5/1/60

Scripture: (Read Philippians 4: 1-9)

One of the blessings for which I never cease to be grateful is the freedom, granted to the preacher from this pulpit, to preach the truth as he sees it. I, for one, have tried to use this freedom responsibly. I have never asked that those who hear me feel they must agree with me unless they are given to see the truth as I see it. I only ask to be heard and considered.

Once in a while it seems essential to discuss a controversial subject. Today’s topic is such a subject.

Nearly two months ago, church and state relations in our country got a shaking up in the furor over exposure of an Air Force training manual statement warning young trainees against “communism” in Christian church pulpits. The National Council of Churches appears to have been a chief target of the criticism that developed. It seems that the manual in question repeated old, long-discredited charges that “30 of the 95” Christian scholars associated with work on the Revised Standard Version of the Bible were “affiliated with pro-Communist fronts, projects and publications.” The tale of alleged Communist sympathy among the Protestant clergy was based on guilt-by-association techniques, and was applied to a small handful of persons, none of whom was ever proved to be a Communist or a Communist sympathizer.

The kind of alarm stirred up by the furor and kept going by charges, and counter-charges, in the press and by certain radio commentators, tends to throw doubt on the Protestant clergy in general. Because the patriotism of the overwhelming majority of the clergy was not mentioned, let alone defended, manual readers were left with some impression that Protestant churches, their agencies and their ministerial and lay leadership were under suspicion as a threat to the nation’s security. The National Council of Churches has been under this kind of attack before. This time, the Council chose to talk back.

The February meeting of the General Board of the National Council of Churches was held at Oklahoma City. One issue that chiefly occupied the hearts and minds and consciences of those Board members was the discussion of the charges contained in the Air Force manual identified as NR. 45-0050 containing the following statements:

1. That “Communists and Communist fellow-travelers and sympathizers have successfully infiltrated into our churches .... that even the pastors of certain of our churches are card-carrying Communists.”

2. That “there appears to be overwhelming evidence of Communist anti-religious activity in the United States through infiltration of fellow-travelers into churches and educational institutions.”

There were other statements relating to publicity that are also open to debate. Officers of the National Council protested when existence of the manual with these statements was known. Upon receipt of the protest, Defense Secretary Thomas S. Gates, Jr. replied with his regret over the entire incident. Air Force Secretary Dudley Sharp took action, recalling the manual.

There were those who rose up to demand that the manual not be recalled. And a good deal of pressure was applied to both sides of the debate. The House Committee on un-American activities took a hand. And friends of the National Council took a hand, too.

Now the National Council of Churches, and its predecessor, the Federal Council of Churches, is no fly-by-night affair. Nor is it any subversive organization. It is the great, cooperative, interdenominational body of Protestant church life. Its membership includes most of the regular Protestant denominations including our own. Some 33 denominations, with membership of perhaps 38 million persons are represented in its work. Most of the historic Lutheran, Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian, Orthodox, Baptist, Christian, Congregational, Greek Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Quaker and other bodies are embraced in its being. The Wisconsin Council of Churches is similar to it on a state-wide scale, and the World Council of churches on a global scale. These cooperative bodies include a wide range of Christian emphasis, liberal and fundamentalist, all accepting Christ as “divine Lord and Savior.” They have repeatedly assailed Communism and its deeds.

It is worth noting that Communism has yet to take over any nation where Protestant Christianity is the prevailing or leading form of religious faith. And, any general charges of communism among the churches of the National Council is insidious and absurd, and a lot less than truly responsible.

Dr. James E. Wagner, one of the co-presidents of the United Church of Christ, has made several observations on this matter which appear to be in order.

1) First, one of the simple assertions in the manual, he believes to be just untrue. For Dr. Harry F. Ward, of New York, is described “long a recognized leader in the National Council of Churches.” Dr. Ward is believed to have definite Communist leanings. But Dr. Wagner, who has been a founder and leader in the National Council of Churches since it was formed in 1950, and a member of its board ever since, says he knows of no connection that Dr. Ward has had with the National Council.

2) Second: The national Council has expressed its concern about the aspersions cast on the churches and their millions of members, -- laymen, lay women and pastors. The lay members outnumber the pastors perhaps 300 to 1, and the aspersions are cast particularly upon pastors. Some elements in the small, criticizing group appear to be intent on driving a wedge between pastors and lay people with charges of undue clericalism.

3) Third: The effect of the kind of charges made in the manual is to sow distrust among church people of their pastors and denominational leaders, and of one lay member against another. Further, there is enough in the charges to sow distrust of our free press and institutions, public schools, colleges and universities. There are parts of the world (large segments of it!) where one makes nervous glances to right and left before one makes any remark, lest it be interpreted as unacceptable by some Communist sympathizer or informer. Any attacks by individuals, columnists, radio commentators or others that may tend to create a similar mood among citizens of this free land is a serious disservice to the nation.

4) Fourth: Most of the charges now freshly leveled at the churches, at the former Federal Council of Churches, and at the present National Council of Churches, have been made and exploded for nearly 30 years. Most of their material has been repeatedly dredged up and presented under the guise of patriotism, of alleged true religion. It would be well for those who take seriously these charges of Communism in Protestant church life to look to the source of their information. For some of their informers really act from anti-Catholic, anti-Jewish, anti-Negro motives. Others appear motivated by an extreme type of religious fundamentalism. In their dissent from the doctrines and practices of the great majority of responsible Protestants, these latter have capitalized on such charges to defend and justify themselves when they have failed to do this by interpretations of the Bible and of Christian doctrine that do not commend their advocates to the great sober-minded, devout, thoughtful majority of American Protestant Christians.

