People have turned away from the clarity of Jesus, who challenged us to say either yes or no and not something in between. People turn from the way of Jesus, weakly accepting a paradoxical situation in relation to God; all they can say in their vanity is “yes and no” or “no and yes” simultaneously. We must fight against this. We were once challenged, “Surely you don’t want to wage a general campaign against all evil?” Yes, this is exactly what it is all about. That is why Jesus came into the world; he called us and sent us out to take up this campaign against all evil in all things. He came to destroy the works of the devil. “God is light and in him there is no darkness. ”
- Eberhard Arnold
- Eberhard Arnold, November 1918 From an EssayWhen poets describe their experience of the powers that move in their inmost hearts, then they speak about longing. If we allow only a few rays of hope from the poets to work upon us, we will be deeply moved by the indissoluble connection between mankind and longing. Even the smallest selection of the poetic outpouring of human longing will confront us with their deepest content: the longing for God and for unity with God. At the deepest level, they have recognized that the essence of all longing is the cry of the soul to God.
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It is clear to us that the first Christian community in Jerusalem was more than a historical happening. It was here that the Sermon on the Mount came to life.
- Eberhard Arnold
To say something really bold: I believe God controls the hell of human society with an infernal machine, the state. Someone may say, “I am going to operate this machine and make it less hellish; I will moderate the satanic properties of hell; I will serve the state.” Such a resolve commands respect. But for myself, I refuse to mount the machines of hell. I will board the ship that shows all humankind the way to the other shore: to the kingdom of peace, justice, and perfect love. We need people who dare to set the course for this other shore, who dare to live in accordance with the ways of the land on the other side. It is the way we can best serve the world in this terrifying moment of history.
- Eberhard Arnold