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in 1931, but others gave themselves to making his dream a reality. One of the major copcerns of the Oxford gathering was international affairs. When the Universal Christian Conference on Life and Work joined with the World Conference on Faith and Order to create the World Council of Churches, it was inevitable that international affairs should have an important place in the interests of the new body.

Although World War I1 broke before it could be formally con- stituted, the World Council of Churches, described as “in process of formation,” through its Geneva office rendered significant service to refugees, displaced persons, and prisoners of war, and in maintaining contacts with Christians across warring lines.

During World War I1 the Federal Council of Churches in America which had long had its Department of International Justice and Good- will, organised the Commission to Study the Bases of a Just and Durable Peace, with John Foster Dulles as its chairman. Somewhat similarly in Britain in 1939 there was brought into being the Commission of Churches for International Friendship and Social Responsibility.

To some of the members of these commissions it seemed fairly obvious that as soon as the cessation of hostilities made it possible, the scope of their efforts should be broadened to enlist the collaboration of churches the world around. Since, particularly in North America, where the Foreign Missions Conference had shared with the Federal Council of Churches in the Department of International Justice and Goodwill, the missionary interests had become deeply involved, it was through a group representing both the World Council of Churches and the International Missionary Council that the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs was inaugurated.

WORLD HEALTH AND WORLD COMMUNITY bY

JOHANNES LEIMENA

It is a truism that we live in an ever shrinking world. Even before Wendell Wilkie popularised the term, men had discovered that ours is now “One World.” It has been calculated mathematically that during the first half of the present century, in terms of the time required to travel from one point to another, the earth shrunk from the size of a football to that of an English walnut. This process is retarded by the tendency of certain forces to divide the nations and peoples into power

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blocs, but the shrinking continues. One of the major factors shaping and strengthening the world community is the Christian Church, which seeks to create brotherhood as well as community.

The aftermath of two world wars, the tensions incident to the present cold war, and the threat of atomic world disaster, have produced a profound popular yearning for peace. This desire is not limited to the great powers. It is especially characteristic of the newly independent nations. Starting late in the technological race, these young nations recognise that only if there is an extended period of world peace can they develop their internal economies so as to supply their peoples with an abundant living. They must raise the national standards of living by improving social and economic conditions. They must provide relief from hunger, poverty and preventable disease. Thus these young national Davids are pitting themselves against four Goliaths : Ignorance, Poverty, ’ Disease, and Unemployment. Their slender sling-shot is effective thought and planning; the stone with which they must slay the enemy is hard work.

Less developed, they must look to other nations to supply them with technical skills, equipment and machinery, and even with food and raw materials. No amount of hard manual work, in view of the shortages, can close the gap between what they have and what their peoples regard as their right. Yet this assistance must be made available on a business- like basis. There must be no hidden conditions to arouse suspicions of continuing colonialism, if the younger nations are to remain friendly with western powers which will give the needed help.

The twentieth century, especially since World War I1 is distinguished by a strong sense of social responsibility as between nations. This emphasis is offspring and product of the nineteenth century’s passion for social justice. The members of the United Nations have compacted to maintain international peace and security and to cooperate in establish- ing political, economic and social conditions under which this task can be achieved. In the Atlantic Charter and the Dumbarton Oaks Proposals, this same mood prevails. The Constitution of the World Health Organisa- tion states:

“The health of the people is fundamental to the attainment of peace and security and is dependent upon the fullest cooperation of individuals and States.

The achievement of any State in the promotion and protection of health is of value to all. Unequal development in different countries in the promotion of health and control of disease, especially communicable disease, is a common danger.

The extension to all peoples of the benefits of medical, psychological and related knowledge is essential to the fullest attainment of health.

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Governments have a responsibility for the health of their peoples which can be fulfilled only by the provision of adequate health and social measures.”

These are noble sentiments to which we must attain ; yet we young nations acknowledge that we are far from their achievement. In this ever shrinking world, one diseased spot can contaminate the whole body. Unrest in a single locality may be exploited to disturb the peace of the world. In the field of health we as nations cannot stand alone. Mosquitos and bacteria are not respecters of national boundaries. National legislation and international reactions affect each other. We in South-east Asia thus welcome international health collaboration and cooperation, through United Nations’ specialised agencies. In Indo- nesia they are lending valuable assistance. While the quantity is small in comparison with our total needs, we are grateful for the medical supplies and equipment, experts, study fellowships and surveys.

In this changing world, with its manifold problems, some continuing, others emerging, stands the Church. What is its duty? Is it to isolate itself from the tensions, which are integral to the changing character of society, or is it to be a token of Christ’s love in the situation ? Must the Church maintain its distance vis-a-vis the difficulties modern man encounters, or must it be active in the process of reforming the new society ? Upon the answers which the Church gives in these new nations depends, humanly speaking, its future and its effectiveness.

Where the majority of the people are non-Christian, they are eager to know what responsibility the Church feels towards the nation, how Christian agencies are stimulating and undergirding developments essential to stability. They will form their opinions by observing the manner in which Christians individually and collectively identify them- selves with their respective national communities. Thus the Church must go out into the byways and hedges to learn the prime needs of the people. Be they problems of health, education, agriculture, or labour, the Church must lend its resources and spiritual energies to the task. The Church must have open eyes, open ears, and an open heart. If the Church does not take its stand with the people, it will be disregarded and finally discarded. Every member of the Christian community must be conscious of his membership in the total community as well as within the Body of Christ. When we speak and act as Christians it must be out of a sense of Christian responsibility, and according to the biblical mood and pattern. Our concerns are not for our own group’s welfare primarily ; they include our respective nations and the entire race of mankind as well.

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