"LESS DOGMA AND MORE INSPIRATION.

North Otago Times, Volume C, Issue 13206, 30 January 1915, Page 4

"LESS DOGMA AND MORE INSPIRATION.

II i 3 most comforting to momentarily turn the mental vision from the contemptation of tlic tragic drama which is being, cnacletl oil ,tho bloodstained battlefields ,of Europe, ami to mingle for a while iu spirit with those who are working for the spiritual uplift of the community,'On Thursday, the' congregation of Columbn I'resbytcrjau Church joined with all sincerity aud hopefulness in the induction of their new minister. .The.,service w'as iioticcable for its quiet coiiliileiicfMn the people's faith and its) reverential regard for the great spiritual tilings of life. Some most appropriate speeches marked the occasion, and whilst disclaiming all indention of making comparisons, wc hope wc shall be pardoned if we merely commend the high'' tone of all the speeches, but pause for a while to make passing comment upon five words contaiucd iu a thoughtful speech by Dr. Douglas. The doctor spoke 011 behalf of the Deacons' Court and also I • d'or the townspeople. "Less dogma and more'inspiration;" the doctor, said, was ■what the pcoplir liceded—words pregiiaut with great "truths. Previously, •Dr Douglas had drawn a very conclusive distinction between the ideals of a race whose teaching came from the Galilean hills, and the pagauistic teachings which were debasing and dishonouring the Herman people. The thunderous roar of tlic artilllery inay'shakc the land; the shouts of tlic victors and tlie moans of the dying will cease; the clash ol'. armicj and the battles of great lleets may result iu a remodelled civilisation ■and a now earth, Init ill time of great chaujx Hi' 1 Inundation el' the church ■ilyinh. 1 jimid, a world of < haii;;-. To-day l lio church has her up .portuiiity. fihe stand:-! for the same cause for which llampdci'i' fell, and I.'rumwell f(ni»lit and/Miltuiimole. lint ;:lic niiiM lie more than a,mere purveyor of du::ni;i and an iii'tiluliun of'iiegii; lion.. £hc ij the nnbodiiipl of spiritual thing::, The people are a-neary of the turmoil :(.rife uf life's anxieties. They arc. in .need of i'nipiralinn and are 111 r)i i m«lo Ihe I'hiirch. l'nless the .'.lmrcli 1 an lil'l them up lo the hills, she i'h!l 'atfophied, inert and impotent- That'tiU'human iiiitit«.tw«:i as well as individual; are subjected to the mysterious law;- <il' ;;ro«lli and decay, is a fact which has impressed the-historians ,md political thinkers of all ages. Communities have- flourished;!),ml 'have perished. The broad road of human history is strewn with their wreckage, In the attempt to explain these great movements of social construction, destruction, and rccoustrucfioiiv some, modern investigators have had recourse lo the terms of biological science. A certain analogy is discoverable, ,and has been discovered, between the vital and the mortal process which all institutions, no less than individuals, undergo, In a ,word, : every" human institution has been conceived as ail organism exhibiting all the symptoms of health and of disease. Of course, the analogy is imperfect. [The individual uppcars for an inMaul and then disappears lor ever; whereas the life of iustitutious is measured by ages, and is subject to endless transformations and resurrections. Although the Church stands in a different category to the majority of Imuran institutions in that it is spiritual, and regardless of the Tact that her fundamental truths arc eternal ainj lier foundations arc impregnable, wc should.nevertheless remember.that the human element plays no sjnall pjirtTn"tlid growth or stagnation of the activities of ■ the Church. Greift; 'risen and fallen owing to thc_ starved and stunted condition of thciribi'gaiililstnic-. lure. The greatest empires have sutfered most; being left maimed i|nf itecjiiiated and destroyed owing to tho Illumination of a portiou of their organisms. .Out of Asia, let us choose Babyou, and out of Europe, Home, as representative states that have nourished and failed. Of all the g|-eat Empires of the Orient, Babylon has limdc tlic most profound impression upon, lni,man imagination. She .was the Rome of tho Enst. Prolonged!as was the duration of Babylon,' hei' energy ;uid 'vitality were sapped by her intcntal. disorders. llor fijl/cs .haijl uo interest, in her. .coutimiaucp and, they wcro ready <to welcome her! enemies. Oh' that 'niglib in 521) 8.C.,- when Cyrus took Iter, by surprise, she tottered aiid fell,'because,.at' the' moment ofSatnstrophe- slio .coubl, not count, upon-, a population wholn'she had atai-vcd'Hiid

to whom she had denied rudimentary rights. • If we turn to Homo we ejiall meet with an cvoii inoro, iinprcssivo instance of it vast accumulation, and thou a, vast dissipation of the forces which create human society. And since human nature-docs. not change, or changes only., slowly, we may likewise be certain that the samo moral and economic causes which sapped the Uabylonian, ulso sapped the Woman power. So Homo fell, and the'strangest paradox of all waswlieu Home's enemies surged afound her gates, and wero rapidly closing in' upon her, she invited her iflavcs to take part in the defcuco. In the history of nations, as well.as of individuals, there is a pathological chapter in which Ave may study the lluctuations of health and disease.-'Aud so with tho Churchy Just as a syndicate of capitalists directing the labour .of wageless men is not a slate,, so a religious institution com-, prising minister and people, is nut a' Church unless the dynamic force behind | the activities is inspiration! By fidelity, steadfastness, and aclf-sacrifice, congregation will inspire minister, who wilMn turn be ; the better fitted', to faithfully discharge tlje sacred duly lo which'lie, lias put his hands. Wc welcome tho Rev, Linvson Hobiuson to the town. Wc wish for him an ovcrllowiug measure of Messing in llic noble work lo which ho has devoted li'is talents aud hi 3 life service /