VICAR REPLIES TO CHARGES.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19814, 30 December 1929, Page 8

VICAR REPLIES TO CHARGES.

CHRISTIANITY ASSAILED.

AX OUTSPOKEN LETTER

The Vicar of Avonmde, the Rev. O Fit«ger.i!<l. ha« been in the habit "' ■ending out, before certain church ffutiynls. general invitations to attend tho services to people in tin- nup:bourhood. Beiort. Chrutmas he issued such circulars with the .so.ison's greetings, iiiul ;i reminder oi what Chrisimas' Day stood ior. Kom« pcrmvn nm-t have objected very trough I. ins moth.nU. for the Vicar ie, ci\,.( the following terse ami outspoken in, ssago in replv:--"!»» denying Moll you make Christ to ho :i most insidious Liar. Mo declares Moll tiro and hrimstono. Now. oitlior Christ or you hat,faced parasites are liars. To my mind von :ne the greatest criminals on earth Your hlthy God of the Old Testament nml the Liar Christ arc not wanted thoso days, only by the credulous dupes that you parasites ln<» upon, and lie :uid deceive little children; there is nothing too low lor von to do.'' The Viear, in his sermon at Holy Trinity, Avonsido, last evening, dealt with this letter taking separately the allegations against the Church mid answering them. "I don't resent anyone taking objection to what I believe," said, the Vicar, "hut I do resent such an objection couched in bad language. .When people become abusive it if* a sign of the.fr weakness, and tho terms oi this message show clearly the weakness of the writer's position." Borne of those who set out to free the world denied to think that religion Mood in (he way and had to be destroyed. A good illustration of this principle wan found in the Kussia of to-day. In the time of the Tsars the people were oppressed niul the revolution was thought to Ie a motion towards liberty. It was. however, merely the substitution of seven devils for one. It was extraordinary how often the object of liberty and brotherhood ended in tyranny and persecution. During the French* Revolution the cry of liberty had been raised, and yet blood had run like water. Wherever there was religious thought there. was liberty of thought, said Mr Fitr.gerald, even though there had been some things connected with it which had to he blushed for.

Denial of Hell. Turning to the letter, the preacher went on: "Regarding the alleged denial of Hell, T want to suy Hint no Christian denies Holl, even though there may ho mnny differences of opinion on the subject. Many do not believe in a material Hell. Christ did not alwava express Himself literally but spoko often figuratively and in parables. Heoauwi a man differs from me I do not call him * liar, and T have a perfect right to believe what I believe." Parasitea. The letter contained the word "parasite.*' The Vicar stated that this word was often used in reference te the clergy. The definition of "parasite" was "a hanger on, a plant growing upon, and nourished by, the juices of another." The apeaker denied that a parson wae a parasite any more than the vast number of men who lived by their brains and not by the employment of their muscles. Certain needs existed which had to be supplied and which were paid for by those who wanted them. Borne people required religion, or they would not pay for it. Those who were always talking about liberty of thought and action were usually the first to interfere with the liberty of others. Those who did not need religious teaching should not, jump to the conclusion that others did not require and want it. A parson was the same as any other man; if he had a conscience he would work. The real parasites were the men who were always standing by and talking a lot of "Hoeialistie nonsense." "If a parson's is such a 'soft job,'" said the Vicar, "why is it that it is the only occupation that is always understaffed? The rreat ma jority of parents diasourage their sons from hecoming ministers, and their reasons are that the pay is poor, the prospects bad, and the work hard.

The Old Testament God. Referring to the words, "The filthy God of the Old Teatament," Mr Fita gerald stated that the way In which ono looked at God depended upon the state of one's mind. "To the pure all things are pure." Religious thought is progressive and is gradually developing. The conditions in the ago in which the writer of the Old Testament lived made him represent Ood differently from what we would now represent ilini. Tf wo were able to obtain a history of the world written in the same period we would be greatly shocked. I am quite certain that had our friend, the writer of this letter, lived jn those far off days he would not have been so scandalised as he appears to be, living under the shadow of Christianity.

The "Liar Chrift." "In speaking of the 'Liar Christ' he is logical if he does not believe in Christianity," went on tho Vicar. "The Jews crucified Jesus because they thought lie was a Har, and anyone who does not believe in Jesus, and that He came down from Heaven for our salvation, must naturally think Him a liar. I think that this person is in a much more logical position than the I'ni tariana and most of the modern cults. Jesus must be one of two things, a Hod or a liar. Christianity brings with it a miracle, but if you do not believe it yon are also faced with a miracle. It is just a question of which is the greater, that of belief or unbelief.

"The same argument applies to the teaching of little children. This writer says that we are teaching them lies. n<> isn't big enough to realise that, although it ir lies to him, it i§ the truth to us. We are looking at the whole question from two different standpoints, hut thin person will not give to the man who differs from him credit for honeajy of purpose. Tt in always unpleasant" to have something before one reminding one of honesty, truth, and justice if ( ,n* doe's not possess such ideals." A Minister's Work. With reference to the statement, "nothing is too low for you to do" (|, e Vicar said thjit in one sense nothing was too lowly for a good parson to under take. Christ had been meek and l„wlv and the greatest, enemy to religion , v ; ' pride and class distinction. Hoeakinu of the writer's real inference, he „„),/! I cannot honestly believe that he thinks it true. Much a statement is iu»t an additional insult and doe, ." speak well Cor his manliness, „* in hi. heart he must know it untrue Let me quote Christ'* teaching, to love tl v neighbour and to bear no mslice i„ ,i lv heart. those are my feelings towards this writer of Christmas greeting