B.D.

3227a
20.8.1944

Law - Justice - Races.... Nations....

It is unworthy of a whole nation if it is not accountable to itself regarding its thoughts and actions. The conduct of a
nation’s people should be impeccable towards each other; but they should also observe the commandment of
neighbourly love towards other nations, even if this is not to be understood such that actions and thoughts should extend
to individual members but that all feelings and intentions towards another nation should be honourable and decent and
not lack a feeling of justice, i.e. they should not be denied what the people of a nation claim for themselves. Law and
justice should apply to all people, and the affiliation to a specific race or nation should not determine the actions
implemented against them. God set no restriction when He gave people the commandment of neighbourly love, for
every fellow human being shall be regarded as a brother, as God’s living creation, who should also be treated with
brotherly feelings. Hence, the human being should not impose this restriction himself, he should not think that he is
entitled to exclude certain people from neighbourly love; he should practise the commandment of neighbourly love
without distinction and thus also be accountable to himself when he disregards this commandment. And therefore he
must be clear about his thoughts and actions as to how far they correspond to the divine commandments…. He cannot
make different judgments at his pleasure and own discretion, he cannot sin against one person and believe his sin to be
justified because he deems himself to belong to a different circle, which was drawn by racial or national affiliation.
This dividing line does not exist before God, before God all human beings are equal, and right and wrong remain right
and wrong everywhere. It is not acceptable that the human being claims rights for himself which he denies to other
people, and if people’s thoughts become so misguided that they believe themselves to be right even when they act
wrongly, then the human being’s spiritual development has already sunk low, for then he places earthly life high above
the latter, otherwise he would be unable to defend a way of thinking which arose from the striving for his own
advantage…. Anything a human being requires for himself he must inevitably also grant to his fellow human being, and
he should never ever set up his own laws if he does not want to fear that he will not be considered by God in a way he
would like, but that he will be measured by the same yardstick he measured himself….