The Bay of Plenty Times MONDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1946 WHEN ZEAL OUTRUNS DISCRETION

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXV, Issue 14253, 30 December 1946, Page 2

The Bay of Plenty Times MONDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1946 WHEN ZEAL OUTRUNS DISCRETION

Several complaints, some of which were published last Friday, have been received concerning the activities of a certain religious body which has offended—probably unwittingly—Tauranga residents on Christmas morning. The religious organisation concerned has done excellent work in the past, principally m the direction of "plucking brands from the burning" and succouring those who unfortunately have been unable to help themselves. Philanthropic work rightly calls out all the best elements in human nature, and he would be dumb indeed who did not respond to an appeal in the name of the founder of the Christian faith, particularly when that appeal is made in the season of goodwill, and has as its objective the realisation of that ideal which is common to all of the Christian sects, viz., that-one should treat one's neighbour as oneself. But there is a right Avay and a wrong way of doing these things, and to disturb rudely one's neighbour, however well meant one s intentions may be, is surely to forget that elementary courtesy which is the hallmark of a* civilised people. The stir caused in Tauranga on Christmas morning raises the larger issue of how far organised religion has the right to interfere in the life of the individual. Time was when the Inquisition, of unhappy memory, burnt men's living bodies for the good of their immortal souls, an extreme case of authoritarianism in the realm of the spirit which was an unwarrantable affront to the dignity of the human personality. Happily we live in more enlightened times when each man and woman may believe and worship as he or she pleases. But this priceless boon of individual liberty and a democratic government which by standing for religious toleration refuses to tolerate any interference in religious matters was bought by our ancestors at an incalculable cost in blood and treasure/ The price paid by our forbears guarantees immunity to the particular body which figures in last Wednesday's regrettable affair, and the principles for which that price was paid can be invoked if any religious body allows its zeal to outrun its discretion to the point of interfering with the liberty of men arid women, even if that liberty seeks only to exercise itself in the humble human function of sleeping on undisturbed] by outside influences. But once that interference can be proved to be an unwarranted interference with the individual, the law can exact appropriate penalties. Not for nothing has it been said that an Englishman's home is his castle. It is also just questionable whether a religious body which intrudes its activities on the privacy of individuals can justify itself even in terms of Christian principles, leaving the ordinary laws of the land entirely out of the question for the time being. The founder of the Christian faith exhorted his followers to go into the high ways" and byways and preach the Gospel to every creature, but He also said, "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth." Preaching in the highways and by ways," even in Tauranga, is a very different thing from disturbing the neighbourhood with loud music and attempting to conduct a door-to-door collection when the majority prefer to sleep. Such procedure savours of arrogance rather than meekness. The attempt to collect tribute money irresistibly nrovokes the direction to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and equally cogent advice not. to lay up treasures "where moth and rust doth corrupt." Finally those who seek to snread their particular interpretation of the grandest of all religious faiths would do well to remember the Great Teacher's exhortation to be wise as serpents but harmless as doves.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

True merit, like a river, the deeper it is, the less noise it makes. —Halifax.