Eberhard Arnold

A Fellowship of Common Work and Common Faith or a Medley of Common Humanity

[Arnold, Eberhard and Emmy papers – P.M.S.]

[Draft Translation by Bruderhof Historical Archive]

EA 21/6

A Fellowship of Common Work and Common Faith or a Medley of Common Humanity.

Hermann Jacob's question pertains very closely to the nature of our community life, when he asks if the 'New Work' movement is anything more than a mixing bowl of all conceivable ideologies! The 'New Work' movement is indeed in being-and it is gradually becoming community.

As a living movement, it is free from the rigid dogmatic mounds of any abstract theology or any political program. In consciously becoming aware of itself as the church which is gathered together, it reveals itself ever more visibly. as a community of common conviction.

No community exists, without being at the same time a community of work. The most fleeting contact of any guest, with our settlement or in our household during the course of the summer, must have been enough to convince him of the truth of this fact. Nowhere else is one more conscious of the necessity for hard daily labor, as in such a settlement, based on community of goods. It is not possible to share in the experience of even one day, in such a common life without at the same time, surrendering all one's working strength to the task of the communal work. All work, which is worthy of the name of work, is directed towards the world and its need. It is never the case, that it turns away from the world. Work demands individual responsibility in making decisions; and also a determination of the will, both of which involve the use of one's intelligence. In our movement it is now a matter of growing into manhood, even finally—in this sense—to become truly human beings. Most of our group are not yet real men, they are still too youthful. Therefore they cannot yet always find the answers they are longing for so fervently to the heavy demands of the questions of the day-through work which practically makes free; answers which for the present situation the older generation is not any longer able to find.

We are told, this answer is simple: work, in any profession whatsoever! Vocational work is allsufficient. Certainly, devotion to one's professional work is something great! But the fulfillment of one's calling is a certainty, which animates one's vocational work with a completely different and a completely new spirit, so that one's horizon is extended far beyond the limits of one's previous vocation. Every divine calling must embrace everything within its sphere and must encompass all that is to be found within the whole context of life. We must have men, who, in the different vocations, have abandoned the old philistinism of departmentalizing life; men who from their completely different watch towers, have heard a higher call, which has led them to an attitude of detachment towards their former callingcaring not whether it is fulfilled or set aside. Such men find, through this higher call, a new practical vocation, wherein they can practice "faithfulness in small things".

Here it is a question of a new epoch for the 'New Work'. According to the extent to which the 'New Work' community can produce such men, can the 'New Work' give a practical answer to each of the burning questions and crying problems of our present day. We are awaiting the undertaking of thorough specialized work in such provinces as the political, the economic, the ecclesiastic or the communal and the educational. Not less do we look forward to a new science and a new art. From the foregoing it must be plain that the circles of the friends of the 'New Work' must encompass the most diverse vocationswithout, nevertheless, becoming a vortex of opposing currents.

Thus in the present number of the 'New Work,' Heinrich Euler's struggle for the Biblical churchcommunity shows us howfrom the mentality of the sect-men win a higher calling of churchcommunity. (Here it must be noted, that the word 'sect' is used in the sense in which Troeltsch uses it and not in its debased sense)!

Sects can no longer exist, for in the churchcommunity we are not cut off from anything living. Also we take part in all forms of a cultural life. We experience the same thing in our circle in relation to the churchgoing type who cannot turn then against an apparently sectarian following of Jesus; and never against the free and uniting spirit of the living Christ, which alone is the vitally decisive factor in the creation of religious and economic community. The walls of the churches and also the dividing fences of the sects must both be overcome: Whether (established) church or sect--we cannot see the final consummation in either of these forms, We need ever anew to feel the direct stirring of the living Christ, which above all outer forms and manifestations, is the vital center, which comprehends and builds up the mystery of the church: and this is built up as an edifice upon eternal foundations, traces of which can be found universally throughout the worldalso even in the biggest church and in the smallest sect.

