RELIGIOUS WORLD.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 168, 15 July 1916, Page 14

RELIGIOUS WORLD.

CONSCIENCE OFTEN A FALSE GUIDE. Bishop Welldon makes a very complete Study of the case of the conscientious objector in "The Nineteenth Century." ]le puts the interesting point that the objoetor not only usually bases his view on a few isolated texts, but ifi an ex;nii|rlp of extreme individualism —as con-trat-ted with the extreme State absolutism of Germany. Ur. Welldon th'iuks tiie individual citizen will count less, pcrluips far less, with us after the war. He shows how often the most obstinate consciences are wrong, and what enorjpities—e.g., in the ease of the Inquisition—have been committed in the name of conscience. And often men's inclinations guide their consciences instead of conscience really guiding. Therefore it is all-important tn have a true, honest, enlightened conei-ieiiee. ,)eremy Taylor's profound and discerning analysis of questions of conscience is quoted with great effect, both as to perverse eoßsciences and also as to Christ's whole teaching being designed not to impair, but to strengthen and support the system of society existing in His day. Neither by act nor word did He do anything to weaken the social order. Dr. Welldon, recognises that it is very difficult to cultivate conscien-ee so that, properly informed and enlightened, it may become a ■well-nigh infallible guide of conduct. "He •who so seeks to live will ever test his conscience by tiie honour and welfare of humanity, lie will ever test it by the law of heaven." Conscience is supreme, "but there can be no more serious error than to idolise conscience, if the conscience is itaelf inialed and misleading." SPHtITTJAL RESURRECTION. In a recent sermon at the Aeolian Hall, London. Dr. John Hunter emphasised in his own eloquent and effective ■way the spirituality of the resurrection ac taught by Jesus. To treat the words of Jesus wisely we must treat them as we treat the words of our great poets and ■prose writers. Tomhs and graves do not contain human beings, and sooner or later it will come to be recognised universally that dead bodies are not to be raised. Our Lord's use of the word "resurrection' , carried with it a moral and spiritual meaning. The credu'l expressions, "the resurrection of the body" and "the resurrection of the flesh," occur nowhere in the New Testament, and the word translated "resurrection' , signified not a rising again but a rising up. The great wnrd of Jesus was "life." and He laid the emphasis upon life now and here, not life hereafter. We were to rise out of the life of selfishness anil worldliness into tlip life of faith and hope and love. After His death .Jerms came back to the world from the spiritual side, and so impressed His disciples that they went everywhere preach.ing His word concerning (k>d and the soul, and the Kingdom of God upon earth. That was the "resurrection" when, as the result of the proclamation of the message of Je*us, there arose throughout the Roman Empire a new feeling of brotherhood and justice. The nu'-'page of Jesus changed the eoirrse ot civilisation, involved a radical change in human thought, and made a revolution inevitable. It showed every man. whether slave or master, layman or priest, to be the child of God. and prochimed blessings with no restriction save that of character. The '"resurrection" came again when Martin Luther heard within Ms soul the Divine word. and in that great movement which we call the Reformation. So al6o it came to and with the Puritans, the Quakers, and Wesley and WhitefieJd. and it was with us to-day in the new (which is after all the old) conception of religion as being, not a matter of rites and ceremonies, but "the life of God in the soul of man." ' ENGLISH CHURCH REFORMS. Discussing the proposed "National Mission" in connection with the Church of England, Bishop H. H. Montgomerysecretary of the R.P.C.K., makes the following suggestions:— Let every church in tie United Kingdom be open from morning till night. Let every church be free and open for the next twelve months, all pew Tents put on one side, and the money found by other means. Let the clergy and workers freely rose the church for their private prayer at all hours. Let no confession of sin in any church or cathedral be said "in G" for the whole of twelve months, and let the natural voice be used a-s much as possible. Let us see to it that no prayer or sen-ice is gabbled for twelve months. Let solemn silences be introduced into <rur services, and by tho.=e who 1 know how to utilise silence. Let services *jc held on Sundays and on weekdays at hours which may be most uneonve.ntional but yet as fitted as possible for the needs of all. Let sermons be short and devoted to the most fundamental truths, and preached from the heart. Let the reading of the lessons lie made a subject of prayer by the clergy, so that those passages of .Scripture may be riveted on the attention of the people. They can be made sucli intense sermons that no other Let bumble and unaffected visitation become for twelve months the duty of all the clergy, as also the faithful teaching of children on weekdays. It is a welcome addition that, while Bishop Montgomery "thinks it is our wisdom to do our own work for our own people," he believes "it would be a blessed Aing if other denomina-tions would work for the same object side by side with us. But let it p be side by Side, not by mixing ourselves up. Such an attempt would leave large portions of our Church coJd; we should be defniiting our own object. Various Christian oodies, or Churches, speak with a different note or accent. In perfect amity let us each go our own way, and ■work out our own salvation by our own special methods." Notwithstanding the heavy calls upon people in Great -Britain in consequence of the war, the Wesleyan Missionary Society not only covered its expenditure for 1915, but also cleared off the previous deficit. The London Mission Society raieed £20,000 by a special effort to save withdrawing from somo stations in India. For the nine months ending December 31st, the Church Misgion Society received £29,000 in excess of the income for a similar period the •previous year. The income of the Baptist Missionary Society was aleo veil maintained. There hag been en allround increase in women candidftte&'foc

