THE CHURCH AND POLITICS

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 45, 17 November 1920, Page 8

THE CHURCH AND POLITICS

TIIE PART THAT SHOULD BE PLAYED

RELATIONS WITH THE STATE

VIEWS OF PRESBYTERIAN MODERATOR

The relationship of the Church to the Stale was one of the subjects dealt with by the Moderator, the Kev. S. W. Currie, M.A., in his inaugural address at the opening of the l'resbyterian General Assembly last evening. After pointing out that in the world of politics we should recognise Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.'the Moderator, procorded as follows:—

"It is a somewhat difficult matter, indeed, seeing one's way here just as clearly as one might wish; and, as a. matter of fact, the. past, is strewn with innumerable theories on this very topic. What is the relation between tho State and the Church? And the field opons out. most invitingly to anyonei who is at all fairly conversant with Church history. Is the State supreme? Is the Church supreme? Have they practically nothing to do with each other? W* know the answer of the lionian Catholic Church, or, over against that, of the Anglican Church. We know something of the answer of Hie great men whom we reverenco so highly, the Puritans of England, and of the equally great men whom wo reverence yet more, the i Covenanters of Scotland. And, speaking' specially of tho latter, we recognise the loftiness? of their ideal, 'For Christ's Crown and Covenant.' For this our forefathers suffered and died; to this many still witness, and in their own way are prepared to for these men are, for conscience sake, up to this day disfranchising tbiemselves. But,'with all my respect for them, 1 cannot-but think the ideal an impossible one for* men constituted as we are. Not a Practical Demand.

"We would like to see our kings and queens devout followers of Christ.. We would like to seo our legislators, ~:and magistrates,. and all in authority, mem of the same tvpe; for then, beyond question, the Kingdom of God oil earth would become a greater power in thte land. But to demand this is not a practical demand. We see tilings so differently; while to impose' religious tests, as our forefathers r would have done, is a very sure way of making hypocrites. Wo must, as I sec it—aud as I 6a w it forty years ago and over, when I broke from the Covenanting Church, the Cliurcbl of my fathers—tqke facts as they are, and enter heartily into tho politics of our country, and if voluntaryism is the price to be pnid for the"surrender of Covenanting principles, well, ltjt it Im. As individuals we can do much to guido the destinies of the nation, and to create and foster worthy ideals for our national life. And that we have to do. We have no faith in tho 'policy that would make politics merely secular, aud designate those interested in politics as mere worldings." Continuing, tho Mpderator emphasised that political indifference was a, public crime, find said: "As Christian men and women we have to awaken the coil, science of the public on these vital matters, t" carry our convictions to tho ballot-box, and not least, to send to Parliament men of good character, of clcar vision, of loyalty to principle. So would politics bo made sacred, and, I might also add, safe. . . ■ Here is tho Church 6 work—not to formulate a political programme; but to fit men for those high tasks, and to create such a. moral and religious atmosphere in the nation that lo'-roliing aud jobbery, s and the sinking of convictions, and an unworthy expedicncy will come, und speedily, to an end. The Social Side.

Touching on tho social side of things, the Moderator said that our realm ot amusements should also .be claimed for the Master, for there was nothing that so made or marred tho character o: young poople. "If,", he added, lam right, then it is for our Christian peop.» to take action. And in so far as our amusements go hand in hand witli.gombling—and they often do that—or i n any way minister to immorality and they often do that-then, clearly, a healthier public opinion is necessary ; and these amusements, as of course all our amusements, Christian men and women, must seek to Christianise. One thing is ceitain:'.amusements there must be. Art and Literature.

The Moderator went on to . claim, equally, under the conception of the Kingdom of God, the whole of the realm of art and literature. In this connection ho pointed out how large a, J™ held union# mon, and especially. amon„ the leaders in society and life; and how much their conception of things Tien' to the making or tho awrnint of their own life, and to tho blighting, or,, ho Enriching of the life of others. We C no faith," he continued, "in the dictum, 'art for art's sake, for we liiu o seen too much, so to speak, of the liar vest. As Buskin so clearly it has meant the degradation of ait. society it means, in so fai . s.t is ettec five, the lowenns and, finally, the on [iteration of all our finest moral and 3P i"irt for Art's Wk< has.no time for either morals or religion. But 'hat is notto despair of Art or of Cutturifol ■History shows how well these tnme when God is acknowledged and men and tvomen sire wise to remember the great sanctities pf life. They hove their i.nporUnce in every , age, and never * selfevidently so as in a materialistic. a„e like our own. We need them for clearer vision, for a finer, imagination,. fm the ennobling and satisfying of our higher nature as thinking, men and women. It were folly to think otherwise, and. in spite of the lapses of men and nations, that llave made some of these tilings stink in our nostrils, we ha\e still to acknowledge their importance, and to claim them for the Kingdom of truth and beauty. I cannot enlarge upon this, nor work out at length what I mean. In r stead, let us think of the great singer, Jenny Lind, as she says, in words that illustrate my meaning, I sing tor bod ; or of Kepler, the great scientist, when, in connection with some of his wonderful discoveries, he remarked, I am thinking over again the thoughts of God j or of Sir Walter Scott, so proud of the fact that he had never written a lino that anv pure-minded person would blush to rea'd; or of some of our great editors, whose pen is always on the side of purity and righteousness; or of some of our gTeat goets, who have done so much to lift our thoughts into their own world of beauty and of truth, and to teach us— what the world needs to learn—'the love of love, the hate of hate, the scorn of scorn.' Yes, these men should, as Christian men. livo in a realm over which our King rules. Their work is to make the Kingdom of God on earth beautiful, and worthy, and great. The World of Business,"And lot me apply tho thought, finally, to the great world of business and of industry. This Kingdom-Christ claims for His own, and this, accordingly, it is for Christian men and women to extend and strengthen. Take business. .1 man's word should be his bond. In his buying and selling lie should Im> above-board, fair and square. I like the answer of some small shopkeeper or other, selling a bag of potatoes to a customer, who was evidently somewhat suspiciouß, and kept groping' down the bag to seo if they were as good further down, as nt the top. 'Oil, sir.' she said, as if that were sufficient guarantee, 'you needn't be afraid; wo are Spurgeon's. people.' But to be 'the people for Christ's own possession,' how much should that mean! and how far in business would it carry us!" Drawing to a slose, tho Moderator said: "What, in conclusion, we have to sec is our responsibility, and what wo have to confess, I'm afraid, is that we have not met it.fairly. Not long ago, indeed, I read in one of the Home papers that, with the introduction and spread of the 'Envelope System' of financo in the churches, it seemed as if our Christian laymen would Soon have littlo work to do—except, say, teaching in tho Sunday-school. How ridiculous! The world "is God's world. Every truly Christian man, as Dr. Dale long- ago delighted to point out, is an apostle, commissioned by the Lord to a work as aaorod, in its way, a• that of St. Paul himself. It is

not on Sundays merely, or in connection with Churoh work merely, that we are to serve God and bring in His Kingdom., That is the mistake of the great Church of Rome. • With her the Churoh, organised in her hierarchy, is tho Kingdom of God. Work her is sacred; all outside service, however important, is secular. Our idea of the Kingdom is different. In everything, we can serve the Lord Christ. In countless directions, as we have seen, there is work, and work •that tells, for the extension and the strengthening of Christ's Kingdom; and instead of saying, 'There is little for me now to do, J we have, as Christian men and women, ill our thousands and tens of thousands, to pray for vision to scb and for power to do. We havo to pray— and mean it."