This basic character imprints itself in certain characteristic distinguishing marks in our 'New Work' witness. These are clearly and sharply defined in the magazine the 'New Work,' and they are in striking contrast to the nebulous vagueness of common religiosity. The desire of the 'New Work' movement, to be turned towards the world and its practical tasks of work, is one of these "peculiarities". Here I can heartily return the brotherly handshake of Pastor Kübel of Frankfurt/Main.He sees, clearly that for us the main concern is the picture of the mankind of the future, and the picture of the age to come. He also sees that this vision of the future coincides both with the essential contents of the eschatological prophesies of Isaiah, and with the sayings of Jesus. (See his article in "Die Gemeinde" 1921).

We know very well, that the will to do the good and the desire to follow Jesus in a life of action, is also present in circles which reject those features which characterize the 'New Work' witness. Our feeling of brotherliness and our consciousness of community however goes out daily, and extends far beyond the confines of our small 'New Work' circle.

We experience and perceive daily, that the miracle of new life takes place everywhere, and often occurs most markedly, in places where men have never heard of us. That which is great and of the future, is independent of all that is small-though it knows itself to be one with it in the present hour. And yet, that which is of the future, is manifested in the present. The decisive point that matters is: The hour of the present . Faith knows of no future which is not also contained in the present. The expectation of things to come means that He is quite near, completely here.

We see the dawning awakening to life, as something which has not yet seen the light of the world. And yet the light of the world is there, namely in Christ, who alone is able to designate himself thus. The final expectation of the future new creation was not seen by Jesus or the other "visionaries" of the future as a goal to be calculated and to be reached at the end of a longer or shorter span of time. It is a quite different matter. The expectation of the future renewal of the world is a religious attitude, a religious vision, a religious certainty, and only as such is it prophetic certainty. The future in this sense, is so certain and assured in its vital power it draws quite near, within a hairsbreadth; indeed it is to be found in the immediate present. For there is no other certainty of the moment and no prophetic certainty which is not a religious certainty. For the moment is the gift of the eternal and that which is beyond, in this world of time and space, into creative action. There is no faith which is not action. The moment which has been religiously consummated, is deed, brought to birth through the power of the spirit of the future. The moment which has been realized in this way, makes the religious reality of things as they will be so real, as to be stronger than the present of things as they are. It does not withdraw itself from material things, but it enters into them and controls them. The moment encompasses and contains all that we remember, and all that we look to in the future. The moment alone can surmount the limitations of time and space.

From this point onward, faith in the future becomes deed. The believer approaches material things with visualizing eyes. He knows their nature and deals with them accordingly. His vision penetrates more deeply than is possible by the most sober reflection of abstract lucidity-without however excluding the use of the reason. His vision is not bound by the traditional standards of history, and yet it lives in an organic continuity with all that was living in history. This vision alone, as it is brought most powerfully to expression in the eschatological sayings of Jesus is able to illuminate the dense fog of things, as they are surrounding us. Its inner freedom exalts the importance of reality, without in any way being stifled or altered by the things.

In contrast to this vision, Pastor Kübel believes that the eschatological sayings of Jesus, and the preaching of this great goal of the future, have not contributed so much to the building up of that which is eternal, nor extended the Kingdom of God so much as the self-denying task of gathering grain upon grain of sand, as in the laborious work of the disciples who day by day kept their shoulder to the heavy wheel in the midst of the poor erring world. It is wrong to place these two spheres of activity of the spirit in opposition to each other. Certainly we must admit that there is a spurious piety, and a false estimation of ultimate things which withdraws from the tasks of the present. For it is the very nature of the good news of Jesus, to point directly to the last future, directly to the new mankind and directly to the new earth. And at the same time it empowers men for the immediate surrender of all the gifts and powers entrusted to them, it qualifies them for the immediate living out of the simple new righteousness and it enables men here and now to tread the new way. The oldest epistles of the Early Christians, in which the expectation of the end of the world was most consistently present, contain the strongest practical summons to that kind of productive labor, which is free of the guilt of exploitation--that is, to manual labor with one's own hands. This is, in particular, the most characteristic feature of the life of faith of the Early Christians, that their apparently dogmatic recognition of and expectation of the end, was always in the present, charged with an extraordinarily practical application affecting both, the individual and the churchcommunity.

