RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 175, 18 April 1908, Page 11

RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY.

BEFORE A CRUCIFIX. At dawn denying Thee, at dusk we sell Thee . _ with a kiss: — Still art Thou, through the many years from that sad night to this, Content to know tho comfort Thou shalt bring us when we weary, . : ; 0 Jesus, son of Alary! Wo nail Thee, Christ, all seven days upon another, cross, With thorns again wo, crown' Thy head, and hail Tlieo with Thy loss ; Yet wide . ..Thine arms in agony open their . sanctuary, Forgiving us until at last of cruelty wo weary, . 0 Jesus, son of Alary! ' —By Witter Bynner, in • " M'Clure's ■ Magazine."

THE CHURCHES AND LABOUR., INTERESTING VIEWS., - .The Church of . the-.Carpenter could-have no patronising interest-in Labour," said the Rev. David Brook, the new President "of the -English tree Church Council, in his presidential address at the Southport Conference last month, - when 2000' delegates were" present. lheir. chief strength (he went on to S j f? u always be amongst working-people, aI ?S -must consider all Labour questions with inside knowledge. The Church should bring knowledge humanitarian enthusiasm to the relief of poverty. It would nght against sweating,' tho-public-house, and wringing of high _ rents from, slum propel ty. It would ' be - " intensely interested in questions like housing in the city and small holdings m . the country. They must : get nearer to tho real causes of their social troubles, so .that their -remedies might be radical and permanent. The Church had accomplished the most permanent good, not by encouraging the selfishness of tho masses, but by teaching unsellishness to the classes. Papers on the relation of the Churches to Labour, and Socialism were heard 1 with iiitonßesfc interest at the conference. ■ Tho "Christian World" says Mr. Arthur Henderson,-. M.P, : , ; made. a deep impression by his plea for sucli changed conditions as will enable the'working-man to, secure -a larger share of the fruits of • industry, and by his protest against attacks on. the Labour movement based' on tho assumption that all the men in the movement share the i;iews of the few- extreme Socialists of a materialistic .antiChristian turn which attacks religion and tha marriage question. ,• 'Mr. ':Rattenbury carried the meeting with him in pleading for an impartial,-and sympathetic,- attitude of the Churches towards. Socialism,, which in its spirit and aim,'is-on (the same line as the Churches thomselves. He. made no .concealment _of his. own \frank, acceptance ;.of Socialism. "The paper of- Rev. Thomas Mitchell,.' the . .level-headed statesman of Primitive Methodism, wai a powerful plea for the _ Christianising of character and the evangelisation of §pcialism as conditions precedent .to imy '. possibility; of»realising tho Socialist ideals. It was remarkablo that tho 'three papers on this subject were: all by .. . ' .

■ AN-EXTRAORDINARY'STORY. '' /We publish tho' following 1 extraordinary story as it is given London ''.Catholic Tillies,"'a'leading Roman Catholic journal . ,A writer in tlio i'aris " Univtrs," who, signs his'article " Ajiselmo Lorphan," calls attefltipn- to: a "strange;; phenomenon. . It appears that oil' the 17 th' November ; last ;'at r Uenisaf, in-tho. Province; of.Oran,, in' Algeria; at'the | house of one of the 1 best families of the wqfk-ing-class: population' of. the - district, a -girl who was employed a3'a domestic servant upon going "to a' bedroom noticed thata plaster crucifix hanging on . one. of the'walls was quite wet. A peculiar liquid forming globules on .'different parts of the body , represented by the crucifix,- united;in threads and dropped to • the ground; Tho girl called her mistress,. who in '■ turn ■: BUimnoned a; number; of'. the - neighbours. These different witnesses'thought .the phenomenon so remarkable 1 that'they notified the parish priest ;The rev: geiitleman'at first believed they' wero under' some delusion.;or [ 'other, but taking-into account'the .character of .his informants, and tho fact .that, their; re-, ports harmonised, he visited the house himself. There he made an examination and asked various questions. The partition wall on which, the crucifix hung was dry. .The flowing' liquid seemed like water .mixed with! somo blood. Tho priest tasted it arid found that it hid 'rio savour. After oozing from tho 1 crucifix it oozed also from tho part,of the,partition wall.,tq.which.the crucifix was I' attached. .There was' such an abundant llow that linen-which was placed under the crucilix or near the wall was-soon wet through, i

