Democracy anfc TReUgton.

69

The Kingdom of God branches out like the gianttree from the smallest seed of a true fellowship.

Where disciples unite in a more permanent wayfor the worship of God and His service in the worldthey form a Church. They are members of onebody, responsible for the whole and for each. Insuch a Church there is a spirit of communion, acollective will and a wisdom superior to the willand wisdom of the individual.

All the churches of true disciples, though theyhave different missions and talk differentlanguages, form branches of the one invisibleChurch, which is Christ's spiritual body, militantnow, triumphant when the end comes.

The Catholic accepts the visible Church as themystical body of Christ which under the guidanceof the Holy Ghost unfolds dogmatic truth andprepares the " civitas dei " as the end of history.It is on this foundation that the Roman CatholicChurch has become the fertile soil of all sorts ofco-operative guilds and even of successfulsocialism in some monastic orders, where privateproperty is suppressed.

The so-called Reform of the Reformationinherited the catholic view of society. The NewZion is built up by social groups in which thespirit of true solidarity reigns. Thus earlyBaptists developed into communities wherecorporate life over-ruled the individual, whereeven experiments in socialism proved successful.Witness of this are the " Hutterers " who built upsocialist communities which have outlivedcenturies. In America many experiments were