THE HENRY MISSION.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXXI, Issue 15333, 16 June 1910, Page 9

THE HENRY MISSION.

MEETING OF BUSINESS MEN. Dr Henry’s mission was continued yesterday in His Majesty’s Theatre with a meeting to business men lasting from 12.15 to 12.55. This change of hour resulted in an attendance of new laces, and there were many ladies present in the gallery. Mr Potts sang and led several hymns, and the llev It. S. Gray, iho chairman, prayed. Dr Henry spoke on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, taking as his text Corinthians i., 13 and 21, “ Now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that sleep.” This, he said, was tho great classic, not only of tho resurrection of Christ, but the resurrection of the dead. To anyono familiar with tho Scriptures it must bo apparent that the backbone of the Bible was composed of the supernatural, the miraculous and the extraordinary, and ycfc.it was worth while to note that the 'attacks infidelity had been making on Christianity, especially in the last quarter of a century, had been on the .supernatural. These miracles were given to tho world for confirming the mossago and attesting the truth of tho message in which God had spoken. Simply because they moved in a realm above and beyond tho natural world, they did not come within tho province of natural science to interpret. The supremo mir-. aclo was the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and any criticism that undertook to destroy tho resurrection of Christ from the dead would constitute tho root of nature a lie and land the whole race in universal scepticism. It was the miracle by which Christian men and women know that they were forgiven of sin, and was the testimony of the people of God everywhere. THE EVENING MEETING. At the evening meeting His Majesty’s Theatre was crowded. Dr Henry spoke on three words from John iii.. 16, “Should not perish.” He said that he frankly admitted that he did not know what Christ meant when he said that whoever believed in Him should not perish, and be was glad that ho did not know, because he felt sure that if he did know it would break his heart, it was commonly believed that God had made it as easy as possible to be lest and as difficult as possible to bo saved, but it was not so. God had made it just as easy as possible to be saved and as difficult as possible to be lost. God had barricaded tlio way to the lest world. Every child before it readied tho age of accountability was innocent of sin, and if it died beforo reaching that age it was saved by the atonement made by Christ on Calvary. No man or woman was lost until after prostituting the highest intellectual sensibility. Reason had never driven any man from God. They could not go down to a lost world until they had trampled under foot the faith with which they were born. Throughout lifo all transactions between men were based on a confidence and trust in one another, and the same faculty should turn towards Gcd and express itself. They could not be lost until they had put out the eyes of conscience and drugged their sensibilities nor until they bad trampled under foot tho love of Jesus. God had barricaded the way to perdition with the broken body of Jesus Christ, and it was not easy to pass. Nobody could get to hell without trampling on the word of Gcd. The Bible was abroad in tho world, and they could not scorn its message. Sometime and somewhere ia a man s lifo would come tho vision of tho cross on Calvary, and no man could go down to darkness until lie had passed that cress. During the evening Mr Potts lod the singing and sang two sacred scics. In his talk to business men to-day Dr Henry will take as his subject “ Some Things that are Guaranteed to the Bolietcr Through the Resurrection cl Christ.” At 3 p.ni. Dr Henry will speak on “Tho Face of Jesus Christ A At the evening meeting his subject will bo “The Fatality of a Life of Neglect.” DR HENRY AND EVOLUTION. TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —I have read the report of Dr Henry’s mooting to busines: men on Tuesday in your issue of to-day, and loam with amazement that some people are stili talking about evolution and raank monkey ancestors. How absurd it is to talk of such tilings nowadays is, ov course, patent, but I should like to point out that, although .“so-called scientists,” such as Haeckel and Darwin, made tho mistake of making it their life’s work, and arriving at their conclusions through such _ antiquated moans as 6cicnt:|lc experiments, instead of consulting such men as Dr Henry, they wore well meaning enough in their own little, tin-pot way. As Dr Henry says, “loud-mouthed, so-called scientists of the Haeckel type ” have swallowed the theory of evolution without considering its digestibility, but tho theory seems also to disagree even with Dr Henry, who lias apparently not swallowed it, or perhaps does net even know l its ingredients. Somo people, alas, have such very strong digestions and seem ■!o swallow the theory of evolution without any visible discomfort, alter thorough mastication. It would perhaps bo well to point out that the Deity has hitherto been misunderstood. "in studying tho monumental efforts of men such ns Dr Henry oiio can almost imagino that the Infinite is really an American, who sends out travellers to secure souls, and though tho method of securing (no doubt wrongly) saviours of “ dementia americium,” one can forgive such methods when one remembers how a pernicious theory such as ovolution lias been crushed by these same men in such a philosophic, logical vet courteous and gentlemanly manner.—-I am, etc., G. St M. (We have received a great number of letters criticising in more or less forcible terms Dr Henry’s remarks on ovolution and wo publish the above as a sample of tho rest. It is a littlo better than the average of the others and does not directly assail the doctor’s theology.—Ed. “ L.T.”)