The parish 'priest "wiped off the streams from the crucifix; and the wall, but; after five or sis-minutes they began to flow again. Ho then put the crucifix into' a dry cupboard, which he closed and locked. - After live or six hours : the liquid began to oozq again from the crucifix enclosed in.the cupboard, and also' from the partition wall 'Where it, had, been suspended, i Five days later, on Friday, November 22j - it was noticed that live wounds marked on the crucifix assumed a more prominent colour /and< appeared 'as. if. ready -to bleed. The round of the forehead, under tho crown of thorns, presented tho Bamo appearance. Gradually, to'the great astonishment of the onlookers, there oozed from the 1 wounds on tho hands and on'the side, a dark liquid, like blood, issuing from a wound. Some of tho . liquid was preserved in linen and silk and taken ,to the.'parish-priest. I'he local doctor, who happened, to be with the priest at the' time, said the liquid was-like that which would come from an actual wound. The pariah'priest wished .to keep the'linen, but the woman who brought it ! would, not part with it. >'■ ' " -i : .

■ On November 23 the parish priest's brothor went to the house, which was full of people, each of whom had secured a souvenir of his or her visit. -. There were at that time only, traces of the'liquid on tho crucifix, but they wero very distinct; especially on the side and beneath thd crown of thorns. The priest's brother brushed them away, and returning to the' presbytery, asked the doctor; with the ■parish priests permission,, to give him a glass plate'on which,ho could bring some of the liquid to be - analysed. When, however,' the parish priest and his brother arrived with the plate next■ , morning , the phenomenon had ceased.- • Since then there was- no bleeding from the wounds, and the sweating of the" body has become more and more rare, although it has occurred at', irregular intervals., It has been observed that' the phenomenon was manifest' principally on . Friday 1 after-, noons. The ;mistress of-{he house was requested by the .parish priest to allow him'to take the crucifix to tho church or the presbytery, where a more complete .examination could be made, but she , refused, saying that if the crucifix' were removed some misfortune would happen. She said it was given to, her by an acquaintance and-that she has had it in her'possession for five years; Her family came., part of Spain where the crucifix is venerated,-which in the time of the Moors produced similar phenomena. On November 24, when the bleeding had i ceased, • the girl who was the first to notice > it-suddenly fell into: a state, of ecstasy, during : which, in tho presence of some twenty, witnesses,' including the parish Spriest, she spoko 1 for a . quarter of an hour of the wounds of. Our Lord, of unbelief; and of the reasßns:givon for their conduct :by persons; who fail to go to" Mass'. ' " . Such,'V says the TOiter in the " Univers," "are tho facts that we : have been ablo .to ascertain. ' Without drawing any conclusions, we give . the : details t ' as' they 'have- been transmitted to us by witnesses worthy of credit. An enquiry has been; orderod by the religious authority, and we hope to be able to publish the result." ORGANISED "NEW THEOLOGIANS." The Bev. R V J. Campbell haa addiessed an open lotter fr6m the City Temple, London, in which he announces his intention of proceeding to organise. those who follow his teachings. Ho says:—"'Tiiris movement is so spontaneous,' bo virile, and so evidently inspired of God, that I can no longer refrain from acceding to the requests of those who ; wish me to provide a jgeneral centre and ma active propaganda for it. This will. be done 'without delay. The leaders of the New Theology movement' will be called together as soon as possible, and asked to contribute •dxioe and assistance. Bw tiia

would counsel all I*llo aro in sympathy wifcll this movement not to withdraw from tha churches, but to wait patiently arid quietly, until the atmosphere clears a little. An attempt will be made to encourage the formation of local groups or associations of an interdenominational character, which can bo federated with a centre in liondon. The; wider the basis of membership can be made the. better, but after careful thought I havo como to the conclusion that the theological cannot bo separated from the sociological aspect of the-movement." The Rev. Charles Brown describes his year of Presidency of the London Baptist Association as the most arduous year of his life. As ho lays down that Presidency'ho takes up tho larger Presidency of tho, Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland.

