THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23136, 11 March 1937, Page 13

THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

ITS EMINENT LEADERS THEIR WORK ABROAD ADDRESS BY DR DICKIE An interesting account of his meetings during his recent trip abroad with many eminent leaders of the Presbyterian Church in the Old Coutry, as well as in Europe and the United States of America, was given yesterday by Principal Dickie in his introductory address at the opening of the 1937 session of the Theological Hall. The Rev. D, C. Herron, on behalf of the Theological Hall Committee, the students and those present, extended a welcome to Dr Dickie, and said that they rejoiced to see himback again in health and strength, and eager and ready to continue his labours. They were sure that his spirit and life had been stimulated by his contacts and experiences abroad. Dr Dickie said that the first theological college he visited was the great historic Seminary of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America at Princeton, New Jersey. The Seminary was not in session, but he found a delightful host in Dr Donald Mackenzie, the professor of Biblical theology, formerly of Ferryhill United Free Church in Aberdeen. There was a gathering of some 30,0 former students of the Seminary for a sort of refresher course, and to welcome the newly-elected president, Dr John Alexander Mackay, a distinguished graduate of Aberdeen University and of Princeton Seminary, who had served the American Church as head of a missionary college in Peru, and had latterly been associated with Dr R. E, Speer as foreign missions secretary. There was no doubt that under Dr Mackay’s leadership the Seminary would continue to exercise a commanding influence on the life and thought of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America as a nursing mother of sound learning and evangelical devotion. Princeton Seminary stood for a positive Reformed Faith and a reverent handling of secred things, and especially of Holy Scripture, but not for anything like blind obscurantism. Besides his two fellow graduates of Aberdeen, Dr Mackenzie and Dr Mackay, Dr Dickie met the librarian, the professor of Hebrew, the professor of systematic theology (Dr C. W. Hodge), grandnephew of Dr Charles Hodge, and, he thought, the fourth Dr Hodge to be a professor at Princeton —and Dr Loetscher, the professor of church history. In connection with the reunion of old Princetonians, he attended a very dignified and quietly impressive communion service in the Seminary chapel, conducted by Dr Erdrnan, the emeritus professor of practical theology. What struck him most about the alumni was their intense loyalty to the Seminary and its professors. The most Interesting man he met In Princeton, apart from the professors, was Dr Walter Lowrie, whose active life was largely spent as minister of the American Episcopal Church in Rome. Among other important books, all with a wellmarked individuality, he was author of the best American exposition of the Barthrair theology, and was working, he said, on an exposition of the Danish philosopher, Kierkegaard. On the Sunday, the speaker continued, he ' worshipped In one of the great historic churches of the Presbyterian order in America, the First Presbyterian Church of Princeton. The minister wore a gown full length, cassack and bands, but no degree hood, and the whole service, both in form and substance, was, he thought, liker to what he was accustomed to as a boy than any service he had attended. , Dr Dickie went on to say that he spent two days with an Edinburgh class fellow, Dr W. S. Coffin, at Union Theological Seminary in New York, and saw something of the variety of work that great institution was doing, and of its resources for research and intensive study. Some of the professors were still on holiday. But he met Dr van Dusen, who had succeeded to the chair vacated by Dr John Baillie’s translation to Edinburgh. Dr Frame, the author of the I.C.C. on Thessalonians, Dr Hume, the professor of the history of religion, and Dr and Mrs Moffatt. He also met casually Dr Niebuhr and Dr Fosdick, whom Dr Coffin, himself a preacher of the first rank, regarded as the greatest American preacher since Dr Henry Ward Beecher, and Dr Phillips Brooks. The relations of the Church of Scotland with the Union Seminary were closer than with any other theological college in America, and the seminary had fellowships to enable Scottish students to study in America. A cousin of the Dunedin Presbytery clerk, the Rev. W. M. Grant, was the recipient of one of these fellowships some 15 years ago. He was often asked, Dr Dickie said, whether men who went Home for a postgraduate year ought to go to Cambridge, or to Edinburgh or Glasgow. It was a question on which his opinion always differed fundamentally from that of his honoured friend, the late Professor Hewitson. He held very strongly that Presbyterians from overseas ought to go to a centre where one could gauge the full strength of Presbyterianism where it was the national form of Christianity—i.e., to Edinburgh or Glasgow. Besides, special provision was made, perhaps especially in Edinburgh, for postgraduate work, and the number of Presbyterian theological students of outstanding academic ability and attainments was far larger than in Cambridge. On the Other hand Oxford and Cambridge were unique among the world’s universities, and by going to Westminster one was in touch with the University of Cambridge, even if the contact was somewhat tenuous. There, Presbyterianism was only a sort of side-current, separated from the main stream of religious thought and life. The Presbyterian Church of England meant far less for England as a whole, than the church did for New Zealand; and certainly proper world-perspec-tive for Presbyterianism did not obtain anywhere in England. Dr Dickie went on to tell of a visit to Dr Garvie, in London, who, although over 70 years of age, was still as keen and alert as ever. Owing to the claims of the Gunning Lectureship most of Dr Dickie’s time was spent in Edinburgh: but he spent a week in Aberdeen, a week-end in Glasgow, as the guest of Professor W. B. Stevenson, of the Hebrew chair, and a day in St. Andrews, and met most of the theological professors in Scotland. The Arts class, 1891-1895 held its ninth reunion, when he was in Aberdeen, and asked him to take the chair. On the Saturday morning he went out to the College Chapel, a beautiful building as old as the university (i.e., 440 years) and recently restored to

