STIRRING APPEAL

Franklin Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 45, 22 April 1942, Page 2

STIRRING APPEAL

ADVANCE OF CHRIST’S KINGDOM

A SPIRITUAL REAWAKENING

TIME OF NATIONAL CRISIS

An appeal to all to accept the challenge and opportunities of today for the advance of Christ’s Kingdom, was made by the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, the Right Reverend John Davie, in an outspoken, and stirring address at St. James’ Church on Sunday evening. Today the preacher said, our political and social leaders were calling on the church for a great spiritual contribution at this time of crisis, when so many hearts were sad through loss of dear ones, through so many distressing happenings as a result of the war.

. . . Our men were making sacrifices' —they were giving up everything in the fight for an ideal which they loved. They were laying down their lives for their king and country. Christians should not be behind in making the same kind of sacrifice as witnesses of the Living God. It was up to them to rise up to it in sure courage and willingness—that was only what the Christian church could do. The time had come for our leaders in and out of the church to show the way to the Nation otherwise there would be no chance of saving the principles on which Christianity was built. The time had come for a greater, and richer spiritual contribution. His Majesty the King, the President of the United States of America, and other leaders were continually giving a lead toward a return to God. They set aside days for National Prayer, days when the people could not only perform acts of devotion but to re-dedicate themselves to God. Spiritually, the people had drifted a good deal and there was a great deal for the Church to do to arrest that drift and to get people back to the Christian fold. The Moderator gave some illuminating figures concerning the Presbyterian section. There were, he said, some 367,00(1 odd Presbyterians in New Zealand who enrolled at the last census. Of these the Church knew 217,000 odd, leaving roughly 150,000 odd who were not even known 1o the Church. These figures gave some reason for alarm. . . . . The impact of Christianity, the teachings of Jesus Christ must he felt in the community. They should be made to manifest themselves in all spheres of interest.

Ashamed of Economic Conditions

"Are you satisfied with the social conditions existing all over New Zealand? Are you satisfied with the economic conditions of this country? If you are, well 1 am not,” declared the Moderator with emphasis. “The way some people have got to work; their long hours of concentrated labour to eke out an existence, makes one blush. God had not desired this. Christians should rise up in anger and endeavour to remove such conditions. Millions throughout the world are living below the bread line. Conditions in Europe should make us feel ashamed of our economic conditions. I am a loyal Britisher, and anyone who is not satisfied to live under the Union .lack should get out, hut I am going to say this that conditions in India are a disgrace to Christian people and the Empire which rules over India. "Take our own education system,” continued the Moderator. “We are not allowed to teach Christian principles in our primary schools, at least there is no part of the curriculum which provides for such teaching, yet when men and women attain a certain age they are compelled to fight for those Christian principles, of which they know little. But the time is coming when Christians will take a leading part in introducing an order that has something of a semblance of the Christian order. ... I am not appealing to the emotions but to reason, for T say we have got to make the foundations sound enough to carry that new order. We must excavate, and remove the debris and rubbish, and make those foundations adequate. That is only sound commonsense. In the first place our thought of God must be founded on God who made the world for us, and us for Him. We must know ITis will and follow His purpose. Secondly we must respect the sacredness of individual personality. Today the Democratic Christian nations are fighting Nazism and Totalitarianism. Under totalitarianism the individual is all right so long as he is of use to the slate, hut when his period of usefulness to the State is ended he is not wanted. The State is supreme, whereas it. should be the individual,” added the Moderator.

Our Empire’s Allotted Tasks

“ . . . I am endeavouring to get the people to think. lam not concerned whether they agree with me or not, but I am convinced the time has come for us to be thinking and doing some straight living and doing what we know God intended us to do,” the Moderator went on.

“God’s Kingdom, and the advance of it, is of much greater importance than the British Empire which we all love so much,” he continued. “Unless the British Empire is prepared to carry through the purpose which God destined for her, then I am afraid she will have to give way and let some other Nation carry on the tasks He allotted to her, and the purpose for which she was built, up. We, New Zealand, are an integral part of the. Empire and we must do our part to assist our Empire to carry out God’s purpose. God conferred this honour on us. He selected us for this special work and we must not he found wanting. Serious. difficult and hard times are ahead, and sacrifices, great sacrifices that will cause us much humiliation, will have to be made. Each one Qf us has a part, to play so let us be up and doing and we will prevail in this war andearn our just reward,” concluded the Moderator.