the moment, the
main current of the great Labour movement which, perhaps more than any
other, represents the social application of the Christian ideal, should
appear to be out of touch with organised religion. This cannot
continue, for I observe that the men who lead it are men of moral
passion, and often men of simple religious faith. It could hardly be
otherwise. It seems to me in the nature of things impossible to
sustain a belief in the moral ideal without some kind of belief in God,
and assuredly God is with these men in the work they are doing and have
yet to do. In fact, the Labour Party is itself a Church, in the sense
in which that word was originally used, for it represents the
getting-together of those who want to bring about the kingdom of God.

+The New Theology and Collectivism.+--The New Theology, as I understand
it, is the theology of this movement, whether the movement knows it or
not, for it is essentially the gospel of the kingdom of God. No lesser
theology can consistently claim to be this; systems of belief which are
weighted by dogmatic considerations have not and cannot have the same
power of appeal. This higher, wider truth, which sweeps away the
mischievous accretions which have made religion distasteful to the
masses, is religious articulation of the movement toward an ideal
social order. This fact ought to be realised and brought home to the
consciousness of the earnest men who are labouring to redeem England
and the world from the power of all that tortures and degrades humanity
and stifles or destroys its best life.

This, then, is the mission of the New Theology. It is to brighten and
keep burning the flame of the spiritual ideal in the midst of the
mighty social movement which is now in progress. It is ours to see God
in it and help mankind to see Him too. It is ours to show what the
gospel really is and has been from the first. We shall not suffer the
world any longer to believe that Christianity and dogma mean the same
thing. Our business is to show that the religion of Jesus is primarily
a gospel for this life and only secondarily for the life to come. We
have to demonstrate that material things have spiritual meanings, and
that wealth has value only as it ministers to soul power. We have to
make clear to the world that the reason why we want to lift any man up
and give him a chance of a better and happier life here is because he
has an immortal destiny and must make a b