BIBLICAL MSS. DISCOVERED, • DEUTERONOMY AND JOSHUA. Tho Pari3 correspondent of, tho ' 'Standard," writing on. February 19, stated:— M. Migeon gives some; interesting details in the' "Dcbats" of how Mr. Charles Freer bought somo undoubtedly authentic Biblo manuscripts last year in Cairo. , He had no idea of their archaeological value, but was struck by the grace and beauty of. the illuminations, which were still quito fresh, and by the fino state /of , preservation of tho bindings, from which ' still depended portions of small chains by which the volumes had once been attached. On his •submitting them to American experts, however, Dr. H. A. Sanders at once declared that ho could, fix the date of,.them at between the fourth and'sixth centuries of the Christian, era, and that they had probably been, saved from the Alexandrian Library before it was sacked ( by the Klialif Omar. The first manuscript contains the. Books of Deuteronomy and Joshua, and tho second the Psalms, apparently more ' complete than in the Vatican manuscripts. It is probably the oldest of the series.... A. third folio has the whole of tho four Gospels,: written about the fifth; or beginning of;tha sixth century. Tho fourth I manuscript," in poor condition, has! the Acts of the Apostles and tho Epistle .to tho, Ephesians.. Two of them are written, in large and two in small uncial characters.' A comparison with the Britsh Museum copies is instructive,. showing many points of resemblance, all being on smilar parchment and the words following each other without spacing to,tho end of each paragraph;, Mr. Frccr's manuscripts, however, are somewhat larger. The , British Museum manuscripts were a present toCharles !,• in 1628, from Cyrillus Lucaris, Patriarch of Constantinople., Mr.' Freer's . find will complete the Museum, manuscripts in many respects where words or whole fragments of the text are missing. .It-is,: in £nrf.: mute possible that they may lead to a revised version of the books in question. ;. JOTTINGS. ..V;;. J .z; ■ ' The Rov. Alfred J. Leo, A.T.S., of Bath, and previously of Devonport,-Auckland, liaa accepted a unanimous call from the church, at 'Ormskirk, Lancashire, where he was to commence ihis-ministry on. March-15. v. , According •to tho'" Signs of the Tiirie3 "' newspaper, the people of the United States spend 15,000,000 dollars - a year "on, chewing-, gum, or just., double the amount spent by them oii foreign ,missions. " Yet (says'tho London' " Record,"): the: United States can~ hot bo' accused of indifference' to the Church's.work." •: :

Tho following regarding the biggest vessel' that lias over braved the elements appears-in an'English 'paper to hand' by l , this week's mail; When -1 .was' speaking at the Stu-dents'-Missionary Conference.-in "Liverpool,'.' says Rov. Dr; Hortoti,' " there was 'a raaa present who is ; evidently: a ,very remarkable' mail—the naval architect ■■ of ■ the Mauritania.' I got a letter from a friend', who i had been kitting next to him at tho meeting^-and ho told me tho architect had built the Mauro- : tania by prayer. Ho would- not: put m a 1 single'. piece : of - that ' great- structure -withoutv definitely askiiag Gpd to' aid him, 'and' ho would not receive any part- of'the machinery without having tho consciousness that it had- also received- the Divine-acceptance. Tho greats ship .''in 1 tho-"world has-'bseii''built ''by-J prayer. \

