THE RELIGIOUS WORLD.

Evening Star, Issue 14535, 10 December 1910, Page 10

THE RELIGIOUS WORLD.

A REAL UNITY OF THE CHURCHES, Tho Rev. Canon Bannister, one of tho residentiary canons of .Hereford Cathedral, before eoinineiiciiv' a recent address in (he We-sleyari Chapel; read tho following letter which lie had that afternoon received from Bishop I'ercival : Dear Canon,—l'lider.sUuiding that- you aro going to give an address to our West cyan neighbors at a public meeting to-night, I shall be glad if you will kindly convey to the meeting my best witdies ami this expression of my hope that it- may help to strengthen the .'.'rowin;; spirit of unity and goodw.il and

co-operation in all good works, which is one of the most hopeful sign,; in the religious life of our day.—-Your sincerely, .). 11i:ki-:i-wj>. In tho course of his address the Canon remarked the! the idea, of reunion was. as they faid. ■•in tin- air." Ritdiop-.s :iad discussed it at Lunbcf h-•-with characteristically cautious friendliness—and more sanguine and enthusiastic Christians: of ever.' race and i'\vry clime. earn-e together this year at Edinburgh, all inspired u.'lh splendid hope, I'cclin.g that, even though iiii organised union of all Christian bodice was. not at present a practical possilulity, yet co-operative unity was even now a. fact to be- reckoned with. And again at tie Jubilee Church Congress last, month it seemed as if .some of the speakers had a glimpse of the "vision .splendid." What was it that still kept them lion; this unity'' lie thought the. true ans'-vcr w;-s to bo found in Ist Corinthians, ]3. Th" passage ended : " And now ahideth faith, hope, love; these three, but the greatest, of these is love." Never yet had any branch of I-lie Christian Church, with the possible exception of tho Quakers, recognised in practice the truth of that t-'-xt. They all, in deed, if not in word, directly contradicted St. Paul—took it for grunted that the greatest of these was failh—aud came to make Athanasian Creeds, and Westminister Confessions, and Wesley's Sermons the test of fellowship, the wicketgate into the narrow way. " Our naked faith must," said the speaker, "'have agarment of some sort. Yet love is greater than faith or its carrnont." FATHER VAUGHAX AND .SOCIALISM. Father Bernard Yaughan, lecturing on October 19 bel'oro the Leedii Institute of Science and Art, emphatically denounced .Socialism as mi irreligious and anti-Chris-tian business. There had been running, he said, all through the story of Socialism a very intimate connection, close a.s warp and woof, between the Socialist economic theory and the Socialist attack upon Chris, tianity. That was not surprising, (seeing that Socialism was based historically upon a conception of the universe which not- only left no room for religion but with a purpose slammed the door in its face. Socialism was built upon materialism. Its adherents were requested to declare their intention of "delivering men's consciences from the (sceptre of religion." Socialism was called upon to destroy altogether "the two curses of capitalism and Christianity." Hence "Christianity and Socialism (proclaimed Rebel) stand to each other as tiro and water.'' It was the business of Socialism to quench and drown that- tire altogether.

If they turned from the pieaehines of tho hierophants of Socialism to examine its propaganda they would find the solf-siimo virulent anti-Christun spirit inspiring its life and shaping its act-ion. In tho concrete, a.s a going concern, Socialism could b" notliiug cite than an tuiti-Christian force, resolved on building itself up on the ruins of Christianity. " For most- of us (was the proud boast of Mr Keir llarrlic) Socialism in a religion." Fabian societies might point to their tracts by their Cliffords and their Campbells, but they had formed no political jxirty. He (Father Yaughan'i had ;io word fo say against Socialists themselves. Very many of them were actuated by tho noblest, and most, generous of motives. It. was not tho support-ens of the movement whom he condemned, but the movement itself. As a "living force."' as a

