ADDRESS TO NURSES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 39, 15 February 1934, Page 12

ADDRESS TO NURSES.

CALL TO SPIRITUAL LIFE

"I stand before you a pitiful mixture of conceit and concern," said Dr. Ci:\c Williams at the opening of his address to the Nurses' Christian Union Conference held in Christchurch. Dr. Williams made the trip to Christchurch from his home in Wanganui with the express pur-, pose of addressing the nurses attending the conference. He spoke on some of the ways in which they might look for deliverance. "Eighteen months ago," said Dr. Williams, "I became deeply affected by the plight of the unemployed. In my ignorance I imagined that 1 bad only to lay their case before the public to raise a storm of protest. 1 was quickly disillusioned." He then went on to describe how he sought to find some solution for the problem through the teaching of tho Oxford Group, the British Israelites, the New Zealand Legion and the Douglas social credit movement. He finally came to the conclusion that the root of the trouble was Godlessncss. Fallacious Diagnosis. "On April 2," said Dr. Williams, "1 heard a sermon preached by Archdeacon Young, ouce, I believe, a student in this house, on 'How to Come to God.' " Dr. Williams then spoke feelingly of the changes in his own life since his absolute acceptance of Christianity, and went on to apply its precepts to the nursing profession. Nurses could be divided into four classes; the hopeless muddler, a class that was fortunately rare; the

woman whose knowledge and technique were adequate but who cared little or nothing for the things of the spirit; the deeply spiritual nurse whose technique and knowledge were inadequate; and the nurse in whom natural ability, technical knowledge and skill were combined with a sense of the spiritual.

Dealing with the second class of nurses, Dr. Williams said that many patients were not responsive to purely physical treatment. Many a sufferer was sent to an asylum who would not have gone there if his doctor's diagnosis had not been purely on the physical side. "111 fact," lie said, "the whole medical system of diagnosis and treatment is based upon a fallacy which mistakes symptoms for disease." He expressed his opinion that the road to spiritual salvation was very simple, and that the road to physical well-being was 110 less extremely simple, but only in God's way.

111-Health Has Four Causes,

"Never let anyone say that sickness or premature death is the will of God. They are the result of disharmony with the will of ,God, and it has been truly said that we are punished by our sins, not for them," declared Dr. Williams. All ill-health bad its source in four causes; the first, lack of proper care and knowledge of exercise, sunlight and fresh air; the second in the misunderstanding of the use of foodstuffs; the third, alcoholism, tobacco, sex and amusements; and the fourth, psychological. "How many of us faithfully live in accordance with the simple laws of health?" he asked. "We should familiarise ourselves with the laws of God which govern our wellbeing, and faithfully observe them ourselves and do our best to make others observe them. The open sneer," said Dr. Williams, "often covers jealousy, but we should remember that the greatest bar to the spread of God's Kingdom is the professing Christiau whose practice does not comc up to his precept."