RELIGIOUS WORLD.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 301, 22 December 1923, Page 10 (Supplement)

RELIGIOUS WORLD.

I PRESENT DAY OUTLOOK. ■ (Contributed.! • I SATE OF CHRIST'S BIRTH: ST. j LUKE VINDICATED. ! It is v. cii known that Christ was born some years before the date of the I "birth of' Christ." which forms the j start in;, point of the Christian era. Discussing this question in "Discovery,"' Professor W. M. Calder, of the Cnivert sity of Manchester, states that Luke in all probability intended to imply, and I Matthew defniilely states, thai Christ twas born b.-f(ire the death of King i Herod, who ordered the ".Massacre of j the Innocents": anil we know for ceri tain thai Herod died early in I B.( . ! Recent discovery ha- thrown fresh light j tin the event.s which, in Luke's narraj live. .01-111 : lie setting of the birth of i Christ. Some old difficulties have been I cleared away and the choice of a possible • date hits been restricted within narrow : limits. Combining Luke's narrative with 'the story a- told by .Matthew we lind ! four distinct siatenients: • I. That Christ was born iv tin- reign .of Herod (who died early in -I B.C.i. ; 2. This; at the time oi' ( hrisC. birth . the (irs'i census ..1' the Roman Empire I was being taken by order of Amrusfus. ! ". 'that the census was taken while • Quiriiiius was governing the Roman pro- , \ itu-e of S. rin. ' I. That, lo be enrolled, families had •to report al a j•!-escribed place, which ! ill the case of Joseph was "his own city." : A series of dated census papers have 1 been found belonging to the years 20. !M. 48, and i._ A.l). Extending the I series backwards we ..et the years A.D. ]ti (when we know from Acts V. ,'!7 that ja census was taken in Palestine 1. and I « B.C. This latter year may very well ( l.c the .year of the Nativity. 'it is • highly probable that a census, called by j Luke' "ibe tir.-t." was taken about 0-7 I B.C. Now (.uirinius governed Syria I twice. Ibe -e.-otul time being in A.l). o, I when Ihe census mentioned in Acts V. | _____.. __._...,. ..«.„_=._!. _■ ._._.___.», :

J This vindication or Luke's accuracy ] I strengthens our coniidence in him as a | j careful and reliable historian. In ; I other points where his narrative has ' I been challenged we will be more than • I ever inclined to accept his version rather ! ; than that of his critics. I ! N.Z. BIBLE T_._._-vi_NG INSTITUTE | , \ There was a very large gathering in ! I the Auckland Baptist Tabernacle to | | celebrate the second anniversary of the 1 I Bible Training Institute. the proeeed--1 ings were characterised by great hopefulness and enthusiasm, and unwavering, | faith in the purpose for which the ■ Institute was founded. That purpose was j declared by Ihe Rev. .1. \V. Kemp to be i the presentation of the whole Bible and ' 1 the whole Christ to the whole world. The. ; Institute's only text book, said Air.' '• Kemp, is the Bible—the Authorised . Version— not any new-fangled version. i The superintendent i Mr. C. .1. Rolls! | asserted thai the Institute held and i taught thai the Bible i- "wholly, a.bso- ., liic-lv. and altogether the Word' of the ! living C.d." i Applause, i Mi. Rolls referred to the high standard of the work done by tiie seven students who had colli-' j pletcd their two years' cotir.se and had i I graduated. Hx of them weir- going out: to torcigii field-, and one would remain, in Auckland. All of them felt the call . to engage in pra-tical (hnstian work. The success ol' the Institute was largely: due to the help of Mr. Kemp. I Applause.'i i Tiie present building wa- becoming , inside quale. Pn-pai a t bins were being ii'iul. 10.- flic erection of a new building., They had liicn pr.-seiiti.-d with n two-acre -.. cti, n in Kiu~-_.ii-.ii-, and had about I £ 1.-.vi I in baud. The secretary said the ! founders of (he Institute were men of; : faith and spiritual vision, and results j . had Hiiiply justilied their faith. Review- ; . ing the work of the past two year.- they j | could say: "To Cod be the glory, great . things He hath done." Mr. IX. 1./stevvart. ' then presented the diplomas. Tbe brief l lour women ami lli.ee ineui proved a very interest ing feature of lb- meeting. .They all bore tes'.iiilnov I. the happy an.l helpful lime they' he.l -pern as students ill the Institute. Tiev said it;

