MORAL STANDARDS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21727, 16 February 1934, Page 13

MORAL STANDARDS

DANGER FROM DECLINE TASK FOR THE CHURCH PERPLEXITY OF YOUTH STUDY OF CHRISTIAN ETHICS i . [by telegraph—owx correspondent] WELLING TON. Thursday The view that the present age is in danger fi;oni its declining moral standards was expressed by the Rev. C. Eaton, in the course of his presidential address this evening at the opening of the annual Dominion conference of the New Zealand Methodist Church. The speaker declared that in the sphere of Christian ethics the Church had a responsible task to perform. For the young man of to-day, the fight of faith was in some respects easier than was the case a generation 3go, said Mr. Eaton. The scientific materialism of an earlier day was now superseded, and the trend of modern thought in physics and biology was much more favourable to theistic faith. But there were powerful currents in psychology and literature to-day which threatened to sweep youth away from the fixed moorings of the past. "Contemptuous Scepticism" A type of psychology was abroad which had a far-reaching effect upon the attitude of the educated classes of England and America to morals. There existed a group of intellectuals who combined contemptuous' scepticism toward the Christian faith with a determined attack upon the Christian moral standard. The result had been that the ethical convictions of many had been shaken to their very foundations. Essentially, this destructive psychology taught that man was governed not by reason, but by his instinctive tendencies. So far from being a rational animal, man was a creature of his impulses, at one time crude and animal, at another beautyloving and refined. These, impulses must be indulged as they came; one's chief duty was self-expression, unhampered/ by any other sense of duty. "Thou shalt not repress thyself" took the place of all the Commandments. 'Dangerous Theories "It was obvious, the speaker continued, in what direction such theories of conduct must lead. People who had not much else to express but primitive lusts were encouraged to clamour for expression. The answer to such reasoning was that, while there might be a self-expression that mutilated character, there was also a self-denial without which there was no character at all. "There is a clamorous challenge along the whole front of Christian ethics to-day," the president affirmed. "The whole question of . sex relationships, /including promiscuity, marriage, and divorce, demands attention. Is there any uniformity, for example, in our practice in regard to the remarriage of divorced persons? Has our Church ever spoken authoritatively here? Concerning the question of sex relationships it is difficult to speak, and impossible to keep silent. "Our moral standards suffered a grievous decline during the Great War, and recovery has been slow. To-day a whole mass of new facts remains unassimilated by Christian doctrine, and the attempts to acquaint youth with these facts have not been conspicuously successful. If it be true that men today are uncertain what the rules of moral conduct are, and do not so much require exhortation to be good as help to see what is good, it is time we commenced seriously the study of Christian ethics." Need For Sympathy

It was necessary, the speaker cmpha sised, to realise afresh the difficulties of the rising generation. If pver youth needed sympathy and wise handling it was to-day. With old standards breaking down, and old sanctions going, youth to-day was strangely perplexed. All who read knew to what a wide extent both books and magazines served up tainted stuff which was poisonous to immature- minds. Referring to motion pictures, Mr. Eaton said that, in order to bring * about the more effective control of the type of A film released for public exhibition, the Government should, in the interests of public moralty, exclude all commercially interested persons from the Board of Appeal in the censorship department. CONFERENCE PRESIDENT REV. J. H. HASLAM ELECTED •-1 [BY TELF.GRArH —PRESS ASSOCIATION] WELLINGTON, Thursday The Rey. J. H. Haslam, of Hamilton. has been elected president of the i 930 Methodist Conference.