PULPIT VOICES.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 243, 14 October 1929, Page 19

PULPIT VOICES.

THE MOSLEM WORLD.

A REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE,

EVANGELICAL CONFERENCE,

A conference on Moslem mission problems was held on Saturday afternoon and evening in the United Evangelical Church, Mount Eden, under the auspices of the council of the Egypt General Mission. The speakers included Miss Reeves Palmer, of Suez, Mr. A. Redwood, of Bangalore (India), Rev. H. A. G. Clark, late of China, and Mr. Alex. Mill, New Zealand representative of the Egypt General Mission. Beautiful views were shown of scenes in Algiers, North Africa, Palestine and Egypt, illustrating types of Moslem missionary effort.

The speakers emphasised the changes 1 taking place in the Near and Far East among the great Mohammedan peoples, and said that the old phrase, "The unchanging East," was now inaccurate. The millions of Islam were now in a state of unrest, politically, socially and religiously. Up to the time of the Great War these people had resisted solidly any attentat to bring new thought to bear upon them; now they were a listening and an inquiring people. The rise of a national spirit among them and a growing sense of race consciousness, had given impetus to a movement which was rapidly changing the mentality of the vigorous and virile Moslem. The inflow of Western ideas and ideals, the impact of Christian standards through the fine colleges and schools maintained by missionary societies in the East, and the marvellous circulation • of Christian literature, especially of the Bible in colloquial Arabic, had caused a change of mind in respect to the religion and to the teachings of the Koran. To-day doors were opening wide for Christian teachers, and a splendid field of missionary endeavours was available for men and women of developed Christian character. A great movement was on foot for the emancipation of womanhood from the degraded position held under the tenets of Mohammedanism. Only 1 .per cent of the women of Egypt could read and write and generally they were the prey of superstitions and of ignorance of the grossest kind. The condition of the women reacted disastrously upon the children, and, in consequence, infant mortality was reaching as high as 75 per cent, in comparison with New Zealand's mortality rate of 3.6 per cent. This fact-alone called for a great effort on the part of the Christian Church to provide teachers and missionaries to bring to the women the benefits of home training and child welfare work. An urge for education was apparent and the schools,: both Government and missionary, were being overcrowded, a feature being the demand for the education of girls. Moslems of the more intelligent type were keen to acquire the benefits of Western civilisation and large numbers of young Moslems were seeking the advantages of university training abroad. These men would inevitably provide the leadership of the uprising nations in the future, and it was indeed good statesmanship to see that they acquired the nobler ethics of Christianity, so that their influence would maintain the peace of the world. Britain controlled 103,000,000 of Moslems and the British administration of alien peoples, such as the Mohammedans, was admirable and worthy of high praise.

ANGLICAN SYNOD. Yesterday was observed as Synod Sunday in the Anglican Churches of the Auckland Diocese, At 8 a.m. Archbishop Averill celebrated Holy Communion at St. Mary's Cathedral and at the 11 a.m. service „ the Rev. W. N. Panapa, Maori missioner, of Kaikohe, was the preacher. At evensong the service was conducted by the ReV. R. B. Davison, of St. George' 3 Church, Thames. On Saturday afternoon Archbishop and Mrs. Averill gave a garden partv at Bishopscourt, and the St. John's College Association held its annual festival at Tamaki, the members being entertained to luncheon by the warden, Canon A. W. Payne. ARCHBISHOP AT OTAHUHU. Archbishop Averill preached to a crowded congregation at the Holy Trinity Church, Otahuhu, yesterday morning. The day signalised the anniversary of the church, in addition to which 54 candidates were presented for confirmation. Addressing the candidates, the Archbishop urged them not to "drift," as the greatest danger to-day was attempting to live without God, and to stand up fearlessly for right. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF NIMROD. At the Church of Christ, West Street, Pastor Campbell expounded the rise and progress of the portentous figure of Nimrod in the world's history, recorded in a few verses of Genesis, chapter 10. For nearly 400 years after the Flood the world lived in peace; yet unrest was growing; and after Noah's death it found a captain. Evidently it was God's purpose that the earth should be fully peopled,> but the people were all keeping together, and at length settled down in Mesopotamia, planning to build a great city and a tower. Nimrod, the beginning of whose kingdom was Babel, was their leader. His name meant "Let us. rebel." At first he was a real benefactor as a hunter by reducing the depredations of • wild animals, but he aspired to higher conquests, and became king. He was the world's first emperor, and, not content with conquering tiii* world, he set his face against the heavens. "Come, let us go up," was the purpose of the tower; "Come, let Us go down," was the answer of God, in judgment.

The fundamental principles, then, were unity and co-operation. All the world was one, mostly together in one place, one language, one purpose, one leader, one great city, one name (or sign, or mark). Since then, civilisation had circled the globe westwards, and the interest of world polities was slowly but surely returning to its cradle. The world was one (by the annihilation of space through transit and communication), and the differences of language had largely been overcome. Esperanto was an attempt to unite what God divided. The world's purpose was being unified through .the League of Nations. The Word of 'God revealed (Rev., xiy., 8,9.) that there would rise one great city (Babylon rebuilt), one great leader (designated "the beast"), and one "mark." History recorded several attempts, at world dominion, but this would be the last made by mankind. It would be utterly set aside and replaced by the glorious kingdom which wouldcommence with the return of the Lord Jesus from Heaven.

BERESFORD STREET CHURCH,

During the absence of the Rev. Lionel B. Fletcher in Dunedin, where he is conducting a united evangelical mission in Knox Church, the pulpit at Beresford Street Congregational Church is being supplied by visitors. Mr. Harry Dawson, of Sydney, preached in the morning yesterday and the Rev. James Robertson, MA., of Christchurch, who is attending the conference of the New Zealand Baptist Union, conducted the evening service.

SUNDAY SCHOOL ANNIVERSARY.

The Onehunga Congregational Sunday School celebrated its' anniversary yesterday, when services were conducted by the pastor, Mr. J. Gordon Smith. A special address was given in the morning bv Mr. W. J. Mains, who took as his subject "Forget-me-nots," illustrating his talk, which had a special appeal for the young folks, with flowers plucked from his own garden in Remuera. In the afternoon Rev. H. A. Clarke, M.A., spoke of "Ringing True," using a number of bells. At the evening session the pastor spoke of his experiences in the whispering gallery at St. Paul's Cathedral for the benefit of the children, and later, directing his observations to adults, dealt with the "Little Child." He stressed the fact that, the Child was delivered by God, it passed later to God's care, "and while on earth it was required to do the will of God. The subject matter of the address referred to the proper training of young people, j

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE CHURCHES.

"Are sin, disease and death real ?" was the subject of the lesson-sermon in First Church of Christ, Scientist, Auckland, yesterday. The golden text was from Proverbs: "In the way of righteousness is life, an* in the patnway tnereox there is no death."

The lesson-sermon included the following passage from the Christian Science textbook, by Mary Baker Eddy: "In the Gospel of John, it is declared that all things were made through the Word of Goo, and without Him (the logos, or word) was not anything made that was made. Eyerythmg good or worthy, God made. What is valueless or baneful, He did not make—hence its unreality."