working from without. Under the first heading comes the work of the doctors and the psycho-therapists, the second is what we call spiritual healing. Those who would deny the miracles of spiritual healing bind Cod down to His own laws, 1 which they only imperfectly understand, fail to distinguish between what, is supernatural and what is unnatural, ami forget that Cod transcends His universe. If we really believe that Cod became incarnate we must realise that it is beyond utir comprehension to tell what events should follow His appearance. A Christian, of course, cannot confine himself to other grounds, but were it possible he would liml that even so mircles arc not put out of court. Eur no one would deny that the abnormal and unexpected .1 ■cur. The very fact that Christianity i- true makes miracles inevitable, and that all those cures o: which you arc c.igni-ant a- the result of the Spiritual Healing .Mis-ion are not the -income oi' suggestion, but just facts which of necessity follow faith in Him Who has promised to be with IE- ( hn.ch uiiiil the end of t ir.ic." NEWS AND NOTES. Th' allowance mad.' i:i lh- lbo.—e of Waiapu to Maori clergy ~f £.. per child up to I.", year- ..I' age ],„, beeti irict'ta.-eJ ti ilo pi i- , iii Id. Dr. (in- Wurman, foimetlv Bishop of Truro, has n enthroned a's P.isbo,. of Cheliii.-io.il. Dr. \\". 11. |-'i-ei-e has been chosen as liishop of Truro. The account: for tin- Metlmdisi. Foreign Missionary Society close at the end of December. flic amount uiined at by the Home church is; £13.000. A final appeal for that amount j is now being made. i Dr. W. C. Sadlier. Anglican Bishop of Nelson, has been made a presenta-t ion by parishioners and friends ill the Cheviot district. The presentation is n Christ- '. mas gift anil fakes ihe form of a gold pectoral cross, a beautiful specimen of the- jeweller's art. The best wishes of the donors an ipttnied the gift.

! Towards the Welsh Church Fund oi I £1.000,000 over £670,000 had been sub- : scribed by June this year. Of that sum ]05 per cent was received from AVelsh ' sources. Cardinal Oasparri recently received in audience the French general, Dc Castel.juau. It is understood the conference dealt with the revision of relations between tbe Vatican and France, so as to harmonise them with the present situation. tin the ojca-ion of tiie 87th annivei--.aiy of his birth, the late Rev. Dr. •lolin Clifford was presented by Sister Ruth, on behalf of the Bosworth Mission, with flowers and lolliepops. Dr. Clifford confessed t liar at S7 he possessed the same love of lolbes as he did at seven year-. Tie leaders ot tiie Me'.loli-t Ciiurc"' arc considering t'e question of a grea' evangelistic campaign in the year lf_.j It i-, suggested thtt next vmr be devoted io widespread preparation in the circuits and e'.uiiv. cs. Tie proposal is no' for large unite I p ibli;- mis-ions. ion ducted by oversea niis-ione.rs, but foi tlie eiilistiiii'iit. of mini-tcts and penpli in doing' their own work. Some ot iie recent syno.ls approved the suggestion; 'ami tiie whde -abject will ie further dealt wit'i at t'e ti<o;t conference. In other times the word "citrate" j meant tiie person responsible fur the I cure of the souls of t lie parish •' to-day he is simply that hard-working individual, the assistant clergyman. "Parson mean- "a person." the parish j "persona": while the "vicar" originally j did the work of the parish on behalf ■of another. At the present time, however, he is the minister of a parish who is not in receipt of great tithes—where, for instance, the tithes belong to a layman. The original name for a clergyman was "clerk.' so when we speak of a "clerical error" l.y an individual whom we now call a -'clerk,'' we are using a. word which formerly applied only to the clergy.