DEMOCRACY AND CHARACTER.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 162, 2 April 1908, Page 3

DEMOCRACY AND CHARACTER.

■ —« ,- THE CHURCH'AND THE'PEOPLE. , The last, of • this year's course of Moorhouse, lectures; was delivered on March 19 at St; Paul's Cathedral by- Stephen, warden .of ,St. John-s;-College.- -The subject of the lecture was "Democracy and Christianity." . . The lecturer, said that the debt owed by democracy, to Christianity could 7 ' not be over-csinnated. . Not. only were ; the fund?.-, mental principles of, democracy essentially Christian, bpt-. thc,_ Christian, Church, • has 'always been,'- even if unconsciously or unwillingly, the strongest ally of 'democracy, iet at'the-present day we■ find a■ distinct' separation bdtweeh the working classes and tlie Church., On tho Continent thero is hostility to religion,'--though this phase of feeling is rapidly passing away. . In . Englishspeaking countries hostility to religion is rare. "Most . wprkmon and work'women of our oountry'do;,bclie,ve in« Christ;,;/says Mr., Will :: Grookes. ■ Similar' "t-estimony comes from America, and is.echoed in Australia. We- .have, had painful and- bias-, phempus outbursts .in some., of. our' Labour newspapers, but tho mass of workers ( retain a firm polief in God, and a respect,for Christ which is akin to reverence. It.is.a,misuso. of terms to call them irreligious, but they keep aloof I from • prga'nisetl-"Christian bodies. . Tliis; separation ,is duo partly'to the want of- earnestness and .' reality in the' Christian life. The working classes have , some, of the qualities '-of youth,the, same 'clearness ofmoral vision, aiid the same, pitiless severity .of criticism. They naturally conclude'- that. Christian men who are not wholly religious are altogether insincere. Then,' again,' by tho :working classes tho Church,is identified with the middle.class or rich; The Church has clone much for the poor,-yet. her officials ai'o-connected, with the'well-to-do. The attitude of the Church towards Labour, movements, in the,.past is- a .third-cause ;.o£ alienation, but. at the, present; day-wo find in every branch, of the Church 'a""sincere sympathy, with the aspirations' of ' the masses, . a pathotic eagerness , to understand their problems, 'ajid a somewhat feverish enthusiasm in tlie righting of their, wrongs. Lambeth conferences and convocations have' ' urged the duty of studying-social-problems,' andapplying Christian principles to' social life. Bishops, clorgy, and laity are' waking up to, the fact that ,our present social system is- not Christian, arid tliat it is the duty of the Church-to make it Christian.

Democracy - has no ■ ■ future apart' from Christianity., It -needs the influence ' of. religion, riot only.to supply-motives-for. social .service and iniprovomont, but in order to •correct..\afad'> spiritualise' the ideals ofdemocracy.' Material prosperity and comfort occupy a disproportionate; placo in our estimates- of the value: of - life. ;' 'No wonder, for. wo hare few records' of heroism. . The one important -event/ in oiir history •is -the discovory of gold. The records that feed our prido are the statistics !of wealth production. Everi where the - ideals of our time .arc-higher, they seldom-rise .abovo the possession of. rights. Christianity puts' lifo'and character before wealthy and- duties before rights, and the se'nso of duty is likely to grow feeble is religion fails. - But' is : Christianity tho only ,forco- adequate for supplying high ideals and inspiring the sense of duty? Other.forms of .religion have been effective. 1 Great souls have found their inspiration in' beliefs 'arid:ideals which were not -avowedly Christian."Bushido" has . taken " the place of religion amongst the Japanese.- But Christianity is' tho only form of supernatural religion possible, for Western nations. It has inspired what is best in the substitutes proposed for it. It contains all that the. best of. them contains. And it contains more, for it isnot 'only a religion of ideals and example, but of. grace. This is tho factor that historians forgot. Lecky and Kidd' and - others inake no reference to' it. But this is tho point in which Christianity. differs from every other form of religion,-and in which.it oxcels all its substitutes; that 'it counteracts- the anti-social tendencies \of .'selfishftess' and- vice, not: morely \by-'; teaching, but directly by tho, gift. of.'grace: ; • t Democracy can be 'satisfied - with nothing less than Christianity iri-all"its fulness. It must have a religion l which;js -sincero, dogmatic, sacramental,'and', social. .If a man aspires to be a Christian'saint'to-day, hp cannot bo content ,wibh a life* of -inner devotion. He must live, as ' asa;int in his public life. -.'Christianity, aims at'making all men saints; but tho;Chiu-eh. is-learning at last that a saint who is' indifferent', to the lives of his fellow-mon is : probably an impostor. ■ ■ ' '