From the goal which Christ has set, there streams to us the driving force, which urges us to lend a hand and to take hard labor upon ourselves. It is always true, however, that, when the goal is lost to our sight, then not only does real deadly paralysis set in-but over and above this, men are led astray to seek out other sources of power and to grasp at short term solaces. To guard against this, it is necessary ever anew to surrender one's whole poor life to the object of penetrating through the depths of present day need to the path which leads to the indicated goal. We do not in any way deem it sufficient merely to preach the goal, nor are we satisfied to leave the task at the stage of mere proclamation. We work, according to what the hour demands. And we rejoice in the work. But the value or lack of value of the work must be determined according to the goal which the work serves. And it is the certainty of the goal alone, that can enable us to carry out a work corresponding to the will of God, in spite of all opposition and all obstacles which arise to hinder us, both from within ourselves and from without. The moment which has been determined by God, affords a glimpse into his future, because it presents a picture of his presence, and therefore it is at the same time, the working dynamic of the present.

For this final vision here outlined, of the religiously consummated moment, everything is of significance, which seeks to get to the roots of things and is also the call to new work. There will be no danger of our becoming a mere medley of people (Sammelsurium), if we, in common, trace each stirring of life to its innermost depth, without however, in any way remaining stuck fast or lost in meditative boring.

Similarly, it will not be possible for us to lose ourselves in separate opinions, when our comprehensive, communal basic character has learnt to penetrate and govern all departments of life. In the present issue of the 'New Work' we find a striking instance of the corroboration of this viewpoint in Karl Wilker's "Critical Study of the German Intelligence". The powerful witness of this article is important for us, as it calls men to sincerity and liberation; while launching a courageous attack upon the dangerously increasing tendencies towards weariness, apathy and 'bourgeoisiefication' which are rampant today; It breathes the air of freedom, and it points towards God. And yet, at the same time, we find it a dogmatic assertion we must most emphatically reject. For we have experienced the fact, that God can be incarnated and made manifest. The perfect embodiment of the Eternal, was and is and will be.

That which the hands of the first witnesses touched, which their eyes saw, and which their ears heard of the word of life is the same as that which we also witness to, and proclaim to be the life which is eternal, and which was with the Father, and which appeared as the Word made Flesh.

Another instance is the brand of radicalism which rejects all industrialization, on account of the souldestroying effect of the machine, this, it takes to be proof that industrialization must come from the devil, and therefore must be denied. It is true that in 'The New Work' we need the questioning spirit, which continues to question all things, without being brought to a standstill, by the dead weight of things as they are. But God has always a positive answer and a 'Yes' to say to reality, for he is the creatively working spirit, in whom there is no 'no'. He always finds the soundest approach towards matter. His way of approaching it does not minimize or slur over the extent of our guilt, but he puts an end to the guilt, and overcomes the consequences of it. With him ways are possible whereby the machine can be creatively transformed and animated to serve the freedom and the dignity of man, and the soul of man. He knows of pathways of love in the midst of industrialism.

We are seeking for and awaiting a basically new culture; but of one thing we can be certain and that is, that no creative thought or deed of the past can be lost in this new culture. It is on this certainty that we find a strong common agreement with Wilhelm Hauer - as he expresses himself in his lecture on culture at Whitsun in Schlüchtern. (The 'New Work') Nr. 3.

It must also be quite clear that we cannot share the trend of thought, which motivates Harjes anti industrial settlement, but at the same time we can rejoice most heartily over the thoroughgoing radicalism which is manifest there and the determination to probe to the root of thing. He has regardlessly attacked and unmasked the opposite principle. But the rejection of a decaying culture and the overthrow of an intellectually decadent science and a soulless technology; should mean a joyous 'yes' which is full of expectation for a new culture, for a new science within the context of life as a whole, and for a new technology which is filled and animated with soul and spirit. It must be clear to us that at present we have not these things. Men have a dawning awareness of them. Here and there, we see small, tangible gropings towards them. But we are, even in these beginnings, still in the midst of the need and tension of all men: Whether a man lives in a pleasant suburban house, or in a Rhön village, it is all the same, if he remains in living contact with men in need-as for instance in the dirtiest and most purulent slum of the big city. And if, above all, he does not deceive himself about his own need, which is just the same as that of the slum-dweller; then he is one and the same among the others, for he is no different himself.

For this reason, those who are most closely bound to us in the 'New Work' are those who feel the need of the most needy, just as if it were their own.