Now
staid
and
Teach-in by Sandra
Savlov
Chevron staff
TORONTO--In its third year, the International Teach-In has deviated frqm its original design. The Teach-In has become staid, conservative, and part of the established university scene. The Third Ann-1 International Teach-In was held last weekend at the University of Toronto. This time the topic was religion and international affairs. During the five sesssions only a few of the seventeen s p e a k e r s , including Garfield Todd, former primeminister of Rhodesia, and V.K. Krishna Menon, former Indian defence minister raised more than a yawn. Attendance, although a respectable 2500, was only half that of previous years. Faith and War This affair began Friday evening with three addresses on the sub-topic of Religious Faith and War, The lead speaker was Dr. W.K. Thompson, vice-president of the Rockefeller Foundation. He viewed national morality as
“The main force in the world today . . .is the government of the United States. ” Dr. 0 ‘Brien
conservative
ch anges
outlook
ing in the national interest. “The main force in the world today bent on aggression is the government of the United States.” O’Brien, being tie only speaker of the evening to attack the topic in blunt and forth-right terms, quickly won the sympathies of the audience. Faith and Revolution The Teach-In continued Saturday morning with the topic, religious faith and revolution. G.S. Garfield Todd, formerly prime minister of Southern Rhodsummarized the various esia, stands taken by thelarger Rhodesian churches, all of which, except for the Dutch Reformed, are in opposition to apartheid. He claimed there were many measures short of rebellion by which the majority blacks could help them regain their lost rights. He was unable to offer a viable alternative to violence, however. Todd’s rather ineffectual plea was followed by that of Father Gustav0 Perez Ramirez, the director general of the ColLunbianInstitute for Social Development in Bogota. Father Ramirez accused the peoples of North America and Europe of sitting back and looking on the “Third World revolutionary movements as strange and horrible behaviour of underdeveloped people. Yet you (i.e. Europeans and North Americans) are part of the tragedy and thus responsible to a great extent 2’ . The third speaker on the topic, religious faith and revolution, was Reverend Ralph Abernathy, the treasurer of Martin Luther King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Abernathy has decided that violence is not the way, condemning his black power, and expressing strong beliefs in both negotiations and non-violent demonstrations. “Christ stood against violence. Non-violence means...non-co-operation with evil.”
Faith and Intolerance In the afternoon the topic shifted to religious faith and intolerdifferent from personal morality; ance and the first to speak was the nations must consider their own executive vice-president of the self-interests first. ’ Canadian Jewish Congress, Saul “There can be no compromise Hayes, He ran though some of in individual morality but .there the periods of religious persecuhas to be in average social mortions and felt more would occur ality.” unless some of the basic teachThompson saw peace, not as an ings of the Christian church were ultimate goal but only as a bychanged. product of a number of factors. Alex Quais on-Sackey ) Ghana’s Contrasted to this view was that foreign minister and a former of Canon L J. Collins, the Chanpresident of the UN GeneralAscellor of St. Paul’s Cathedral, sembly, pleaded that men practice London. Collins traced the tortutheir religions and show tolerance ous path of his consciousness as for those who follow other teachhe attempted to reconcile his ings “. Politicians should beguidChristianity with the necessary ed by the great moral principals violence of life. enshrined in the different faiths of “No Christian ought in any cirthe world.” cumstances to take part in, or Speaking next was Muhammad encourage others to take part in, Zafulla Khan, a- judge on the Innational or sectional war.” ternational Court of Justice and A Christian, a true Christian, former foreign minister of Pakmust always place his commitistan. ment just as near the level of nonKhan felt that his religion, Isviolence as he is able, Collins lam, teaches tolerance, and that feels. any intolerance on the part of Looking at the issuef rom a third anyone of any faith comes from a standpoint was Dr. Conor Cruise corruption of the true faith. O’Brien, Albert Schweitzer Pro“A person who is truly religious fessor of Humanities at New York can never permit himself to be O’Brien, like Collins University, guilty of intolerance” said Khan. believes that war is wrong butt-hat “Today it is recognized that it is at times necessary to defend prejudice and intolerance are no However he condemned oneself. simple human frailties: longer all wars that were justified as be- they are amongst the most pow-
