia. It is stated that in Germany today the old and incurably infirm are being put to death.
Secondly, the sacredness of human personality. On this doctrine are based freedom of conscience, freedom of speech, the freedom of the Press. The living soul of the individual is the most precious of all things, and to its life and development the powers of the State are subservient.
Thirdly, the sacredness of the family, as the natural nursery of the human spirit and the home of those affections on which it is nourished. The substitution of the gang or party for the family as the main form of human group is a mark of paganism.
Fourthly, the principle of co-operation between diversely gifted individuals (as in St. Paul's metaphor of the body and its members) or nations, as opposed alike to the class-war and the ideal of stan- dardised uniformity within the State, and to the principle of the " herrenvolk " and the enslavement of " inferior " races in inter- national affairs.
Doubtless the list might be lengthened : but I feel sure that an attempt to distinguish clearly between Christian and pagan principles as applied to politics would help many to understand more clearly what is at stake in the present struggle.—Yours faithfully,
Magdalen College School, Oxford. R. KENNARD DAVIS.
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