THE CHURCH CONGRESS.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17320, 5 December 1921, Page 10

THE CHURCH CONGRESS.

CHRISTIANITY AND MORALS. "MODERN ADVENTURES.'' (from ottr ovtx cokbesfondent ) LONDON, October 14. Birmingham is this ycar»tho scene of the Church Congress, which oponed this week" under tho presidency of tJie Bishop of Birmingham. The keynote of the discussions on tho opening day was a very real concern with regard to the present state of public morality. The question v.'as osamined in all its aspects as it affects the individual and the State. The Archbishop of Canterbury, who preached uie Congress sermon, contrasted tflc conditions of Church, life and gorortiuio.nt to-day Tvith. those prevailing a century ago. Dealing with the bases of ihn Faith, the Archbishop said:—"We Joar it said in tones plaintive or indignant that the old bases arc being repudiated without scruple and without authoritative rebuke. I have myself boon very deliberately assured during tho last few months by responsible men that we are, as a Church, losing, if we have not already l«st, our Jjoid cf the creedal verities on which our fathers stood, and that the Church's responsible loaders, if they do not 'love to have it so,' are perilously quiescent in tho face of the enemy. -V'- nosonablo Christian man will r<?g«i'".l t'ies3 apprehensions lightly. Sor, I think, are there many thought- i ful pe-oole among those who "profess I and call themselves Christians,' who can read without disquiet some of the phrases, negative' or critical, taken from formal utterances which have recently boon given to us by responsible theologians of the Church. Adventures in Thought. "They come to us in the garb honestly worn, of an adventurous attempt to include within the ambit of a reasonable Christian Faith what soems to most of us strangely like a repudiation of the very essence and intention of our creeds. 'Such adventures, however you describe them, are not unnatural in an age of eager thought, new discovery, and scientific as well as theological unrost. We can appreciate their generous motive, whatever our view as to the manner or suoaess of its accomplishment. But the utmost carefulness is necessary as to the way in which /these expressions are made public. Dependent on their context, the phrases are singularly unsuited for isolated newspaper quotation, with porjiaps inflammatory headlines. Very grave injustice may easily be done. The subject is vast and difficult, and to ont-er upon it here and now would ho not only inappropriate, but impracticable. Do not exaggerate the character or the importance of this or that startling or alarming phrase. Do not mistake for tho confident tread of in advancing foroe what is really _the tentative stop of an eager investigator who testing, perhaps rashly testing, the strength of a doubtful bridge before he tries to lead his foUowters aoross it." The Bishop of Durham, preaching at the pariah church, said that of the many strange things said at the Modern Churchmen s Congress at Cambridge perhaps the strangest on the lips of a Christian minister was the description of the prayer for Divine mercy in the Litany aa the cringing of a. slave. He could not believe that, on reflection, any considering Christian man would approve the attitude of inind which such language disclosed. Christ's religion was a message of salvation to a sinful race, and, however humbling to human prido it might be to admit the fact of sinfulness and man's incapacity for self-recovery, such an admission was indispensable in every one who would comprehend the Gospel, St. Paul's summary of Christianity could never be superseded. That was still tho gist of tho message which the Church was commissioned to carry to mankind, and only in measure as that message was honestly believed and loyally delivered would the clergy win the aoceptance of men. Intoriial Differences.. In his presidential address the Bishop of Birmingham referred to the various schools of thought, in the Church, and said that if they did not in some way Bettle the difficulties by. reasonable recognition of the claims of all sides, whilst securing an orderly, quiet life within tho Church, tlicy would have, sooner or later, to face demands which might lead to disruption. They had now golden opportunity, and he hoped they would seize it. "We all know that the Church's work is hampered by disunion," he said. "We all know that certain methods, which some thought might easily be overturned, have oomo to stav You can no more oust the so-called Catholic Party, than you cau • those of tha very opposite feeling on details, but you have to-day i a real confidence that even our most advanoed men are not Romanisers, as they used to be called." Dealing with the recreative side of life, the Bishop said he believed that no new amusement had fewer doubtful associations connected with it than the cinema, that there waß a readiness to take kindlv suggestions from the public, and tnat the cinema Was full of possibilities for strengthening the imaginative 6ide of our lives and decreasing our sense of insularity. The British, film manufacturers were ever increasingly anxious to produce what 1 is good, and not to be so dependent as they had been on importations from outside, some of which had been unworthy of our great industry. Degrees of Gambling. Tha greatest danger in his judgment of modern so-called amusement was the way in which gambling had permeated all classes and both sexes. He held somewhat broad views with regard to Bomo sides of the question, though he had only once mado a serious bet. He was about 17 years old—it was a time when he knew a good deal about the horse—and he was still prepared to forgive the owner of a racehorse backing in a moderate way the chances of the beautiful animal that ho had trained. But if tho Church would distinguish between a vicious propensity ana tho harmless backing of a formed judgment, it would accomplish more than by a crude statement, which by its exaggeration tended to make people disregard its voice and not listen when a really great issue is at stake. The Bishop of Guildford and I>r. Turner, a London burgeon, assailed the I decline of morality which is the sequel j to the demand for equal rights with men. "It looks ae though the demand for on equal standard of morality for men and for women is being met by levelling down ana not by levelling up," said the Bishop of Guilford. "The women are tending more and more to adopt the -taxer standards of Aon. "There is a certain class of psychologist and psycho-analyst that would have us beliero that the supreme factor that dominates all human life and character is sexual in originl Everything is related to it, everything is attributed to it, and Everything derived from it. The people (if this school appear to eat, drink, and sleep in terms of sex. From being an exaggeration their doctrine be. comes an obsession, and then a mania. To the Christian, the most repugnant element, tin worst feature, in this extreme school is, that it commonly adopts a philosophy of fatalism, and tells us that we are up against an evil of such magnitude that it is impossible to resist it. and attempt to resist it is like 'sitting on the safety valve.' We