The International Teach-In drew about 250 people to the University of Toronto to hear speaches about religion and international affairs from 17 experts in these fields last weekend. Chevrons photos by Peter Wilkinson
erful forces for conflict on a global scale,” declared F ather Trevor Huddleston the Bishop of Masasi. Tanzania. Hudleston presented the most effective speech of the session in describing how an organized religion such as the Dutch Reformed Church, can rationalize its intolerance on theological, scripturand pragmatic al, his to ric, grounds. He went on to describe several practical devices which might be used to fight intolerance; man should use all available media to increase his fellow man’s understanding of human dignity, he s h o u Id act against intolerance wherever it occurs, and seek to understand the reasons behind the intolerance. Huddleston feels that thedemise of responsibility for fellow human beings is “the death, not of God, but of man.” Faith and ldedlogy Sunday the last day of the TeachIn saw two sessions. The first, in the afternoon, was on the topic, religious faith and ideology. Dr. J.P. Corbett, professor of philosophy at the University of Sussex, England opened by de-
and Ralph Bishop
spurred him ever onward in the sed on mutual understanding. search of peace. Following Corbett wasDr.RichThe first live speaker was V.K. ard Schaull, Professor of EcumenKrishna Menon, the former Indian ics at Princeton Theological SemHe was now inary who made a personal plea defence minister. most probably bewide-awake, for freedom from the old ideolocause he had napped SO often durgies but at the same time espousing the other speeches. ed some ideals of the American new left. He declared that the deFor over an hour Menon spoke, veloped nations must allow the yelled anecdotes, and declared that ones to change underdeveloped war had always cursed humanity. their social systems and develop He proved to be a humorous man by themselves. and a definite knack for political The third, and perhaps leastspeeches that say nothing. effective speaker of the session In sharp contrast with Menon was Dr. Milan Opocenski,aCzech, was Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese and European Secretary of the Buddhist monk, poet and scholar. World Student Christian FederaHe developed clearly and simply tion. the theme that man must seek to Opocenski attempted to show how follow their religion, seek to know easy it was for him to reconcile the truth, and develop love and the ideology of Marxian socialism tolerance for their fellow man. and his Christian religion. SpeakWhen these elements are lacking ing in leftist cliches which one there is strife and suffering. Man associates with bad movies, Opomust stop imposing on people censki rarely came within the ideas, and solutions which they do bounds of credibility. not want. With little or no outReverend Alan Booth, London ward emotion, the monk in thesafsecretary of the Commission of fron robe declared that the Vietthe World Council of Churches on namese struggle was a three’ tiered battle. International Affairs, declared; “Christianity is not an ideolFar under the surface was the ogy....but a unity of common forstruggle between China and the giveness .” United States, two nations in fear The little old ladies whose of each other, who both want to scowls had become increasingly protect Vietnam from the other severe through the speeches of Vietnam, however doesn’t feel the Corbett, Schaull, and Opocinski, need for this protection, were now beaming. One continued “In reality the fear m0st44merto knit throughout. icans have of China is based 011 imagination, not reality; they serFaith and Peace iously believe that if they don’t So came the final session. The fight in Vietnam now they will subject: religious faith andpeace. fight later in San Francisco or The first attraction was a tenmore the United minute filmed message from U- Washington....the States stays in Vietnam the more Thant the UN Secretary-General, they create.” had sustained him in his work and Communists Enjoy
the congenial
atmosphere
“Christ stood against violence. Non-violence means . . . nonco-operation . . . ” Rev. Abernathy. claring his atheism. this immediately caused a ripple of uneasiness to run through the audience. His main point was a plea for an international system of ethics ba-
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