Society Blamed For Decline In Faith

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32379, 19 August 1970, Page 17

Society Blamed For Decline In Faith

The artificiality of modern rociety, where a man had little time to think and did not want to think, was causing a steady decline in church membership, the Rev. Dr G. R. BeasleyMurray, the principal of Spurgeon’s Theological College, London, said in an interview in Christchurch. Dr'Beasley-Murray, a past president of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and

Ireland, arrived in New Zealand on Monday for a 12-day tour during which he will meet Baptist Church leaden and congregations. He recently attended the Baptist World Alliance conference in Tokyo. Membership of all churches in England was diminishing, but the Baptist Church least of all, although formerly strong areas such as the valleys of Wales were now struggling, he said. “Men in an increasingly industrialised society find very little time to reflect Life gets more and more artificial and this affects the church. “This trend will continue and the church has to come to terms with the urbanised society and show that the Christian message is no less today than in other forms of society.” he said. “I think there's more hope of our appealing to the younger generation growing up to recognise their need of spiritual dimensions to life. This is simply because they are dissatisfied with the system and life that is being bequeathed to them.” On his way home to England. Dr Beasley-Murray will spend 12 days in Russia, not only in Moscow but in other centres. Besides the Russian Orthodox Church, the Baptist Church was the only church in Russia. Despite restrictive measures by the Communists the Baptist Church had grown remarkably and had a registered membership of more than half a million, said Dr Beasley-Murray.