CHURCH NEWS AND NOTES. Asked at the Spring Gardens Appeal Tribunal (London) when he first found out his conscientious objection to taking any part in combatant service, a conscientious objector replied: "While I was at a service at the City Temple Mr. Campbell asked us to pray that our soldiers should be successful in the field. My conscience revolted against such prayers, and I left the church." Some plain statements were made at the Queen's Hall, London, by the Bishop of Ohelmsford on the Day o£ United Intercession arranged by the World's Evangelical Alliance. He eaid they might ask -why God did not interfere in the war The Bishop argued that they must cleanse England and get the country right with God. He asked his hearers to think of England gathering wealth into her barns before the war, begrudging the old age pensions, becrrmljrinir money to sweep awa}' the shuns iuiJ making 'houses fit for people to dwell in, and now they were spending five millions a day on war. Had their spirite changed 6ince the war? Some were making money out of the war. There were strikes, slackness in work, dishonesty in contracts, and drink, where there were not restrictions, just as of old. On the other hand, Dean llensley Henson recently protested strongly against the theory that the war has been sent as a punishment for manifold sins and wickednesses. The West London Wesleyan Mission was founded 29 years ago by Hugh Price Hughes. At its anniversary recently the Hon. Walter Uuneiman, President of tne Board of Trade, was on the platform. The editor of the "Spectator," Mr. St. Loe Strachey, was the star of the evenin!:. 11 is policy of "Down glasses for the war , ' has the support of the Methodists. He confessed that he had never been actively associated with any terapeninci; organisations. Other speakers were Dr. Orchard and Dr. Uutton. The former said, in the course of his address: "A Unitarian minister said to mc the other day, "I shall have to seek another denomination. Jesus Chrwt iilki heaven and earth for mc to-day.' " "If one could crystallise into a paragraph what the men of the variouH Churches are eaying publicly and privately, it is this: They admit a failure to act up to their preaching. The Churches need conversion before they can expect the outsider to come inside to bo converted. They realise that they arc out of touch with the great hulk of the manhood of the country, and that the politician or the publicist can enion-e moral lei-eons to a far larger public than they can attempt to secure.' , —"Saturday Westminster Gazette." British Wesleyan Methodism will report decreases in membership again thin year. Against) this, of course, is to lie reckoned the abnormal increases in membership in the Foreign Missions. Leeds district lias the largest decrease, anJ Sheffield the largest increase. Strange to say, it is a Leeds circuit which has the largest circuit increase, that honour having been gained by the Leeds Mission. The post of Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has been bestowed on the Duke of Montrose. The oilice does not materially extend beyond the twelve days during which the General Assembly is in se.-siou, but the holder is the representative of the King to the annual gatherings and functions connected with the Established Church of Scotland. He occupies Holyrood, and dbpenses hospitality to the leading ministers and members and their wives. The presence of the Lord High Commissioner at Holyrood involves him in a continual round of social duties and engau'emenus which in ordinary years makes the twelve days of the Assembly the most important in the city. Needless to say, the Lord High Commissioner has a heavy bill to meet at ite dose. Miss Eva Booth, who ie commander of the Salvationists in the United States, lias received 400,000 dollars as the result of a campaign for the purpose of commemorating the life work of her father, General Booth. The form of the memorial will be a new training college for officers of the Salvation Army in New York. The District Synods of British Wc3leyan Methodism are experiencing the natural result of the war in the dearth of candidates for the ministry. In some synods only one candidate was accepted. At Hull, Lieut. J. W. Sawyer was accepted as a candidate, and returned immediately to France after the examination by the Synod. .Mr. .lames Baxter, of Bedlington, recently completed fifty years' ecrvice as a local preacher in the Primitive Methodist Church. He is now over 70 years of age, and for over half a century was an official of the Becilington Coal Company. The Rev. Sydney Berry, minister, of Carr Lane Congregational Church, who recently returned from England to France, referred in the course of an address, to the want of unity between the churches at Home in comparison with the religious comradeship amongst British chaplains in France. Mr. Ben-y stated that he had preached to the troops for a Church of Rutland chaplain with his full knowledge and approval, and added thatj the men in France did not understand the religious differences and would not accept them when they returned. They ha/l come right up to the reality of things, and were not prepared to accept what was unreal in the religious professions at Home. The Venerable Archdeacon Wirberforce, Chaplain of the House of Common? since 1R!)(>, died recently in the cloisters of Westminster. He was born in 1841. being a son of Samuel Wilbcrforce, Bishop of Oxford. His grandfather was the Wilherforcc so famous in his denunciation of slavery. The late Archdeacon was an anti-vrriaeetionist and a temperance reformer. A PRAYER. FOR OTJR ARMIES AT THE FRONT. O of nosts, wfooee mighty arm In safety keeps 'mid war's alarm, Protect out armies at the front Who bear of war the bitter brunt. And In the hour of danger spread Thy shelterluj; wing above each head. In battle's harsh and dreadful hour Mnke bare Thhie «rm of sovereign power, And fi£ht for them -who fight for Thee, And give Thine own the victory; O, In the hour of danger spread Thy sheltering wing above each head. When pestilence at noonday wastes, And death in triinnph onward hastrs, 0, Savkmr Christ, remember Naln, And give ns back our eons apiln; Thy sheltering wing above each head. If by tifoc way thov wounded Ii& O listen to their plaintive cry, And rest on Tliy loving breast, O Tbon on Wtorrm the Cross wae .pressed; And in the hour of danger shed Tby glorious radiance on enc/h hcaa. O, friend onrl ronrfortor <Hvfno, Who makest light at midnight shine, Give consolation to tho sad VFho In the days of peace were jjlad; And In the hour of sorrow spread Thy sheltering wing above eadti head. ■ofifliL| fPTftTlifliVß*'Tm"riliPTi „,