Creator, Judge, and Redeemer. In the divine—human relationship ~
Presuppositions for Encounter with Communism 159
the chief barriers to the spread of Christianity. Today these reli-
gions, many of them undergoing revival, intertwined with national
heritage and culture, and inspired by patriotic fervor, are still re-
sistant to the Christian Gospel, although they welcome better un-
derstanding and more sympathetic approaches. Christianity now
finds its most militant opposition, its most severe test, not from
other ancient faiths, but rather in its encounter with contemporary Communism. All the living religions of the world, we may add, are being challenged by Communist power.
What presuppositions does the Christian disciple or the Christian Church hold in this momentous encounter? With what convictions _ and in what mood and spirit shall we enter upon the critical meeting? It must be said that the circumstances under which Christians and Marxists come together today are not the same in all places. The daily contact of a Chinese Christian with his Communist regime and environment is quite different from the casual encounter of a Western Christian with a Communist visitor from the Soviet Union, or from the meetings of Christians and Communists in countries wooed but not yet dominated by Marxian ideas. The encounter takes on a different character in a democracy where free speech ° and worship are permitted, from what it does in a totalitarian state where the Christian citizen is suspected of being reactionary or disloyal. We need to keep in mind the varying dimensions of Communist-Christian dialogues and meetings, and at the same time look for some basic principles upon which Christians everywhere may unite, even when their governments face each other in — unfriendliness or hostility.
The points which I now suggest come from personal thinking — and study and also out of the experiences of Christians in many — lands. They arise from our common search for Biblical and theological light upon the perplexing way before us.
1. As Christians we start from our faith, our faith in God, Creator, Judge, and Redeemer. In the divine—human relationship ~ God takes the initiative; He made us for a purpose; He seeks us when we go astray; He yearns to save us. He has come into our time and space, into the history of mankind, through Jesus Christ, the Eternal Word or Truth expressed in human form. The cross reveals His infinite love, far beyond any imaginable love or sacrifice of man. The only worthy response that we can make is obedience. _ All our horizontal social relationships are determined by