MAN AN EXPERIMENT

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6802, 4 January 1929, Page 4

MAN AN EXPERIMENT

DEAN INGE ON HUMAN PROGRESS BRIGHT LIGHTS ON HISTORY

There were many bright passages in a presidential address by Dean Inge at the Modern Churchmen’s Conference, at Cambridge. Criticising what he described as "prevalent historicism,” the Dean admitted that some facts in the past were certain enough; but were they the important facts —important for religion, for philosophy, for ethics? “Historians,” he added, “may make up their minds whether our patron saint, St. George, killed dragons, cr whether he was a dishonest army contractor, who poisoned the Roman soldiers with bad beef. “They ■ may convince us whether St. Joan was all that French patriotism, the Pope, and Mr. Shaw have declared her to be, or whether she was a barmaid who became a regimental mascot.

“But when we come to the things that matter for the present and future, how much do we know for certain?

“The motives for falsifying history are in exact proportion to the inter* est of posterity in knowing the truth. Falsified history has, perhaps, had more influence than true history.” “But if we believe in an organic relation between the world, man and God, we cannot accept a regime of miracle 'and sporadic interference as ultimately credible. "Although the ultimate doom of onr planet is certain, it is highly probable that we have hundreds of thousands, even perhaps millions, of years In which to work out our salvation as a species. The notion that civilised man is a very new experiment of nature has hardly yet sunk into our minds.

“It is also a new thing to be ablb to trace our pedigree back to those whom we are accustomed to call the lower animals.

“ ‘Homo sapiens’ does not deserve his title; but at least he is more intelligent than a chimpanzee, and a million years hence he may really be a noble creature.

“Are the conditions for leading a Christlike life more favourable now than they were in our Lord.s time in the Middle Ages, or before the industrial revolution?” He confessed himself unable to answer. He did not know whether it was easier or harder to be a Christian under Justinian, Charlemagne, or Queen Anne than under King George V. ' (