"going concern."' as a "new method of living," as a "new view of'life." it was incompatible with tsome reliedon. It wes theoretically plausible but practically impossible. 'Whilst Socialism denounced Christianity as the it reconcilable enemy i<[ mankind, it offered to the votid a mode ci" lifo. which could not even be t-taib-d without invoking the aid of Cliri.stianiiv on ;:- loftiest and holiest plane—the commuuily life of the catholic religious ord-eie. ZIONISTS IX RUSSIA. The difficulties under which niembeis of the Zionist movcinwit. in Russia propagate their ideals have, just- been accentuated by two significant events. The spiritual head of the Jews in Kremeiitehug (Province of Poll aval, Kabbi Freideiiburg, afic r satis factovilv discharging his ofuce for ihiiteea <v.ir.= , was recently re-elected by his eommiinilv for another two year.-. As th" rosinon is held under the dovcrmicnt, the r.itiii.alion of tee Covernor of Poltava was mcessarv, but- lie- latter rr fused to grant it. on tho ground that- Rabbi Kre'.denburg had taken 'pait- in the Zioni-l Congress at llamloire |:i,t December. The Jewish (ommmiiiv, needle- of I his deei-ion, reelected lt'iblii J'reldeuburg again, but this lime t'ne Covernor replied by banishing the pastor from the Province of Poltava for two vears. The severity of this order is all (lie more remarkable, as the only alleged delinquency on the part of the rabbi was" (hat lie took'part in the h.-t Zionist Concro.-s. Put, some 120 other Russian dews were also present at this congress, without- having been penalised foi- displaying tU-ir sympathy villi the Ziotv'.'-t movemeet. It 'is believed (hat Rabbi Frcidenbiirtr will proceed to S,. IV. rsbing to petition for a revocation ot die decree against him. The other incident is the eonll-vation of the hit est. number of the central organ of the Zionist oi'gani.-ai ion in Russia, the

• Rassviet,' on account of a- i"'v,.- paragraph dealing with the recent Duma clcet'iciii at Odessa. The editor has b<vti summoned "for incitement to oyer; to-ow i -ie existing older of Government." Kpi.-odes such as these make it exceeding dilli.iill, for lite Zionists of Russia, to exl einl their organisation, and they are compelled to carry on most- of I heir work in sci.'l. The pn seel- po.-h io;i i< iat her disquieting, as when tne Zhmif-.t p.-( sidenl, llei-r Woltl'sohn, visited St. Petersburg more than two years ago. be received assuranees from Hm Prerni-r. M. Stolypin, that the adherents of Cm .)ewi-h n.lionalist movement- would not be mobsle-l.

TIIK LIIiKItAL CHRISTIAN LKACUK. The <hiip.li ia Duke strooi.. the. Kind's Home Church, built in 1888 to com. unmoral:' lli:\t olh-r rhap-l in the City V, llil'll W.I.S ]:|l|!(:.l 'l(l\'.'[\ wlll'll itn M!,' WU-S bought f<ir the <-oi>i| Ictioii «i i!N' Inner Circle, seems to cniuiuer.inrate ;iii-o the. name of 111" place where the oHer building stood. Love Lane, it- is on tin- binds of univf!f-:;i! love that the Liberal Christian Ujague t.'ikof. it:; r-tand. 'I'll'" nic'Migs arc h"!d' in the Kin,iV Weigh Home rhnph. and a curious and int<-i(v-tin-' bidMing b >-v Instead of a i-eredos Uric i.- a plain idoie.! space on the wall with a small er©.s painted or woikcd upon, it, The approach is by handsome marble flteps. iind. on thv marble chancel floor the Lev 11. J. Campbell bad his chair ns president. ;md hssidt; him recent Iv eat two such interesting peiflonahtics an "Father A<lcioi Iv and Lady Const a-mv Lytton. It was announced tint. Vather Adderly would speak on the *y mho] ism of the IJaps, and in the wider senfe he no doubt dki mo. but be had to leave out so much that one could not but suspect anew that Mr Campbell's idea of union dependis very much on a blurring of all outlines. And his critics would call that an early stage of sometliing liko foir. L-'dy Constance Lytton was eloquent unit moving. iShe spoke on the responsibility of women to the civilisation of the future, and there Mas some courage in her confession of the. emotion she had felt on seeing a woak and thoroughly bad man in the ina.gi.itrat-.!'.-s coin I. where she herself had been detained. *' 1 wanted," said Lady Constance, "to thiow myself rft his feet and ask his pardon for the miserable mother who had reared him. pardon for the neglect of mich coiiiiiii.r.i-. and of Riich a h'fe by women who might and could have helped to make them different—who will make tbem different ;-when woraen lipve the vote."- ,

