JESUS AND THE CHRIST OF THE CROSS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 278, 17 August 1908, Page 10

JESUS AND THE CHRIST OF THE CROSS.

DR. TUDOR JONES ON THE ATONEMENT. 'On Sunday evening at the Unitarian Free "' Clmrch, Dr. Tudor Jones, before-a crowded 2 congregation 'spoke! on.'• the subject.of ''If Jesus came,. would He know who the Christ of the Cross was?" Dr.' Tudor Jones'stated \ that if anything' made him' believe in'the''"*' doctrine of re-incarnation, it would-be the re-i' 'rival of the controversies of the' fifteenth arid" sixteenth centuries in New Zealand ' ■ present day 'amongst'a large section of th'a Christian Church. Theories which' were dead in all the seats of learning in the old world seemed to havo come. here to flourish: '' Itf was no wonder, he declared, that meh ; who-, had some'insight into •' the meaning* of'-the ' problems of life and who knew something of tlio of theological dogmas should cast these aside. They had to bear in mindthat the theory of the Atonement (sis can ba " ; said indeed of all ! theological theories) wa3 " the work of men, :It grew' up' at different' periods of-the Christian Church, and "bften amongst scenes of'■ passion' and : some'6f-its : portions were settled by a majority of vote's/ , In Christian times, the theories had coma from at least sis sources':" ''from : tie Old Testament, from the New Testament, from Greek philosophy, from Roman, law,'from the scientific conceptions which the framers of, the doctrines had, and from their own religious .experience. - All these factors} wore viewed) differently' to-day from what they . iiV ;tlicir own day; So that ,a in bad arisen and lia3 r; l)een f accomplished by the scholars of : the worlds This reconstruc- . tion road the Bible, Greece and Rome, science ; and religious experience in a new light: The.. '' result had been'that the old theory' of the Atonement had no meaning except as. a piece of history to show us. how men thought on things long ago. We viewed them sympathetically, but we could not live on them. Wo, too, had to construct theories of life and religion in accordance withltlio,needs of ..' the present Tlje ..Confessions of. Faith'had., only one ' objection l : that they- were at least • 'in their theology three centuries behind the . times. And the theory propounded. in Wei-'.' liiigton had only one flay—that ! it .reached .' its culmination in Faustiis,,Socinus, who .died. '. in the year .1604. The book'which was being 7 "discussed to-day was practical parallel'with..; the teaching of Socinus. The other 'difference was that Socinus: was, in" advance of'the ' author of "The Christ of the I '' in Biblical criticism, although lie'lived, in the' ' 16th century. Dr.-Tudor Joiies'declared fur->' • ther' tliat' the 'theories' of the; Atonement were! ' out of touch with the revelation'of the mean- '• irigs of things to-day. - The problem of God ' . was ignored completely by them..' They could f be grateful that these theories'had I given '' room to more ethical and religious theories. : That was the meaning of.tho'Atonement tor"- '' day. Jesus, the unique figure of Christendom, had pointed out to thorn-the greatest" truth of all, that the path of self-denial, was tho. path of vself-realisation. "IS CHRISTIANITY' PLAYED OUT?;'l ' At the Vivian Street Chapel last ,'evening Mr. J. J. Franklyli delivered an- addriss 'on ■" the subject, ",Is Christianity. Played Out?'': ;• Mr Franklin said" the Christian religion had' existed for more than 1900-years, and there- 1 > J suits, it was said,- were far from satisfactory; ; and there were those who asserted that modem Christianity was little better than re-' fined heathenism/ When thov'had regard' to the exhibitions of brutality called prize fights, .tho, gambling mania that fastened- on to every grade of society, and the legalised, liquor traffic, .pouring out its ; volumo of blighted and blasted, lives; they might see ground for such statements. Another reason for tho oft-repeated taunt regarding the failure'of Christianity-would be found in the, unfortunto application of tho word • " Chris-. tian" to nations.. This.iwas why an eastern ■ pigan referred .to a drunken man /as a Christian. Hence, what, was nominally called 1 Christianity was practifcally devoid of even the elements of it,- Theri..they had-to make somo candid confessions. In the first placa Christians had often failed v rightly to .interpret.' Christianity, and the ■ blamo ; had • gone to the wrong quarter. Nevertheless, in contrasting; tho world of today with the world of 1900 -years ago, there was abundant reason to be thankful' for the achievements of Christianity..' For instance; 'what idea had men.of tho Divine—of God—• beforo Christ came? He was:a powerful Be- > ing, seated upon a throne in tho far-off heavens. Christianity taught "men to think of God by that precious and. most tender namo of father. Thero was no notion, [of;V vast human brotherhood, and slavery existed ; in its most te'rriblo and cruel forms. Womanhood was degraded. All this had been, greatly changed for the better. Tlio testimony ;, of the past was'sufficientl- bright to givs liopo for tlio future.' They did iiot adroit thatChristianity had been a failure. , Men were awakening from tho sleep of figes, and we're asking for "tho old paths,".'desiring to■.' sit afresh at the feet of the master teacher —and learn what Christianity reallv was. When tho mists have been cli.sj>oljod, men would learn that instead of Christianity being " played out "—it- had been hindered "hicflv by its friends—in the light ofVthisVm'elation it would be seen that the " isnis " 'thai nero the growth bf 1600 years were iioi only no part of Christianity, but absolutely antagonistic to' it. To;the questions-*.What is our hopo for the'future? Wh re is file cure for all the o vilsthat r,ffliet mankind?- their only .reply must still, emphatically be—Christianity; not the Christianity of the theologians and the system-makers, hut the Christianity of Die New Testament, the Christian, ity'of Jesus Christ"and His aiv.bassadors—th# Apostles. And that Christianity applied and worked out in the everyday life of the individual disciple. The success of-.Christianity depended . upon each individual ,man . and woman, tlio humblest, as woll as tlio, highest,, honestly trying to serve God amid the com- ■ monplaces of their daily lives..'■ . ...