PRESENT-DAY EVILS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 52, Issue 7, 19 October 1931, Page 7

PRESENT-DAY EVILS

COMMUNISM AND GAMBLING.

ARCHBISHOP jfVERILL'S VIEWS.

(Special to "The Guardian.") AUCKLAND, October 17. Communism and the gambling mania were* condemned by Archbishop Averill in his presidential address to members of the Synod at St. Mary's Cathedral. He said the times called for penitence and prayer, and he blamed the Church for not raising its voice in warning against the evils of the present. It was impossible, said the Archbishop, to dissociate the present economic depression and unrest from the decline of spiritual values and moral standards in the world. The Church, and by the Church, he meant all who professed and called themselves Christians, had in many respects become too much conformed to this world, and been leavened by instead of levemng the world. Instead of influencing public opinion on great religious, moral and social questions, she had often succumber to world,pressure and taken up a neutral attitude. Instead of denouncing extravagance, wastefulness, luxury, and reckless, and often unjustfiable expenditure, both private and public, she had failed to raise her voice in protest. In her desire not to interfere in politics, she had failed to Utter a warning not when the sanctities of home life or the morals of the community were threatened. It was perfectly right for the Church to be independent of party politics, but it was perfectly wrong for the Church to be indifferent to Parliamentary action which concerned the welfare of the people. Was it no concern of the Church that there was no public recognition of Almighty God, and no instruction in His Holy Word in the primary schools of our land? Was that a matter to be settled by politicians 'only and to be regarded as a party question? Was it no concern of the Church that facilities for gambling should be .fostered by Governments, and revenue derived therefrom ? Was there no connection between the mania for gambling and the present economic distress? Did art unions and State lotteries, even if they be held under the guise of charity, conduce to the welfare- of the community" and to the encouragement of honest work and thrift? There was doubtless pressure brought to bear in favour of "permits" for evading the law, but should not the Church exercise a strong counter pressure when the moral welfare of thei community is at stake? ~ ± . _;. '" , Was it no concern of the Church that atheism, under the cleak of revolutionary Communism, was striving to abolish the name of God and the teaching of Jesus Christ from the world? Did the martyrs in Russia and China make no appeal to Church people a chivalry. Were we meeting the antiGod campaign with, a stronger proGod campaign? Surely it was time that Christians closed up their ranks, make up their differences and presented a solid front to the forces m the world which were seeking to l dethrone God and eliminate His yery name from the world. If it was true that the British character was at its best when it was "up against it, should not the Christian character be even more so?