CATHEDRAL LECTURES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14282, 3 August 1908, Page 6

CATHEDRAL LECTURES

CHRISTIANITY IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. The . series of Sunday afternoon lectures in tho cathedral, which during the winter months have attracted considerable public attention, were brought to a termination for tho present season by an earnest address yesterday' afternoon'from the Rev. Canon j R. A. Woodthorpe on "The Outlook of Christianity in the Twentieth Century." Tho subjects dealt with in these lecture* lwvc been ably handled, and tho series as a whole constitutes a thoughtful contribution to the consideration of problems affecting tho relation of tho Christain Church towards modern thought on social and other _ matters. Tho encouragement given to this movement on tho part of the Anglican Churoh will justify a continuation of tho lccturcs during next winter, and requests in this direction will we understand, be complied with. Tho lccturo yesterday afternoon was listened to with close attention, and before Canon Woodthorpe commenced his address Mies E. Waddell sang, with feeling and expression, tho solo " Calvary" (Rodney/ to ail organ accompaniment. After a. brief summary of his previous .lecture on "The Relation of Christianity to tho Intellectual Lifo of Mankind," the rev, gentleman, who is warden of Solwyn College, said Jesus Christ, founded a sooiety, which was known as tho Body of Christ, tho Holy Catholic Churoh. It was a society inspired by tho Holy Spirit, and during the long period of its history it . had manifested, a threefold development, which follows tho lines of liis revealed aotiyity. As the Spirit of Truth Ho guided tho mind of tho whole society into a deeper grasp of tho faith committed to its care. The New Testament, the creeds, the magnificent definitions of the lathers of tho groat councils of the Undivided Churoh, the great truths of Christian theology were tlio outcome of His activity. As the spirit of power, He inspired tihe activities of the Church in all ages. The rise of the universities, tho founding of Jwspitals, colleges, schools, missions, institutions of mercy, etc., wire all the outcome of the sense of mission which He breathed into the Church. As tho spirit, of holiness He created the different types of tho Christian character. The Lord, in establishing His kingdom, had challenged tho verdict of 'history. "It is oertain," said the late Professor Romanes, tile great scientist, "that neithor philosophy, 6cien«!, nor poetry liaa over produced results in thought, conduct, or beauty to bo compared with it." "There is not a secular reform in. the wholo development of modern civilisation," said Dr Martineau, "whioh lias not drawn its inspiratioai from, a religious principle. The last century was an ago of progress in. science, an era of invention and multiplication of machinery. As an intellectual ago it was an age of transition. It was not until the conception 'outlined by Leasing and Hordes .had bean fully developed by Hegel that philosophy was able to got a thoroughly clear conception of the facts of . religion. The profound thought of develpment, as of a process in which on imiconejit ideal principlo realised itself under different forms and through difforont atftges, which Hegel was tho first to apply to history, had sinoe become dominant in ail fields of science. This idea of evolution passing from Hegel to Yon Rter and Lamarok stimulated the magnificent work of Darwin. In liingland it passed through the teaching of Coleridge, and in measure through tho poetry of Wordsworth into religious thought, it iha,d, through Newman and Maurioe, profoundly influenced English Christianity, and had inspired two great movements in tho Anglican Church. After a oaroful survey of the political and economic condition of Europe at the beginning and end of tho nineteenth.century, •he said that the xnoet striking fact in tho century was the expansion of the AngloSaxon people, and tin deepening consoiouaness of a mission to humanity. Whilst the oolonies of France, Spain, Holland, and Portugal had sunk into insignificance, those of England had gradually expanded. Tho spread of the Empire was remarkable, and not less for tho apparent indifference with which it had been treated. But tho . inauguration of tihe Australian Commonwealth had drown attention to tho fact of our oxpatision and tlio ability of our nice to dovelop political organisations. The century had also been marked by the diffusion of the Knglish language, its literature, and ideals. The recent order of the German Kaisor to nuke English a compulsory study and Frenoh optional in tho schools of bit empire was not without significance, It had also been an era of applied soionco, and liad been marked by .a rapid increase . of wealth, the diffusion of material conveniences, the growth of intercommunication between the nations, the expansion ot a great commerce, tho change from a country to a city lifo, the extension of postal facilities, and the enormous growth of great cities. Tho century had been an era of great missionary enterprise. At the beginning of the century the adherents ol Jesus numbored about 200 millions; today they were about 560 millions. The Christian nations also wielded sovereign influence over two-thirds of the world'. l people and four-fifths of the earth's sur face, and yet 'Voltaire had declared that before tho beginning of tho nineteenth century Christianity would be wiped ofl the face of the earfli. It was difficult tc grasp new truths, but the Lotolleotual out. look of the Christian Church was encouraging. Christian thinkers had accepted tht groat lessons which Cod had taught theii generation through the advance of scientific historical, and philosophical ways of think ing.. Tho groat thinkers in the Christiai Church hoid and .taught the belief that the Holy Spirit guided the mind of/ th< Church to grasp all that was of permanent vaiue in the isolations of tho Spirit, ic the development of humanity. Ncidiint that was of truth was other than welcome to tlio Ohristiaai mind. Nothing was more full of hope than tho revival o£ religion ir the various churches. Contrast tho dead ncss of religion in England in 1806, wher tliOi'O were six communicants at St. Paul'i Cathedral, London, on Easter Day, ant tho feebleness of Nonconformity with the splendid mural in the Anglican Churoh and tho 'bcnoficient energies of tho Fre< Churches in tho twentieth century. Rc ligion was for the most iiart. a silent in finance, birt it had undtfuialile result 6. tool at the men throughout tho limpiro whe were, doing the moat -unselfish work for t-h< world! Their philanthropy was inspired b\ the teaching and example of Christ. Mori and more wore education, philanthropy, ant social elevation passing from the Clnn-ci to tlio Christianised state. But where wck tho ideals? The ideals, as of old, spran? from the mind and heart of the Christiar Church. After an analysis of tlie innei mind of the Anglican Ohuroh, and a sym pathetic reference to the modern move moils of thought in tho Latin, the Ilus 1 sian, and the Reformed Churches, ht pointed out that Anglican churchmen, ai well as German thinkers, recognised lihai the bol'ince of worldrpower had parsed fron ; the Latin to tihe Teutonio races, and Ik believed, with Do Maifitre, that the An | glican Churoh was dtt=t,ined, through liei comprehensiveness.-*, to play a very import • ant part in tho reunion of the 'Cbristiar oburdhes. Tlio Ohureh of Arnold, Stanley t and Jowett, of Simeon. MolviU, and Shafts bury, of Pueey, Kcble, and Liddou wa; r comprehensive enough for anyone. The i canon dosed his lecture with a vigorous ■ appeal to cling fast to tho undying' I'aitl i of t.he Christian Chitroh, to keep the in ' telleotwal life strong and clear, to studj 1 sympathetically the movements of though- • and activity in their generation, and ox ' pressed his own conviction of hope by ; ' quotation from Yon Schubert, whom hi ; described as ono of the brightest and mos learned of modern (Gorman historians.