The World of Religion

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23109, 6 August 1938, Page 6 (Supplement)

The World of Religion

By PHILEMON

THE vigorous personality of Samuel Marsden and the perilous and exacting times in which his career was *set give ample 'scope to the biographer. He was a man of the deepest religious conviction, fearless in the presence of danger, unwavering in devotion to the tasks he set himself, and he drew many into the circle of his enterprises. Marsdon crossed the stormy Tasman ill frail craft seven times between 1814 and 1837. His love for the Maori people iu their most savage days and his faith in their future as a race never declined, he freely opened his heart to mon of other Communions who were willing to share with his agents their conversion to Christianity, and when in weakness he lay dying, the words "New Zealand" were the last the watchers heard upon his lips. The noble story is recorded with a final completeness in Dr. J. R- Elder s "Letters and Journals of Samuel Marsden," a work which all students of our history know how to value. But it has now been told in briefer compass and more popular form by Mr A. H. Reed, of Dunedin, who was a copublisher of Dr. Elder's volume, under the title of "Marsden of Maori and. Mr. Reed knows his history well and writes with an apt and interesting pen. He recreates the far-off times in which Marsden lived and sets his hero in their midst with skill and some literaiy power. So well written, well produced, and well illustrated a book will gratify all who place it upon their shelves. Scriptures Neglected The last mail brought ample evidence of the interest of the British press in the celebration of the Fourth _ Ocmtenary of the placing of the Bible in the parish churches of England. But everywhere there mingles with appreciation and historical review an undercurrent of regret that to-day the Bible is becoming the book of a few. The Times, in a lengthy and informative article, speaks of "the almost incredible disappearance of knowledge of the Bible.'' Once, we are told, the average Englishman was taught the Bible in childhood, read it for himself at home, listened to it week by week in church, and gradually assimilated its message and spirit into his very being. . "No other force has contributed in like degree to what is best in tho national character." But with each succeeding decade the peril increases of a neglect of the Scriptures which must inevitably react injuriously on the national life. > Some attempt is made by Dean Matthews in the Guardian to discover the reasons "for this increasing neglect. In his view tho main causes are three. (1) In past days the Bible was the one preeminent book. It had almost undisturbed right of way among the people and its story broke upon the nation in wonder and novelty. There was. as Mr. J. R. Green points out, "no competing literature." But to-day, while for devout men the Bible retains its supreme appeal, a vast and attractive litorature distracts tho attention of the general public. (2) The Bible in our time has to make its way in a new kind of world. "The world of tho Elizabethans was radically different ,from that as St. Paul conceived it," and it was therefore sufficient that they should receive the Scripturesin their mother tongue. But a far more difficult translation is needed to-day. The reader must carry-over the truth, not from one langauge to another, but from one thought-world to another. (3) There is an uneasy feeling in the public mind that Biblical criticism has seriously decreased the reliability of tho Bible, and rendered it no longer the kind of book men thought it to be when they flocked to hear it read in public. Unfortunate Mistake There could be no more unfortunate mistake, says the dean, but unhappily no one is taking sufficient pains to explain to the people just what has happened and how negligible is the difference it has made; so, he adds, "the present position of the Bible in popular estimation seems to me to be highly dangerous." There is little in all this that we have not heard many times before, but what is said gathers force as coming from one of the most outspoken scholars and thinkers in the Church. It is interesting to note the suggestions offered for the creation of a new interest in the Bible. The Times Literary Supplement, for instance, thinks that a more modern _ format would attract many who dislike the Book as commonly produced. Its form is still very much that of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries —the size and shape make it awkward to handle, its print is often trying to the eyes, its bulk includes much that is never read save by the few. A reduced Biblo. or the issue of single books popularly edited and paragraphed according to meaning, would interest a wider public. One striking fact seems to support this contention. The recently published "Biblo Designed to bo Read as Literature," sold in Britain at half a guinea, reached a circulation of 125,000 in a few months. Part of the Church But however this may bo the Church herself has a part to play. An unfortunate tendency for tho Bible to take less prominence in her worship is noticeable. With the demand for shorter services and tho introduction of children's addresses and often special music, the officiating minister, whero no lectionary is used, is tempted to reduce the Scripture rending to a few verses. There seems some inconsistency when the Bible is recommended to tho congregation as a book to bo read and studied with dutiful care, while in the service of the sanctuary it suffers this partial eclipse. When again are we to hear the great passages of Holy Writ, from both tho Old and Now Testaments, read from the lectern P And when are tho preachers going to roturn to_ that expository preaching which, difficult though it be, makes tho Scriptures live again in the minds of the people? But all suggestions are bound up with one great hope. The Bible will recover its place when men feel their need of it, and not before. It is not as 1 itornturo that it makes its most commanding appeal, hut as containing the words of eternal lifo. Revival Awaited Here, as in the whole circle of tho church's work, wo wait that revival of interest in religion which all good men pray for, which somo forecast as near at hand, but of tho approach of which there seem as yet few convincing signs. When that day comes Knglnnd will once again becorno "Tho peonlo of a Book." Two interesting items of news may bo mentioned. The popular minister of fcho City Temple, tho Rev. Leslie Wenthorhead, who has been laid aside for somo timo. recommencod his ministry there last month. And .General Mvanpelino Booth has been asked by (he High Council of the Salvation Army to continuo her position for at least another year, in spite of tho fact that_ in accordance with the ago limit sho is duo to retire in 1939.