' -At Lavender-hill - Congregational Chureh:. the congregation has J been invited to tako part in tho choosing of the hymns. Once a month tho service-paper which is in each pew" has a-slip .at tho foot to bo torn off and : left in tho pew. 1 On this each worshipper" - is invited ;to write his favourite hymn. The matter has been .warmly taken up, nearly a hundred papers having been received. ■ Tho . favourites—one of which is sung at each service—were:, "My, song' is -love unknown,"' "When tho weary," "0 the bitter shJuno,"' "Nearer, ray' God," "Eternal light," need Thee every hour," "Hark, .tho herald-', angels," "Who is this,", "Walking with!' Thee, my God," and- "For over with tho. Lord." Fourteen other hymns,which received high'votes; were,also used. One paper bora tho pertinent words, "Omitting; no verses."' The minister, the. choirmaster and. organist , all find 'the plan .useful. ■ The hymns thus : chosen go with a swing, and the'people seem . to/fcel a special interest,in, them.

Tho. Bishop of Stepney (Chairman of-the Council of. ted Church' of . 'England. Men's Society), in addressing a" gathering of 'about two thousand men of Thanet at Bamsgate, said it was apparent , from' that meeting that tho call, "Wanted, men!" bad appealed the eye if . not ' to the ' heart and consoienco of most pcoplo in ' Ramsgatc. Men. wero' 'wanted "for a great business—the _biisino6a of - bringing the whole of, human life—per-, sonal,. civic, ' industrial, • 'political, '. national,-: and';imperiaJ—into .the Kingdom.''of, God; so that it 'might be purified, deepened, and. strengthened, and, ..therefore, ,in the truest sense, .saved for ever. '/.That was tho great : task for < which men wero wanted. Not merely clorgymen, but all meai who had boea called to the ministry, ■ not by Ordination. . but by Baptism. ; Those.stpuid ideas "about' a man. who was ordained, going into tho Church'as though ho were not already there, and had bceh there sirico.his Baptism,, and about any man. who choso to throw; hir.isolf into the active interest of his Church being clerical, as-,if:'tho'interest- and concerns' of: the Church belonged'to tho clergy any more than to-'tho laity—those stupid ideas must be. banished from the minds of Churclunon. In othor words, .thero ought ;to be no'such thing aß'a'baptised man who was,not .also, a minister and servant of Jesus Christ. The' address was listened to. with keen' interest, . and every telling-point; was quickly grasped and applauded by the vast "audicnco.- ' :'.'V

The Rev. E. H. SudgenJ master of Queen's ■ College, Melbourne, in the course of an address on "The' Standard of. Methodist' Doctrine,!' said there was originally; one- test for admission" to , the Methodist Church— nnmdy, tho desire to be saved from ;sin. -No minister, however, could preach, tmy doctrine contrary to tho " Notes, and Sermons ": of Mr. Wesley. No question-was raised as to the minister's personal belief, provided ho did not preach anything contrary to tho standard.. The trustees of tho Church wera the judges. 1 Only the doctrines of'sin and salvation were systematically .treated by Mr. i Wesley, and it was of these, and none other, | that Mr. .Wesley was thinking' when ho do* manded that 'preachers 'should "preach. our . doctrine."'-Mr. Wesley, had expressed''.the opinion that the': books of tho Bible from Joshua to . Esther wero' " authentic, records, v probably put togother'in the form now 1 are '.'by;-tho 6.imo handi" On'tho spcculativai side hoexercised a wido freedom, and' left his preachers to do the same. Wccould not allow: that the' development of theology ceased with John Wesley. To ibistk such a 'thing possible , came perilously near to blasphemy agaiiist : tho Boly Spirit, who did not v close' His work in 1791. The ChurcK that believed it had fiualised'the truth hr.d sealed 1 ita death warrant. Theco' were precedents to show that' ministers 'could hold peculiar views, \not approved of by 'conference, pro. vided they. ditlriot preach tbcm in tho pulpit. - Methodists were not bound to every detail of the teaching of tho standards, but onlv the general system of doctrine., Beliof in tho scientific theory of evolution and also tlio general method and reasonable ededusipus of the Higher-Criticism were not-contrtKy to their standards. .. V