ORTHODOX AND OTHERWISE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21538, 9 January 1932, Page 4

ORTHODOX AND OTHERWISE

"The Churches ami Modern Thought.’’ By Vivian .Phelips. London: Watts and Co. (Is n °" Belief In God." By the Rev. Thomas Chadwick, B.A. London: Skefflngton (2s net). " His Testimony Is True.” By A. H. A. Slmeox 8.A., I.C.S. London: John Murray (3s Gd net). ~ " The Code of the King’s Highway.’ By the Rev. D. K. M. reel, M.A. London: Skoffington (Is net). „ “ Pattcson of the South Sea Islands. By N. J. Davidson, B.A. London: Seeley Service (Is net). " The Bible In Scotland. By Sir Andrew Macphatl. London: John Murray (3s Cd net). No Longer Modern A number of readers will remember the first appearance of “The Churches and Modern Thought” some 25 years ago. It was then very widely read and much discussed, and Philip Vivian was hailed as a thinker of more than ordinary power. First published at a time of unusual ferment, when apologetic discussions were being held very frequently and the grounds of the Christian belief were being attacked very strongly, the book created an unusual stir. Mr Phelips gives us a frank and, let it be said, courageous statement of his religious position. He is definitely a rationalist, who takes exception to the attitude of the churches to quite a number of subjects of thought and holds that much which is credited to the Church for good should not be. The wonder is that the book is being re-printed, for the ground of discussion has completely changed. The apologetic of to-day is centred in a position quite other than that of 25 or 30 years ago, and one hardly hears the term “ teleological ” used to-day. Even Dr Flint’s “Thcistic and AnliTheistic Arguments” is not quite to the point. Psychology, in its newer phases, has taken hold of this phase of thought and the old arguments arc hardly used at all. It must be said that Mr Phelips writes temperately and has quite a good literary style, but that hardly compensates for argument which is to-day not really up to date. Religious Indifference

“ Belief in God ” endeavours to face the position which obtains somewhat widely to-day—the indifference to religion generally manifest. Mr Chadwick believes that religion is vital for every man, but feels that the churches are lost in a maze of domestic problems and petty party strifes. The Roman Catholics are of opinion that the ministry of the Anglican Church is “invalid,” and the latter in its turn assumes an attitude of superiority toward the non-Episcopal denominations. Uncertainty as to doctrine, and consequent hesitancy, lead to conflict and confusion. Mr Chadwick contends that if the Bible were once again the foundation-stone of the Church, if she believed in its inspiration and preached the

Divine message with emphasis, there would come a mighty awakening in the nations. The plea is for a return to the unqualified belief in the plenary inspiration and authority of Holy’ Scripture. A non-iniraeulous Christianity and a nonmiraculous Christ, it is urged, will never arouse any great enthusiasm or win the allegiance of people to the Christian Faith.

The Fourth Gospel Mr Simcox has endeavoured to depict in his book the way in which St. John explains to Mary Magdalene how the Fourth Gospel came to be written. He has fixed his eyes firmly on the text of the Fourth Gospel, and then has tried to find out how the author carried out the details of its writing—adding one purpose to another and one point to the next. His narrative raises no question and answers no objection. It is merely a narrative, very reverent, very beautiful, and withal deeply imaginative. One reads it with pleasure and finds in it an insight which is wholly pleasant and distinctly helpful. Rules of the Road

In “ The Code of the King’s Highway ” Mr Peel takes the “ Highway Code ” of the Minister of Transport (Great Britain) and uses it for a series of talks to youths. Very effectively indeed does he discuss cars and their drivers, roaddtogs, the rule of the road, the “ safety first ” slogan, overhauling and repair of the' car, and so on. This is a book from which a wideawake scoutmaster or Sunday school or Bible class worker, as well as the minister, will get matter for some good addresses.

Patteson of Melanesia Patteson of Melanesia is a ; name much honoured in the Pacific and one can hardly do more than say in a word that this life, told for boys and girls, is well worth the attention of all who desire our young people to have a good knowledge of one who helped to plant Christianity in these Southern Seas. John Coleridge Patteson is one of this world’s great men, and Mr Davidson has done well to give us this well-told and attractively expressed story of his life and death.

The Kirk of Scotland Sir Andrew Macphail, in his “ The Bible in Scotland,” gives us a study of the Kirk of Scotland, based upon' the'recently published “ Syllabus of Religious Instruction for Use in Scottish Schools,” and, in it, criticises very sharply the bases on which scriptural teaching in Scotland is founded. In his opinion the Syllabus is held in bondage to the five-year-old infant intelligence, and takes too little account of the mental growth of the normal child. Sir Andrew certainly days about him lustily. What is wrong with this Scottish Syllabus, he says, is that “the Protestant Christ is not the Jewish Messiah, the Greek Logos, nor yet the essential Jesus of the Gospels. He is the final achievement of the Calvinist mind, a subtle blend of French logic, German realism, Greek speculation, Roman legalism, and Jewish zeal.” Surely a damning indictment! But without a knowledge of the Syllabus we are at a decided disadvantage. All the same, in view of the possibility—we do not say probability— of the compilation of a Syllabus of Religious Instruction for our Dominion it might be well to have Sir Andrew’s book in our hands and to try to avoid the pitfalls of which he speaks. G. H. J.