THE BAPTIST CONFERENCE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 639, 16 October 1909, Page 4

THE BAPTIST CONFERENCE.

The interest in the proceedings of the Baptist Conference now sitting in \Vol'lington extends far'boyond-the borders of that den6mination,.'/f6f 'the .progress of such a vigorous and active; rcligiduß bo'dy must have, an important influence' upon/ the- < wholo community. ■ • The -Baptist Cnu'rch is o'no ' of.''the''groat; Protestant bodies, with a membership throughout the ; world of ovcr'./six millions. Thisi"repfef sents an incalculable power for good, and a Church which; has produced such leader's; as tbo, : SpuitGEOifs, ' Do. ( CurFOED, and many Other men'faraous for their inspiring eloquence and force, ofr character; cannot fail to make its influence felt upon the social'" and religious aspects of our national life., The report presented_ to the Conference contains, many gratifying indications of progress, and thc.outlodk for the; future is full of hope.'There; has been i steady, reduction, of debts; on denominational properties,. and preparations are being-mado; for a forward movement in tho form of new buildings'and extensions, and of mission work at Homo and abroad. Tho net increase in membership"has only once been exceeded in the history of tho denomination in t New Zealand,' a fact which must bo rogarded as very encourag-. ing at the present time when so \ many of; tho, religious bodies in the j,Mother Country havo had to face decreasing mem'lership. One of thb surest signs of; vitality, in a .religious' .body is. said to be 1 its attitude/to missions, and judged from this point of view the.Baptists can show a splendid rocord of. fruitful'.work provr ing that; the days of missionary horoism have by no. means passed away. This aspect of Church wOrt was very appropriately the main featuro of the address delivered at the Conference by the President, Mb. A. H. Carey, who is the grandson of ,ono of the great pioneers of missionary work in India. Ho gave an interesting, sketch of tho progress of Baptist Missions among the vast population of that great British dependency wherp some of themost difficult socia.l, religious, and political problems are now being Worked' out. , In spite of tho favourable testimony of some of the great empirebuilders "of modern times the old prejudice against foreign'missions is still entertained in some quarters. It is often said that tho heathen at our own doors should bo converted boforo the Churches turn their attention to moro distant fields. .Though this scorns at first sight plain cOmmonsensc, it gots little support from history and experience. The interesting problems, which foreign missions havo forced to this-' front '.have broadened the horizon of the Church at Homo, and by the special contribution of overy now raco that is brought in the spiritual philosophy of Christianity is enlarged and enriched. The master of Magdalen. Opllego, Cambridge, recently declared that no one " will dare to forecast what will be the effect on humanity when tho nonChristian nations of the world shall havo become Christian, and shall bo no longer receiving from us, but shall bo giving us back thoir bost in roturn "; and one of the greatest Biblical scholars of modern time's has stated that all tho fullness of St. John's Gospel will never bo understood until its mystic teaching mect3 with an interpreter from the East, In view of these facts it is.not surprising that history points unmistakably to the fact that tho vitality'of the work of any religious body at Home is generally in.proportion; to its activity, abroad; and the Baptist Church;in Now .Zealand,/';which places foreign missions in the ; forefront and. is'gallantly bearing its share of the responsibility,/affords ■■'a living illustration of this' interdependence'of .tho ;national" and' the world-wide • spheres of duty... ,';'.'';. ':•■./...;'; '/;-:'.;.'/ :[ •■".'