One lively source of informants endorsing charges of Communist or other subversion against the National Council of Churches is a smaller group of extremely conservative churches calling themselves the “American Council” of churches. This group of religious organizations, largely small fundamentalist off-shoots from the leading Protestant denominations, is made up of a dozen groups whose total membership is variously estimated at a quarter of a million to over a million people. Leader in the so-called American Council of churches is Rev. Carl McIntire of Collingswood, NJ. Carl McIntire has been waging war, for more than 30 years, against what he thinks are “modern heresies” in major Protestant churches. He bases his belief on what he understands to be a quite literal interpretation of the Bible. Formerly, he was a Presbyterian minister. That denomination discredited him entirely and “unfrocked him” (that is, withdrew his standing as an ordained minister.)

In recent years, Carl McIntire and his associates, have been hurling charges of Communist infiltration at the National Council and World Council of Churches. I would recommend that any charges brought by McIntire and his American Council associates against the National Council be taken with large “grains of salt!” They have been repeatedly discredited, yet they are feeders to those who write, and print, such statements as have appeared in the disputed portions of the Air Force manual in question.

Another group, currently backing the Air Force manual, in its charges against the National Council of Churches affiliates, is known as Church League of America. It is the creature of Edgar C. Bundy of Wheaton, IL. He is described as a former Army Captain who now travels widely about the country lecturing before churches and civic clubs, and usually building charges that the Communists are taking over American churches. It is well to recognize and examine these sources of criticism.

5) Fifth: Government, and other sources of public information, whether in the military service or elsewhere, should steer clear of basing charges of communism upon the simple truth that Christians and Communists sometimes use the same words or terms. It is an unhappy fact that communism muscles in and diverts and subverts some of the good ideas of Christianity. Many Christians believe in, and advocate world peace, reduction of armaments, discard of any thought of nuclear war. So does Mr. Krushchev. But would any responsible person hold that American Christians, among them President Eisenhower, and Krushchev mean the same thing when they use these terms?

The Soviets speak of their several nations as “democratic” peoples. Their totalitarian construction of the meaning of “democratic” makes the word unrecognizable to those of us who understand the workings of democracy in a free world. But this should not throw out the use of democracy as a word or a concept in our society.

And so, when Christians speak of world peace, social justice, supplanting racial inequality with practical brotherhood, democracy, limitation of armament, and so on, it is not to be concluded that they speak from the spurious “gospel of Karl Marx.” They usually speak from their understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Christians ought not to be held adversely accountable if communists steal and prostitute the noble language of democracy and the Christian ethic. And they can not afford to stop using that language just because it is spuriously used by communists. That would be a fatal type of surrender to communism.

6) Sixth: Christians do not need a Congressional committee, or a military manual to teach them that communism and Christianity are not reconcilable. Christians have known it all along. They knew it as far back as the publication of Karl Marx’s “Communist Manifesto.” They have seen the Christian church suffer in nation after nation where communism has tried to bring it to heel and either destroy it or use it for communist ends. The record of the Christian churches in standing up against communism is a good record. And the holding of Christian faith abroad even under communist duress, is a creditable record. Surely the Christian churches of this nation would stand, and do stand, no less firm.

7) Seventh: The damage done to the established churches from sources such as those I have mentioned is only compounded in the Air Force manual mentioned. And it may be assumed that the attacks will not end, even if the Secretary of the Air Force keeps his original word to withdraw the manual. For “hate groups” and “apostles of discord” will, if they follow the pattern of the past, continue to quote from the manual and other discredited sources, thus giving the appearance of authenticity to false allegations. The Protestant churches of this country will long bear the scars of this controversy and may have to bear further wounds and assaults of this sort.

Finally, I want to say a word about our own denomination in this community of Christian churches that make up the National Council of Churches. It is our family and I am sure we want to defend its good name. It had its spiritual origin and early roots in the passion for freedom of the Pilgrims and Puritans. It has provided its full share of responsible leadership, and loyal, energetic support of this free nation. We are not communists, nor communist sympathizers. Of course we are alert to danger. I once heard a university summer school teacher, who claimed to be a Congregational minister, take positions which I thought were too far to the “left.” But I would not call him a communist for I do not believe he was.

Over thirty years ago I knew of a seminary student who got so far to the “left” that he was said to have gone communist during the depression. He was an earnest, and somewhat “gullible” type of person. I have not been able to verify whether or not he became a communist. But this I can verify --- he is not listed among the recognized ordained ministers of our denomination!

And this further fact I can verify --- 58 of the ministers of our modest sized denomination are serving currently as chaplains of the Air Force, Army and Navy. 13 more are full time or part time chaplains in the Veterans Administration. Hundreds -- thousands -- more pastors and lay leaders have given, and are giving, loyal service to a free, liberty-loving society in this nation and all around the world. Against which of our denomination’s 5,500 churches, 1.5 million members, 6,000 ministers and missionaries are the charges of communist infiltration directed?

The simple truth about such charges is that they are inspired by a malicious irresponsibility. They are untrue; they are un-American. Even if only one thousandth of one percent of our people were even remotely involved, it would mean hardly more than a dozen pastors or lay people.

It was Edmund Burke who, on the eve of the American Revolution, declined to be party to “the indictment of a whole people.”

It ought to take a lot more than loose and irresponsible charges, rumors, anonymous information, allegations of prejudiced witnesses and the like to cast serious shadow on the major body of Protestant, God-fearing, church-going people of the United States represented in the National Council of Churches. Surely the lie is big enough so that no legislator, government official, or responsible citizen wants to pursue the strategy of believing it to its bitter end!

Christians can be alert and informed --- and should be --- on all sorts of danger. But we will stay in better balance if we remember to think, basically, upon whatever is honorable, just, pure, lovely, and gracious.

If there be any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

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Delivered in Wisconsin Rapids, May 1, 1960