can have no parley trith this philosophy of fatalism." London Specialist's Denunciation. Dr. E. B. Turner, an eminent London specialist, was bitter in his denunciation Of the mannerj and morals of vromenTTie statistics of divorce constituted hi? opening text: "At the present time," ho said, "tho ideaß of many persons re. garding matrimony ar© striking and peculiar. Mnrry iii haste, sample your husband, test your wife, and if the goods be not ip to expectation, do not tet your to>th, do not make the best of it, battling bravely through the first troubled years, forming the character and rais ng the wholo moral being to a higher plane, but either by calculated misconduct or collu&ijve perjury, be freed from that which should have been a holy and enduring union, to repeat the experiment oron unto the second and third timo."

Tho gradual improvement iu tho morals of youug men noted during the last •40 years had been practically wiped out' Immorality was rife among young {>irls of all classes. In the past certain educated young women dabbled m ?lack-baked Socialistic and free-l°vo theories. A number of them were foolish and finl'ul enough to put their crude ideas into i>rnciico. He was convinced that '.he standard of practical morality among women had steadilv deteriorated since th'J Mdthtusiau campaign started •io yeirs njr.o. Referring to remedies. Dr." Turner said they must get rid of the idea tint natural sexual desire was wicked aud wrong. It was an instinct implanted by nature, and therefore by the Creator, 111 all organised living thing'-.;. Thev must educate the child from its earliest years. Lapses from virtue were due to curiosity, many more to ignorance. If any doctor was disposed so to fall from his high estate as to pander to one who might wish to salve his conscience by medical sanction for his incontinence, before offending "one of theso little ones" let him ponder gravely on millstones and the depths of tho sea. Was it logical, or was it likely, that a Supreme Being would so constitute his creatures as to make it necessary that they should commit a deadly sin in order to retain that health and strength which was their birthright? It was unthinkable. If it were not unthinkable, then Christianity was of small avail. Clearer Guidance Needed. Lord* Dawson said that Dr. Turner had rather over-emphasised the morbid and lurid side of his case. If we one© understood -the true scope of love and marriage, which we did not understand or practise, we should go far more m a constructive way to remove a great many of the evils which thoy had heard described with bo much «m]>hasis that evening. More knowledge of the scientific bearing of sexual relations, and more dearly defined guidance _ on their rightful purpose ana practice were needed. People were imperfectly provided with both. They talked about instructing the young when the majority of people were neither clear nor agreed as to what the purport and purpose of sexual love in marriage was. The Church's description of the purpose of marriage in the marriage ceremony was a very limited message. This attitude towards marriage was in striking conflict with tho facts of life. The reoent pronouncement of the Church, as set forth in Resolution 68 of the Conference at Lambeth, eeemed to imply the condemnation or sex love as such, and seemed to imply the sanotion of sax lore only as a means to an end, and that end procreation. Fancy an ardent lover—and who would respeot a lover who was not ardentF —having put before him a. picture of the Lambeth marriage. Thoy asked for bread, and they were given a stone. Authority, ana he included in authority tho Cnurches. would never gain -the allegiance of tne young in this matter unless their attitude was more frank and coui ous and more m aooordanoo with realities. If sexual union was the gift of God, it was well that we would learn how to use it. The la«k of proper understanding brought discontent and unhappiness, which very often led to a rupture of the marriage bond How often had medical men had to deal with these difficulties, and how fortunate it was when these difficulties were discovered sufficiently early in marriage to be Temedied: otherwise, how tragic, the consequences! I Reunion ;witli the Eastern Church. A remarkable statement was made at one of the sittingß on the second day by the Rev. A. V. Magee, eon of the late Archbishop Magee. It was in these terms: "I liave strong reasons for saying that in the course of tho next few months a unique opportunity will he given to the Qhurch of England for reunion in some shape or form with the Eastern Churoh. This la no yague surmise, nor is the wish father to the thought. Direot proposals have been made which many of us would be willing to accept, ana I venture to prophesy that before many month# are over wo sJifrll devolopmonts in the mutual relations of these two Churches which will bo as wonderful, as they will be welcome to all who desire an<j pray for the reunion of Christendom." . This statement was made during a debate on women's position in the ministry of the Church. Mrs Paget, wife of the Bishop of Chester, came forward in what she described as an unpopular attitude, because she was opposed. Convinced, however, that wore called upon to use their spiritual gifts, she said: "Let us establish religious Orders for them. Let us honour and use the deaconess. Let us see that the lay worker has her scope. Let lis look for the scope of the ordinary women in the evangelisation if the country, and .if we ask for the tise of the nave, where of old the religious drama was enacted, where on occasion the scribe would write for tho unlettered, do not cast us aside as rebels." Canon Sparrow Simpson, looking to the future, Baid that if they opened the Church to the ministry of women many strange things might happen in tho future. Logioally it would follow that the episcopate would be .thrown open to them, and his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury might enter into a matrimonial alliance with her Graoo the Archbishop of York.