CHRISTIANITY AND SCIENCE

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21727, 9 March 1936, Page 9

CHRISTIANITY AND SCIENCE

VALUE OF MODERN RESEARCH

address TO CONGREGATIONAL

ASSEMBLY

(SI'BCIAI. TP TP* PRESS.) DUNEDIN. March 7.

That Christianity could find mych that was of value in every branch of modern science aye} in many other religions was the contention made by Mr Harry Sturge, of Christchurch, in his presidential address to the annual assembly of the Congregational Union of New Zealand this evening. J-fe outlined the achievements of astronomy, geology, anthropology, and psychology, showing the concept of life that they gave and how they might' help to give a fuller under-: standing of religion. Astronomy taught the greatness of the universe, geology gave an idea of the vastness of eternity, anthropology traced the development of the human race, gave a better understanding of the Bible, and in showing the life of the ancestors of civilised man might inspire him to go to the aid and ment of the backward races of today who were still akin to these ancestors. Psychology sought to cover the principles governing conduct.

M lt is not my intention,” he said, <‘to pose as one well-informed on the subjects enumerated, but I believe I am only one of ma n y to whom these things appeal. We laymen have little opportunity for their study, and there are times when science seems to cut at the very roots of our religion. We have seen time and again pur young men and women leaving the university without any sense Of God, and is it that science has materialised them? To me some aspects of psychology are not only anti-Christian but they are utterly repugnant. The science, however, has a fascination and unquestionably has much truth in it. is it toq mwah tP ask the church of Jesus Christ to take psychology and the other sciences from an entirely material setting and spiritualise them 1 ? It i? my £rm conviction that in them ail ypu may find pasture.” Value of other Religions Referring to the teachings in other religions Mr Sturge said that rfnduism gave examples of holy men in communion with God, of a desire tQ he led from the unreal to the real, from darkpess te light, from mortality to immortality.' In its original form it did not teach transmigration of the soul, prohibit marriage of

widows, encourage child marriage, recognise the caste system or the worship of idols. Buddhism showed the renunciation of wealth and social position, and Mohammedanism, the youngest of the great religions, taught surrender °f self to God, and the abolition of idols and intoxicants.

Art, drama, and literature also provided spiritual pasture for the Christian. It was the glory of Christianity that it afforded more freedom than any Otter religion on earth and yet was the most exacting. But it was a problem why men and women left tte Christian Church to embrace the decadent religions of the east, and for various cults. Ttere was nothing pf value in ttese that was not to be found in Christian teaching. Tte open session of the assembly began this morning, after a committee meeting yesterday. The assembly will end on Wednesday.