Cosmo Gordon Lang

“ The business of Empire cannot be done without the capital of character, and in that capital we are not too rich. It is, therefore, of the utmost Imperial importance that the forces which make for moral character should be kept fresh and strong. It will not be denied that the most potent of all these forces is Religion. What a man really believes as to the ultimate meaning of the world and of his own place within it must be the most decisive power in determining the conduct of his life. ”

“ We look to the Church to help in counteracting the dissolving and disintegrating influence with which our Western civilization inevitably affects the races whom it touches. A mummy in the British Museum, if left untouched and secure from the outer air, may defy the ravages of time for thousands of years; but let the air enter, let a living hand only touch it, and it crumbles into dust. So systems of religion and conduct, preserved by the traditions of centuries, dissolve at the touch of the white man's hand. ”

“ A true Imperial spirit in religion does not seek to claim God for the Empire, but rather to claim the Empire for God; it does not wish to make 'the Empire' a religion, but to make the Empire religious. Put bluntly, we can only be sure that God is on the side of the extension of the British Empire if the extension of the British Empire is proved by its ideals and methods to be on the side of God. ”

“ The influences of common religion not only turn the minds of men towards 'home,' and warm their feelings towards the old country, but also bind them together by a tradition which runs deep into the bases of life and far back into the bases of history.
The Christian Church has its own course to take, its own destiny to fulfil; but if there be any truth in the positions thus briefly summarized, the relations between it and the Empire ought to be those of close cooperation. On the one hand, the Empire, if it is wise, will learn to value, for the sake of its own welfare, the work of the Church. ”

“ The development of the Empire is felt to be something more than a theme for perorations and patriotic songs—rather, a task which demands fixity of purpose, vigour of thought, and strength of character. It is a task which must profoundly influence the religious, as well as the political and commercial, outlook of the British nation. The Imperial spirit in the State calls for an Imperial spirit in the Church. ”

“ It must do all it can to prevent our own local religious controversies from crossing the seas. It must, by patient foresight, prepare native Churches to develop on their own lines, untrammelled by the limitations of merely British religious history. While retaining its own definite faith as a trust which it holds for posterity, it must have the largeness of mind and breadth of spirit to adapt it to new conditions and wider issues. Thus, not only may the Church be a power in the true development of the Empire, but the Empire may be a power in the true development of the Church. ”

“ We feel that no nation has a right to roam over the world like an overgrown bully forcing elbow-room. Hence we ease our national conscience by claiming that the development of Empire brings *the blessings of civilization.' But we are not always clear as to what we really mean by the phrase. We sometimes speak as if it meant the extension of our trade. But the extension of trade is not necessarily a blessing if it only means the creation of artificial wants in native races in order that we may make money by supplying them. ”

“ So far as it can, within the limits of public policy, it will encourage and facilitate the development of religious influences throughout the Empire. It will not look askance at the missionary, but regard him as in the truest sense an Imperial force. But, on the other hand, the Church must learn to adapt itself to the new responsibilities of Empire. It must learn to think and plan Imperially. It must adjust its point of view to the perspective of a new and wider horizon. It must regard not the nation here at home but the Empire as the real sphere of the future. ”

“ Even just and orderly government may not be in itself an altogether unmixed blessing, for we may by firm government destroy not only disorder but vitality. We owe something more to the races whom we govern than merely to keep them in order. ”

“ And for most men, to be effective when it is most needed, this faith must be a sort of instinct, wrought into the very texture of their life. Now, it is the very primary work of the Christian Church to surround a man's life from the cradle to the grave with the influences of this faith. ”

“ We look to the Church to strengthen the moral force of the Empire, to give a true ideal to its development, to counteract the destructive forces which it brings, and to deepen the unity which holds it together. ”

“ So far as the spiritual and moral side of the young man's character is concerned, English education is absolutely and solely negative and destructive.' It is not contact with Christianity that destroys, but contact with civilization. But can civilization of itself rebuild the moral basis which it destroys or substitute another for it? ”

“ Without some such controlling faith, character tends to follow the lines of least resistance, to be weak—weak not perhaps in single points, such as personal bravery or resourcefulness or cleverness, but weak in its total consistency and force. ”

“ The fabric of our Empire rises with ever expanding responsibilities. How are we to maintain the foundation of moral character on which it must rest? The State cannot ignore the question. The Church exists to give an answer. ”

“ Despite the Japanese example, we cannot generate any real spirit of everyday devotion to the common good. We lack 'drive' and deep conviction. We have some patriotic instincts and prejudices, but prejudice is a bad makeshift for reasoned purpose. ”

“ Long before common citizenship in the Empire may be either possible or desirable, there may be common citizenship in the Church. But it is as a unifying power within the English race throughout the Empire that the Church may play a specially valuable part. ”

“ In the words of a distinguished civil servant, 'the effect inevitably is that in proportion as these young men have been trained in English-speaking schools and colleges, in that very proportion their old faith and their old creeds grow weak ”