Wednesday, November 15, 1967
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
3
SUA World Affairs Week-
Continued from page 1
international waterways involved.
Roger Kanet, assistant professor of political science at KU, spoke about Russian involvement in the crisis.
He said the soviets were faced with a dilemma stemming from their involvement with the Arab countries and their avoidance of a face-to-face confrontation with the United States.
He said the main point to take under consideration is that the interests of the Soviet
Union come first in the policy of that country.
Soviets won't help
"It would be quite unrealistic for Nassar to expect direct Soviet involvement because it was not in the interest of Russia," he said.
"The Soviets were willing to give verbal support but not physical," he said.
Kanet said this was the only way they could avoid a confrontation with the U.S.
The discussion ended with questions from the audience which included many mid-east students.
'Youth repelled by church'
By Louis Cassels UPI Religion Writer
A lot of young Americans are groping their way toward "churchless Christianity."
They are attracted to Christianity as a style of life, but are repelled by the church as an institution.
Their hostility toward the church is, in part, a reflection of an antiinstitutional bias which is one of the outstanding characteristics of this generation. It also can be seen in their tendency to value higher education while scorning the university in which they receive it.
But today's young people make a specific indictment of the church which goes beyond distrust of institutions in general. They feel that the church has become so identified with middle-class white society that it can no longer act as a reforming leaven within it.
Church fails mission
Church fails mission Instead of transforming the social milieu in which it finds itself, they say, the church has conformed to it, and in the process has learned to tolerate evils such as war, racial discrimination and economic inequality which are flagrantly contrary to the teaching of Christ.
Also, they charge, the church has done the most un-Christlike
thing imaginable: it has become self-centered. It is often so intent on advancing its own institutional programs and interests that it has little money or energy to expend on serving human beings in need.
These young Christian rebels are not much interested in broad movements to reform the church, either because they're too impatient for such slow work or because they see little hope of success.
But most of them recognize that Christianity is preeminently a religion of life-in-community. Fellowship and cooperation with other human beings is an essential part of Christian living. Therefore, some kind of group structure is needed, even for "churchless" Christianity.
Form small groups
To meet this need, they are experimenting with small, informal organizations which are characterized by minimum overhead and maximum emphasis on service to others. Sometimes these little Christian communities bear a striking resemblance to the "house churches" which sprang up throughout the Roman Empire during the early years when Christianity was a persecuted sect instead of a protected and privileged institution.
There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of these groups in America today. Some are composed of Protestants, some of Catholics. A few are ecumenical. A great many of their members, probably the overwhelming majority, also maintain at least nominal ties with one of the institutional churches. Some continue to attend worship services at a parish church, while seeking through the other fellowship the warm relationships and commitment to self-giving service which they have been unable to find in a regular congregation.
Where this movement will lead is impossible to foretell at this point. But there is no question about the dedication and enthusiasm of the participants. In the words of Donald J. Thorman, publisher of the National Catholic Reporter, "They have suddenly discovered something bigger than the institutional church-Christianity. And it has changed their lives."
If you see news happening call UN 4-3646
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