SUNDAY READING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14375, 21 May 1910, Page 4 (Supplement)

SUNDAY READING.

THE END OF DIVINE GUIDANCE. [ ';.'\ .BT REV. A. W. BUTTON, M.A. •'' -Ulllf.. Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel; and ,: ", V «J after that receive-me into glory.Psalm lxriil, £4, ! ; W& '• ■ i • "To counsel the doubtful" sounds at the ' first hearing as if it- could bo tho duty of'*--! only a very few pcoplo of a very select class';:'.':- ?*■ indeed, on reflection, on© may ask the ques- | tion: Who is sufficient for such a task? For,' 1 presumably, the doubting person who Beekr m advice knows the- circumstances under which ho comes to- ask for advice better,, than the man from -■■whom.,, the advice is . * asked. Nor can it be assumed that the in-1 ffl quirer is ignorant of tho'first principles of Wk morality by which most doubts are settled. ' Hence, I am of opinion "t that, generallyi£ speaking, the less people depend on others ■ > for a solution of their doubts the better. In ' the Protestant Churches professional guid- . \ ance, of this kind has ceased to bo treated' as an ordinary part of clerical work. The word casuistry moans no more than I the scienco of "cases of conscience,'.' and so. .' j far it is respectable enough, but the assump« If tion that cases can bo classified and pigeonholed and that doubters can be really guided < and edified by being given some stereotyped reply is a dangerous delusion. Every; casel S of doubt is, in some respect, if not in.many respects, different from every other case, h : and tho peculiar circumstances that surround the doubter are known to him alone. No priest however well intentioned, can really " deliver his brother, or make agreement with God for him." The priest, sitting j| in the confessional, is supposed to speak ia : I the name of God, and in this way an arti*fl| ficial importance is given to his utterances, '. far beyond their real value. Great harm is - thereby almost inevitably done. The professional counsellor of the doubt* ful does not—save in the very rarest cases, - when the man has great spiritual insight, ; as well as great goodness— that in-' '. fluence for good in the building up of the' ' body of Christ, that in theory he ought to" have. There are further, practical reasons why, among the clergy themselves, . counselling of the doubtful has fallen into dm % repute and disuse. -1 • One reason is that unscrupulous persona,' are apt to use the formality of professing tajyfsj; come for advice as an artful means of ap- * proach, to win attention, when the object ia ' simply and solely to beg. Again, people - who ask for advice are, as often as not, in no serious doubt at all., They/liave made un their minds how to act, and they state their case in a way that leaves no room for doubt that what they intend to do is the onlything they could do. '■• • '.' What they have come for is, merely theii satisfaction of having their opinion ' corro- || borated by an apparently independent judg* ;||| ment, which they are anxious to regard as a confirmation of their own, is really not an r independent judgment at all, but merely a? re-echo of their own statement of the case." | Such,- at any rate, are the adverse conclu- | sions in regard to the professional counsel-' j ling of the doubtful, towards which my own | experience points me. - . ,; , In a simpler age priestly direction mayhave been both possible and useful, and, it ■ may be so still in rare and special cases j™ 1 ' but, as a rule, it is more likely to do ham' than to do good. *-- THE LAYMAN' DUTT. -i But is there, then, left no place at all toft M this "counselling of the doubtful," after all that has been said as to its difficul- "■ ties and dangers, is surely yet a very excel*" lent spiritual work of mercy?. Yes, no doubt: there is, .if you take away the professional element, and teach the layman that it is as- . much his. business as the clergyman's, and the grown-up, experienced woman that it is also her business, towards women who are younger and less experienced. The clergy- it man was, of course, a great advantage iri j this work, as having a mission, from Christ ~ j but he does the work best, if he does it in;; ... i cases that he knows of from outside, as k ' ' friend and as a brother, and not as a mart 1 n apart, speaking with professional authority. ,' f f - Certainly it is a blessed thing to "counsel the doubtful," but you can only do it effec- f tively when you know and appreciate the 3 facts, and when you yourself have had experience. And in .that case you need not wait until the doubter comes to you for ad- '•' vice. Perhaps he does not himself realise •';': that he is in doubt, but you can see it and •' you can warn him. Is there not adress myself: now to thai older and more experienced there not,'from time to time, within your own knowledge,, someone whose spiritual condition is precarious—whose life has reached one of those turning points on which the whole future depends? He is, , perhaps, a young follow whom you have known some few years. Ho has regarded you as'his friend, ~ „ and he does so still, though there is a grow- '■-', ing estrangement between you, just because * . -.. . -s '~L\y of this half falling away which you can perceive better than he does himself. He is . j doubtful, though he might not himself admit it. But anyway his position is doubtful, the 1 ' saving of his soul is doubtful, and he needs . counsel. He will not ask for it, but he needs - 'V. ; He needs to bo better informed as to the ■:-'-.■ ..■■■-,-.-,..■ i ■'. ~.'. ■ ~-■: :n ■.--:..•-'■.:■.- .!■ -, -■■—v«^.;i^*SS-i nature of the road, which he thinks of tra- ' velling, and you, with;your;experience, can,, give him this information. Perhaps the information will by itself suffice, ""But," if not, ' it should be backed up by a lew kindly words of warning and exhortation. You could give* i him this, but you slwink from doing so. Why? Well, of course, if you are honestly. convinced that your speaking would do more ' harm than good, better be silent. But if r ' you only shrink from speaking because yon f i are shy, or because you are indolent, then ,?f let the greatness of the cause arouse you ? ( V t? ; from your inactivity and compel you to "speak. If to "convert a sinner from tho error of; his ways" is a work of mercy that wins a ' ; special blessing, then, prevention being bet- .'-..-'-.- ter than cure, to stop a man before he has fallen into some sin must win a higher blessing still. Doubtless there are many other occasions "■ . when a true friend,may give useful counsel ; ',4 ,; to a friend who is in doubt, and the use of . all such occasions blesses the worker with a fresh work -of mercy. But to lead hack - from the edge of tho precipice, one who, in ' darkness or in folly, is about to step over it is surely the greatest of all such works, never ( I, \ '! to be forgotten, either in this world or in that which is to come, by the man who his been thus signally befriended. ' ,c