PAGANISM’S ENEMY

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 300, 18 November 1940, Page 6

PAGANISM’S ENEMY

POWER OF THE GOSPEL. DEMOCRACIES’ PART. Wliile war was inevitable at present, the only thing that would finally triumph over paganism was the Gospel, said Very Rev. T. H. Roseveare, of Tauranga, preaching at the Presbyterian Church Arseniblv intercessory service in St. Andrew’s Church yesterday afternoon. In the course of his address he outlined the structure of the dictatorship States, with the State held as the supreme authority; and that of the Democracies, where the individual was of infinitely greater value than conventions, customs and institutions. Christ had liberated and exalted the individual. and this was the basis and strength of Democracy. Great reforms had been effected, through Democracy, and the day would come when dictatorships would be forgotten. In Hebrews 2:10 there appeared the reference “The Captain of their salvation,” said the preacher. He commented that the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews pointed out that the highest hope of a new order in this world was Christ and Christian rule. In this he was consistent with the Prophets and the Apostles. They all spoke of a time when the world would be brought under the Lordship of Christ. “This is still the Christians’ hope, and we should be constantly reminding ourselves of it, so that we may give greater definitions both to our wgfk <uid to our prayers,” said Mr Rose-' vaare,- “AVe should be clear about this Christian article of faith also, because it is being challenged in the world today and challenged mightily. There are conflicting forms of government in the world. That need hardly be stated, but what does require to be stated is that systems of government are an expression of underlying philosophies of life.

“The important thing for us, as Christians, is not so much the particular legislation that is being enacted as the underlying principle, tlm philosophy, that gives rise to it. AVe dare not, then, take up the attitude of some who say that Christianity is purely a spiritual matter, that holiness is purely an inner state and that, as Christians, we are satisfied to leave the rest of the world to go to the devil. Neither dare we be satisfied with a mere assent to religious statements of the past. To stand merely in the delence is to fail. That is true in sport, in war and in religion. “AVe must bring our religious thinking to bear on the present-day world affairs. That is where it is badly needed. The world is in an hysterical condition and needs a rule of life, that will bring it back to sanity. That rule is the rule of Christ, its only Saviour — ‘the Captain of our salvation’.” THE CHRISTIAN IDEAL. AVe,. as Christians were being challenged by rival philosophies of life, proceeded the preacher. The world was being asked to pin its faith to oiie or anotner of the nationalistic piolicies, Fascism, Naz.sm or Communism. They might differ in the matter of detail, but behind them all. was the fundamental idea that man existed for the State and that, therefore, the State was his highest authority. On the other hand, the Christian ideal was that man was made for God, and that God was man’s highest authority. “In the Roman world it was held that each man existed tor the good of tho State,” proceeded Mr Roseveare, “but there was no power existent to bring this into reality, hence the degeneration of these ancient Powers. To-day we have a survival of that ancient pagan idea. Peoples of various countries are taken under the wing of a great State; they are asked to let the State think and plan, educate and cultivate, own business and industry, control birth and religion and, indeed, take over life, bodv, soul and spirit. In order that this abstraction called the State may speak authoritatively, it needs a mouthpiece, and that mouthpiece is a dictator. There is a proverb ‘that he who rides oil a tiger cannot dismount.’ That is what happens when the State commits itself to a dictator. He becomes arrogrant and seeks to strengthen his position by crushing any opposition. Under such an authority there can he no freedom of thought, freedom of speech and royalty of conscience. All must bend to the one supreme master will. That is the antithesis of the Christian way of life.

“Into a world dominated bv just such an ideology came Christ. Ho saw how men’s lives, and even thoughts, were held in bondage. He gave to this world two things: First. Himself’as an ideal; and, second, the power to realise that ideal. We do not find Him talking of humanity, society, the labourer or the capitalist, or the State He thought and spoke in terms of men and women because He saw them as children of God. To Him man is of infinitely greater value than institutions, conventions and customs, because man is the child of God. Tims Jesus came to liberate man, to ennoble him and lead him to the highest loyalty. In this way He became the ‘Captain of their salvation.’ “This liberation and exaltation of the individual is the basis and strength of Democracy, so that Democracy is a product of Christianity. That Christ’s wav should be the way of life among all nations is the ideal of the pacifist and the belligerent alike. Most of us, however, feel that the great obstacle to that is the existence of the opposite theory of life which must be broken down first. “One thing that we, as members ot a Christian Church, must never lose sight of is that, though war is inevitable at present, the only thing that will finally triumph over paganism is the Gospel. It was the Gospel that awoke the common man to a sense of Iris dignity. Then slavery had to go, also child labour; the caste system is breaking down, and dictatorships will some day be a thing of the past. Then will not only men, but nations, learn to co-operate in helpful love and in voluntary goodwill. That state will have been attained when we have a Christian Democracy.”