The Nature & Destiny of Man A Christian Interpretation: II Human Destiny

He wrote in one sense the opulence of American life has served to perpetuate Jeffersonian illusions about human nature for we have thus far sought to solve all our problems by the expansion of our economy. This expansion cannot go on forever and ultimately we must face some vexatious issues of social justice.

I am my own most vexing problem

if we should perish the ruthlessness of the foe would only would be only the secondary cause of the disaster the primary cause would be that the strength of a giant nation was directed by eyes to blind to see all the hazards of the struggle and the blindness would be induced not by some accident of nature or history but by hatred in vain glory

we take and must continue to take morally hazardous actions to preserve our civilization we must exercise our power but we ought neither to believe that a nation is capable of perfect disinterestedness in its exercise nor become complacent about particular degrees of interest and passion which corrupt the justice by the exercise by which the exercise of power is legitimatized

we cannot expect even the wisest of nations to escape every peril of moral and spiritual complacency for nations have always been constantly self-righteous but it will make a difference whether the culture in which the policies of nations are formed is only as deep and as high as the nation's highest ideals or whether there is a dimension in the culture from the standpoint of which the element of vanity in all human ambitions and achievements is discerned the realm of mystery and meaning which encloses and finally makes sense out of the baffling configurations of history is not identical with any scheme of rational intelligibility the faith which appropriates the meaning in the mystery inevitably involves an experience of repentance for the false meanings which the pride of nations and cultures introduces into the pattern such repentance is the true source of charity and we are more desperately in need of genuine charity than of more technocratic skills