Religion: Knowing the Enemy

For a fortnight, U.S. Methodists have been studying the state of the world and the dangers it holds for religion. Behind closed doors in a Manhattan hotel, 36 bishops of the Methodist Church spent three days trying to analyze the strengths and weaknesses, the failures and successes of Communism. Last week, at Buck Hill Falls, Pa., Methodists assembled for the tenth annual meeting of their Board of Missions and Church Extension. Some of what they heard was cheering: Chinese Communists were treating missionaries better than had been expected and the church in the U.S. was growing fast enough to put up...