its pristine glory and, at the request of his classmates, he offered a prayer of thanksgiving, of commemoration of those no longer with them, and of supplication. On the Friday, Ishbel, Lady Aberdeen, one of the mos* outstanding personalities In Scotland, had arranged that the recently appointed principal of the university and he should meet. The university, he heard, had asked that Sir George Adam Smith’s successor should be a layman, and Dr Hamilton Fyfe had come with a great reputation as a scholar and administrator. He was headmaster of Christ’s Hospital, London, the school of Coleridge and Lamb, and then principal of Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, before coming to Aberdeen. In all four Scottish universities there were now two sets of theological professors, church professors elected by a church board, subject to confirmation by the General Assembly, and university professors, elected by the Church Board, along with an equal representation of the university concerned, but with the proviso that if the combined board could not agree upon an appointment within a year, the university had the right of appointing. The scheme had not yet been in operation sufficiently long for one to be able to forecast how it was likely to work; but so far, the results had given general satisfaction. The regular training for the ministry was done by the chyrch more specialised work was largely in the hands of the university professors, who needed not be ministers of the Church of Scotland, or indeed ministers at all, provided they knew their subject. The two together constituted the divinity faculties of the universities and had equal academic standing. Though the professorial staff was thus about twice as large as it used to be, the only changes in the regular course for the ministry were the addition of professors of pastoral theology or practical training, and a modified curriculum without Hebrew language for older men. The conviction still dominated all Scottish theological education that every minister ought to have a through grounding in the basic subjects, namely, sysmatic theology, the Scriptures in Hebrew and Greek interpreted in the light of the best knowledge available, and church history, and there was no disposition anywhere to introduce the innumerable options which were familiar in some American colleges. The same was true of the Presbyterian Churches of England and Ireland. In Scotland appointments had been made both to the university chairs and to the church ones, solely on the grounds of suitability for the post concerned, without any thought of whether the men appointed were old Church of Scotland men or United Free, and a son of one of the leading ministers of the United Free Church was appointed to the chair of practical theology and Christian ethics in St. Andrews. The relations with the smaller churches, too, were friendly. I met at university functions the principal of the Free Church College, the clerk of the United Free General Assembly, the retiring principal of the Scottish Congregational College and the Dean of Edinburgh, a charming man and a distinguished liturgical scholar.

The Scottish theological halls were well filled and the leaders of the church were afraid that there would soon be an overplus of ministers such as there was in the eighties, when some good men had to wait 10 or 12 years or even more, for a charge of their own. Ministerial life was decidedly more strenuous than it was 30 or 40 years ago, and there was less time for study. But the churches he attended were well filled, and the church was still a mighty power in the land. Their old friend Mr Yuille was gathering together a very active and vigorous congregation in Queen street, and his home was a rallying ground for all New Zealanders In Edinburgh. He was enjoying his work all the more because he found a practically empty church, and Mrs Yuille and he and the two boys were well and happy. Of the younger men Dr Dickie met for the first time—apart from professors whom he would not presume to judge—the two who impressed him most were Mr J. 5. Stewart, of North Mqmingside, formerly Morningside United Presbyterian Church, the translator of Schleiermoucher, and Mr G. F. Macleod, of Govan. a son of Sir John Lom Macleod and a grandson of the great Norman of the Barony. He was last year’s Warrack Lecturer on preaching. Mr Stewart was a brilliant theologian and a great preacher, already known by his books and undoubtedly destined to be a leader of religious thought in Scotland and beyond. Mr Macleod who went to Govan from the second charge of St. Cuthbert’s, Edinburgh, in 1930, is spoken of by Canon Raven in the introduction to the Warrack lectures as “ one of the few great preachers of our day.” But Scottish judgment would be that he was even greater as a pastor and parish minister. He lived very simply right in the heart of his great industrial parish, sharing a flat above his church hall, along with his assistants, and was said to spend all his stipend on his work. Mr Macleod combined in a remarkable way religious intensity, profound sympathy with all sorts and conditions of people, social charm, and a keen sense of humour. If he did not wear himself out prematurely, without doubt he was destined to do a great work both for Govan and for the whole Church of Scotland. Already less than 13 yean after his ordination, he had ministered in two of the greatest and most historic parishes in Scotland, and was one of the outstanding figures of the church. It might be added that there was no elaboration of ritual in his service. In Oxford Dr Dickie spent most of the little time he had looking at the college buildings, the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, where J. H. Newman was vicar, and the cathedral. He called cn Principal Micklem, of Mansfield, and had a talk with him, chiefly on matters connected with worship. He showed Dr Dickie over his college and its beautiful chapel.

Touching on the two great Continental theologians whom he was privileged to meet, Dr Karl Heim, of Tubingen, and Dr Brunner, Dr Dickie said that Dr Heim struck him as a very warm-hearted, kindly man, but somewhat tired and despondent. He was an interesting example of how complicated every concrete situation was. Strongly opposed to Hitler’s attitude to the Church, and apprehensive for the future, he yet regarded Hitler as the savour of Germany in the national and economic spheres, and no doubt his attitude was typical of that of many German churchmen. Dr Heim told him that the common danger threatening from the totalitarian State had driven Catholic and the more evangelical and conservative type of Protestants closer together than they had been since the Reformation. In this connection he mentioned especially his Catholic colleague in Tubingen, also a theo-

logian of eminence, whose works were translated into English, Dr Karl Adam. Dr Brunner was one of the friendliest and also one of the most arresting personalities that he met in all his travels. It was worth while for any minister or theologian to go to Nurith just to exchange greetings with him. It was possible, too, that if the Australian churches and those in New Zealand joined forces it might be possible to persuade him to pay New Zealand and Australia a visit in two or three years when his boys were a little older. He lived in England for a time and spoke English perfectly, so that there would be no linguistic difficulty. The Protestant faith need never tremble for the ark of God while it had exponents with his clarity of vision, profound learning, moral earnestness, and intensity of religious conviction.