THE JESUIT COLLEGE OF CA3ITO- - Archbishop Bourne (R.C.) writ-es to tho editor of ' The Times' as follows :—A little moro than a year ago I visited tho Jesuit Collcgo of Campolide, Lisbon, and was shown all over that, very Jine establishment. Your corwpoi'dciil i:i yesterday's (October 13) issue writes as follows : Search parlies disclosed a quaint blending of inquisitorial mysteries and modern educational and domestic . . All these were above a maze of subUrraliean passages, crypts, and caches that would have done credit- to the Uastille. In spite 01 (.he sordid .mysteries of its foundations . . . The college happens to be built, on a slope, and pari of it is raised on arches. These arched recesses have been wiselyused for various domestic purposes, ami 111 ■■ v constitute ibe whole o! tho mystery which your con-i.q-ondent- has described so luridly* ior tic l.eiieiii- of his English readeis. The <■;! rengi hj of his imagination gives us some n]r,e:i:e whereby to judgo lite munr i'-'.hh':< Y.inili an- now being circtii.ited m Kneiaml ngavdiug the. Catholic Church in Portugal. « MAXXKiiS IX CIiCKCm-IS. When we leave the question of obvious vulgarity and fiensationalis-in and come to the'question of behaviour in church or chapel the matter requires more careful treatment. Many Churchmen are repelled by the freedom, the talking, the occasional applause, in a Nonconformist, service, and miss the .sileme- ;uu\ air of worship which mark most, thoneh certainly not all, churchec "It was ire-v like a public uio-'ting than a. ior worship." says the uiiiYie-iully or unthinking critic. On the other hand, many people, and especially many poor and uneducated people, are repelled ' by the -: ' e, ; :ig formality of church worship, and by the air of coldness aud aloiiiuc.si. Ic !'-.-i.-'m clergy ami in-(ij)!:' and b'twecM one worshipper and unnth. r. " 1 vent i'ur months to that church, and a soul ever spoke to 3110 of made me <\ cinuee. it could not lumpen fo in a chap ! " f:;< said to mo only tho <t!,"■'■ day. Might wo not, without unia.ii-ues.s. say that the chapel ompha.sii*;s the tlioii'Jii of the liro:!ier!ioo<l of man. and of tie duty of mutual friendliness, the Church the id.-i of the ji'-eseuce of C<;:d. and of the un'.y of worship'I 1 Such a statement- of the < a'-e would, of course, be one-sided, and v.ouhl contain an element of unfaine.i-s to both side<;. lint it, has at any rate this advantage, that itbrings out- clearly lho danger to which cach'idonl is open.--M.-nichestiv 'Guardian.'

THE CAI.IdXC OF THK PR EACH KR, Mr Haldane iSecretary for War) recenlly addressed the Xew College Tlwological Society, Edinburgh, on 'The Calling of the Preacher.' What was needed, lie said, was that the language in which, preachers endeavored to give oxpi'-ssion to the creeds should be of a character to awaken belief. It- was not by ignoring the historical and scieutitio difficulties that embarrassed faith in Christianity, but by settling these dillieullies in their rigid- significance and true pioportions while frankly lacing them thai, deliverance from doubt was to be got. He noticed in Scotland the prevalence of a mild agnosticism amongst, the working ami middle classes.