God—On The Nod

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 109, 10 May 1941, Page 2 (Supplement)

God—On The Nod

SINCE reading an account of the Malvern Conference, at which the Archbishop of York presided, I have come to the conclusion that a little straight talk on religious matters is entirely f permissible. When, in such an ! august presence, Dorothy Sayers 5 was allowed to say that "if every t man living were to sleep in his neighbour's bed it could not bring . the world so near shipwreck as > that pride, that avarice and intel- - lectual sloth which the church has ; forgotten to write in the tale of , its capital sins," and get away • with it, why should not I, in the less august presence of a multitude, be equally frank? St. Mary Woolnoth, Lombard Street, London, was recently thronged at mid-day to hear an address by Sir Walter Moberly. Speaking within a stone's throw of the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street, he said that a Christian order is incongruous with the worship of Mammon and self. "If we are to start making a Christian order, it will entail from even moderately well-to-do people in this country a great sacrificial change in their present ways of living. We cannot have a Christian influence on the cheap."' That surely hits the nail on the head—we cannot have God on the nod. Religion to-day is vulgarly cheap. I don't know how many sermons are preached every Sunday in this Dominion, nor how many million are preached every week throughout Christendom. What is the net result of all this preaching? I ask. amid the thunder of the guns and the bursting . of bombs. World Sales Campaign If this national or world-wide territory were being combed by a team of ' commercial travellers selling every- , thing from hair oil to aeroplanes, some very tangible results would be forthcoming. All their commodities would become household words if as ' much effort had been put into the sales campaign as has been put into the propagation of the Gospel. Even then Christendom is more than one up on the world, for what commercial enterprise has one and some- • times two or more representatives in every town on the map. doing a full time job year after year in their - allotted territories? Fire a gun at a five-mile range from almost anywhere, and you are sure to hit a parson or a church. The injunction to "go into all the i world and preach (the) Gospel" is being obeyed magnificently. Whether a Gospel worthy of the distinguish- j ing adjective "the'' has been ; preached, is another matter alto- ', gether. hence the reason for the '' parentheses in which I have placed it • in the text quoted above. I some- ' times wonder whether our "watered'' ] Gospel has not been over-preached.

By Reo. C. W. Chandler

I suppose advertising experts car talk in the terms of saturation poim with regard to some of their adver tisements for marketable wares Even the saintly John Donne the most gifted Dean St. Paul's has ever had, said, with regard to his earh religious training, "Ye Gods The memory of my childhood almost makes me vomit." Few things can be as devitalising as the constant repetition of devitalised religious formulae. Overfamiliarity with anything, including religion, may breed contempt \fter all, we consistent worshippers are not as conspicuous as we should be amongst our non-churchgoing brethren, for pep. power and nersonalitv lou could barely pick us out in "a crowd. There are few things the world does which we do not condone. We c'ont stand head and shoulders above our fellows for moral rectitude and straight-out courage. We may lift our eyebrows in disgust at other people, but we seldom stamp our feet in righteous indignation. This all brings me nearer to the conclusion that we come by our religion too cheaply. Bevond what we put into the plate, it costs us next to nothing. How manv of us M ttuth*' giV6n ° ffence for l " he sake rou have no enemies you say' 2rl'.v, m -I friend - boast is poor. S e ust h Lve"SSi le ?oes n *' **' brave Cn<3ure- " ha U ve h d;ne none ~ Small " the WOrk * at *°* STou've hit no traitor on the hiD {.™y,l *" h «* no cup i?on7 per Sred lip > ou ve been a coward in the fight. -wfw Charles the -naitibt poet, expressed himself in Jus matter. "Take up thv cross the iKiXh s e a ' d ' H if thou ™*3t's£ iiiciple be. How many of us on the lome front are carrying a crosl 'We Are So Flabby** "But what went ye out for to see" tb^ n t K loth S d in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft clothing

are in king's houses." How do we measure up to the austerity of that Divine challenge? Surely it is because so many of us wear "soft clothing" that we are so flabby and ineffective in our Christian witness? We want God on the nod. We are not prepared to pay the price. When Jesus asked James and John whether they could drink of His cup, and be baptised with His baptism, they replied, "We are able " How many of us could answer with such a bold affirmative were the -Master to ask us the same question to-day?

James fell by the sword of Bnil and was the first of the disripJataß pay the price, and John CasstißgH that he was the writer of the "i|fr 9 calypse") rotted on PatmosjlmSm B probably the last of the brethren to M join his Master. |« They drank the cup to the drep B If we but sipped the cup of sonoiS and sacrifice for Him to-day a mighty *"3 revival would be sweeping owß Christendom, and the sacrifice ttstß youth is making on the battlefield; M of Europe would not be in win. IB new world would verily arise fronH the ashes of the old. " B