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Christianity in Communist North China

From the Archives of Christianity & Crisis Magazine: October 13, 1947.

Arnold Toynbee on the Meaning of History for the Soul
Arnold Toynbee on the Meaning of History for the Soul

Shortly after he appeared on the cover of Time, English historian Arnold Toynbee wrote an essay about how Christians should view history.

Religious Liberty in Italy after World War II

In the following article from 75 years ago, Howard V. Yergin warned Americans about the emerging Italian constitution that would effectively privilege Catholics and treat religious minorities less favorably.

Christian Realism and Enlightened Self-Interest as the Marshall Plan Emerges
Christian Realism and Enlightened Self-Interest as the Marshall Plan Emerged

The economic aid which is required could not be a matter of pure generosity. Nations as nations are incapable of such generosity.

Post-War Munich and American Housing Requisitions: A Christian Realist Plea
Post-War Munich and American Housing Requisitions: A Christian Realist Plea

“The people of Munich were informed by proclamation of the city administration that the requisition of private homes for army housing was to be carried through, and to a greater extent than had been hitherto feared.”

Ruins of Old Fort Randall Church on the right bank of the Missouri River in Pickstown, Charles Mix County, South Dakota, on July 9, 1947. By Roy Oglesby for Historic American Buildings Survey, via Wikimedia Commons.
Man’s Chief End and the Meaning of Life

Man is troubled—more troubled than at any previous time in the brief sojourn of his kind on this planet. Wars, revolutions and social convulsions all indicate the depth of his disquiet. He is troubled because he does not know, and he wants to know, the meaning of his own life.

Niebuhr’s European Impressions: From Truman Doctrine to State Churches
Niebuhr’s European Impressions: From Truman Doctrine to State Churches

After traveling through Europe in 1947—including to Scotland, Amsterdam, and Switzerland—Reinhold Niebuhr wrote some reflections, including on state churches, the Truman Doctrine, Christian political parties, and more.

Is It Time to Preach Optimism? - Hope Pessimism
Is It Time to Preach Optimism?

Recognizing the place for a genuine religious hope born of faith and for an enthusiasm for realization of social and ethical gains in any historical situation, Christianity will nevertheless, when true to itself, set its face against utopianism or popular brands of optimism.

Niebuhr’s Report from Switzerland, 1947
Niebuhr’s Report from Switzerland, 1947

At the end of Reinhold Niebuhr’s travels across Western Europe in 1947, he spent a week at the Ecumenical Institute, a facility near Geneva. He was hopeful of how this project would bless the church life of the world, and he offered observations about discussions there about communism, church-state relations, Christian political parties, and more.

Free Speech Healthy Politics House Un-American Activities Committee
Free Speech and Healthy Politics

Now what is here symbolized has been the most fundamental idea in our American democracy. Ours is a government by discussion.