It is of the essence of Biblical religion that no aspect of life, including the areas of national and international affairs, is isolated from the governance of God or exempt from the judgment of moral conscience. To relate international responsibilities to religious concerns means, therefore, to walk in the authentic Biblical tradition, and what is at least equally important, to utilize its insights for meeting the crisis of our times: such an approach would prove more successful than the immoral or amoral procedures which govern international affairs today.

Historical analogies are notoriously misleading, but the Biblical experience affords a striking instance of die relevance of ethical standards for a practical national policy. The Hebrew prophets, who were uncompromising in demanding adherence to the ethical principle everywhere in human life, were far more realistic in their understanding of the international scene in their day than all the practical leaders of their time, the kings, the nobility, the military leaders, the international merchants and the statesmen, let alone the common people.

The satellites in orbit overhead herald our entry into a new era, an era which will be as different from the Machine Age as the Machine Age was from die Middle Ages. We have conquered the basic problem of launching vehicles into outer space, but we have not determined a program for controlling space. If the space age is to provide opportunities for mankind greater than merely providing the staging ground for World War III, a legal system must be formulated which will regulate the use of outer space by the earth. Outer space is not covered by international law; yet we cannot afford the luxury of anarchy.