"WAKE UP, PROTESTANTS."

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18325, 15 February 1923, Page 9

"WAKE UP, PROTESTANTS."

Sir,l have not the pleasure of knowing Mr. Wm. S. Aickin, but after reading ; his letter \ under the heading of ".Wake Up, Protestants," and reading between the lines the restlessness of his soul is very apparent. I would like to suggest kindly to Mr. Aickin that before he cries out to Protestants to " wake up" that he pfaya to have his own eyes opened, and he, will be surprised at the result, for he. will then . know ' thjUt " peace of God, which passeth all understanding. He will realise that all roads lead to God, and, if some people like ceremonial and, candle* »alight on the communion • table (which simply signify that - our Lord is " The "Light of the World"), that is the road they are choosing, and, after all, v what, does , it matter? No 1 ' What does matter is the way we "are inclined to interfere - with one another. Interference has been the t cause of all the martyrdom in '• th past. To ,me it seems so ridiculous for one to say, "I believe so and so, and I expect everybody else 'to believe exactly the> same way." It never was, and it never will be. ,-,.' It is the essentials that, count, not. the little differences. Jesus . tells us to love our neighbour as, ourselves." If we only tried . to do this a little more, how much nearer God humanity woald be to-day than it is. ■ r- - <-' One Who Has Thottght.

Sir, —Who is this man who has come among ■ us, who startles the air with his blatant call of "Wake Up, Protestants?" I have attended the services at S"fcAlban's,Dominion Road,'; and have yet to find anything that gives offence to the most sensitive mind. After all is said and done, a beautiful picture deserves a beautiful \ frame, and the same applies to our religious services. , If we stripped all that is poetical and idealistic from our churches and services, it would be an insult to the peoples' taste and would only tend to dull the intellect. I have also: attended St. Paul's :on a Sunday evening, and have ; only the greatest of respect for a minister who desires to waken the • sense of solemnity in his congregation, and adds to the beauly of a sacred service.,V Individuals gifted with a higher intellect may be I able to paint their own " mind pictures" jof ; what a service represents, but there are too . many ; who are full of the worries and cares of! :■ life, who need - the hand of a painter to " touch up," and a, framer to ' set off" the too cold and somewhat drab service of other churches. Mr. Wm. S. Aickin is deeply hurt because an officiating minister makes the sigh of the Cross at a graveside. Why [By what flight of ;( imagination can be | construe this into being offensive' to any decent, honest Christian ? I have attended' the services of numerous ; religions, and, if there was anything that did not suit my individual self, I remembered that I was merely an atom in. ;, the universes seeking the one haven of; Heaven ■ in common with the multitude of Christians,; and why should I, a mere nothing try to 1 build a bridge of straws across the path of my neighbour. I Let us shed no tears therefore, because a, brother atom [endeavours to stir up ; the ripples' upon an 1 otherwise calm : pond. : ; ';'-- A Mem Thjmcbb.