SUNDAY CIRCLE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24415, 28 September 1940, Page 17

SUNDAY CIRCLE

THE ENCOURAGERS ... At Your voice, Panic despair, flee away. Ye move through the ranks, recall The stragglers, refresh the outworn, Praise, re-inspire the brave! Order, courage, return. Eyes rekindling, and prayers, Follow your steps as ye go. Ye fill up the gaps in our files, Strengthen the wavering line, Stablish. continue our march, On, to the bound of the waste, On. to the City of God. —Matthew Arnold.

, PRAYER Heavenly Father, Who dost at all times exercise Thy poor flock with diverse afflictions; assist us, and deliver us from the troubles that are falling on us, that the wicked and proud contemners may have no cause to think that in vain do we depend upon Thee, but that they may be compelled to understand that Thou art the strength and fortress of all them that love and honour Tl.ee; in Thy Son Jesus Christ. Amen. DO YOU KNOW YOUR BIBLE? .What answers would you give to the following questions:— 1. What terrible results does St. Paul say must follow, if the Resurrection of our Lord were not a fact? ' 2. What two incidents in the Gospels show the importance of the evidence of the Empty Tomb and its condition? 3. What special Old Testament narrative did our Lord choose as a type of His Burial and Resurrection? 4. What is the earliest apostolic utterance, after the Resurrection, illustrating the importance which the apostles always attached to the fact as a vital element in their testimony r 5. What two references in the Epistle to the Romans show the importance of the Resurrection of our Lord in its bearing upon the doctrines of the incarnation and the atonement respectively ? 6 Where does our Lord Himself declare that He is alive for evermore? THE CHURCH IN ZULULAND The Bishop of Zululand, writing in the Net (the quarterly paper of the Zululand Missionary Association), in making his annual report for the past year, records that there has been no slackening ,of endeavour anywhere in his diocese. Everywhere a steady pressure against unbelief has been maintained. There has been no large increase 'in numbers of unbelievers coming forward to receive instruction, but there has been a steady trickle ol them into classes arranged for them. A notable feature of the year’s work has been the ordination of six deacons and two priests. Five of the deacons received the final stage of their training at the college of St. Peter. Rosettenville, run by the Community of the Resurrection in Johannesburg. The results, the bishop notes, are seen in the aualitv of the work which they are doing. The sixth is the first Swazi to be ordained in the diocese of Zululand. A second Swazi is being sent to Rosettenville for training this year. THE LAYMEN’S MISSIONARY MOVEMENT Under the presidency of Lord NoelBuxton. a well-attended rally of the National Laymen’s Missionary Movement was held in the Westminster Central Hall on Wednesday, of last week. Dr F. Hildebrandt said that the struggle to-day was between Christ and Antichrist. Brute force was dominating; Christian progress could only be made when the Church destroyed the idol of materialism. It must repent, and be prepared to suffer in order to be cleansed from its sins. The Church must have the mark or seal of Christ on it. Dr Craig. of the International Friendship Commission, pleaded for more co-operation between the churches: and Dr H. R. Williamson, from his thirty years’ experience m China, spoke of the noble witness of Chinese Christians in war-time. ST. DAVID’S CATHEDRAL Recent investigations and preservative treatment in St. David’s Cathedral have done much to reveal what has survived nearly four centimes of vandalism and neglect. The pillars of the nave arcades were formerly decorated on an elaborate scale, and some of the work remains. On one of the piers is a life-sized crowned figure in armour holding a sword in the right hand and a sceptre in the left. On another is an unusual heraldic device painted in white line on a red ground. The stone screen erected by Bishop Gower about 1340 retains much contemporary colour decoration. Above the entrance-arch is depicted an owl between two magpies. It has been suggested that this subject was intended to convey the idea of the chatterers of this world (the magpies) laughing at wisdom, (the owl). Such a “drolJerie” is often found in illuminated MSS., but is rare in wall paintings. The vaulting of the tomb recess on the north side exhibits the Evangelistic symbols on the vaulting with grotesque beasts and foliage. On the walls are the Crucifixion and a soul being received into Heaven by Christ. WOMEN THEOLOGIANS In the chape] of Lambeth Palace, the Archbishop of Canterbury conferi’ed diplomas and licences upon women who had passed the examination in theology instituted by Archbishop Davidson 34 years ago. Everywhere to-day, said the archbishop, the need for the teaching of theology was' felt, but ideas about it were very vague. There was a compelling need, not only for fuller teaching of a definite Christian faith, but taught by teachers fully qualified on the basis of knowledge and sound learning. So year by year he gave his diploma and licence to those who stood in the very first line of teachers of their own time. There were now some 170 women who held the diploma, and 130 of these had received his licence to teach theology. He was confident that the effect of their work was being felt. SAFEGUARDING THE SUNDAY At the annual meeting of the Lord’s Day Observance Society |he secretary said that what the society had accomplished in seeking to safeguard thij Lord’s Day, was one of the brightest chapters in the religious history of the past century. The battle was the Lord's, and they made no apology for protesting against Sabbath desecration in all and every form in which it appeared. Every challenge was an opportunity to bear a ringing testimony for the Lord. Bishop J. C. Magee stated that the Lord had given to men the Lord's Dav for the benefit of the body, which required one day’s rest in seven: He save it for the benefit of the mind for they needed to turn aside from the cares and anxicies and rush of the world; and He gave it for the benefit of the spirit that they might be spiritually refreshed. Christians ought to take steps to see that the world at large realised that (here was a difference between Sunday and other days. The Rev. R. J. French pointed out that Paul made use of two words in the Acts —zeal and enthusiasm. They saw the force and value of eiffhusiasm in the world around them. Part of Christ’s glorious work was to fill men with His own divine enthusiasm. And it was that that kept the Lord’s Day Observance Society aglow. CHRISTIAN SCIENCE CHURCHES “ Reality " is the sub.iect of the lessonsermon in all Churches of Christ, Scientist. to-morrow. The golden text is “ Fear not. little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom."—(Luke xii: 32.1 Among the citations which comprise the lesson-sermon is the following from the Bible:—“ Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord's thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is."— (Deut. x: 14.1 The lesson-sermon also contains the following passage from the text book of Christian Science. ” Science and Health, with Kev to the Scriptures.” by Mary Baker Eddy“ Belief in a material basis, from which may be deduced all rational-