CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30542, 10 September 1964, Page 10

CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE

Student Found Ignorant University students had an abysmal ignorance as far as basic Christian doctrine was concerned, the chaplain of the University of Canterbury (the Rev. D. R. Wilson) told a meeting of the Christchurch Presbytery. There was a need for a sense of challenge and adventure within the church, in which students could partake, he said. While the world was in a state of drastic revolution students were faced with apathy and goalessness. The people inside the churches often seemed utterly bored. The churches relied on “jam sessions” and “stomps” as enticement for young people, but the excitement and challenge sought by thinking students was missing. “Christians should go out into the deep and stop paddling around the shores,” Mr Wilson said. For one thing, it was time the church stopped having Its say about science, and let the scientists have their say. He advocated informal group study between churches and the university. “The Christian community can and does, rightly, challenge the university on issues, and likewise the university can challenge Christianity. Both must do this.”