MORALITY AND RELIGION

Otago Witness, Issue 2250, 15 April 1897, Page 20

MORALITY AND RELIGION

The session of the Theological College of the Presbyterian Synod was opened last evening, when the inaugural public lecture was delivered ia the hull of Fir»t Church by Dr Duulop, who took for his subject " The Indissoluble Connection between Morality and Religion. The hall was well filled, and among those present were a number of clergymen from outlying districts in Ofcago and Southland. Mr E. B. Cargill occupied the chair, and briefly introduced the lecturer. Dr Dunt.op, iv the course of an able exposition and analysis of the views held in different schools of thought upon the relations between, morality and religion, denned morality generally as being conduct conformed to law as revealed in conscience, or conformity to the conditions by which alone the good can be realised, and said that religion in its fullydeveloped meaning implied the reciprocally active relations between God and man. The lcoturer directed attention to the j divergence of opinion among philosophic thinkers as to what constitutes morale, after which he entered upon an exhaustive examination of moral maxims or principles, with a view to ascertaining whether they implicated religious belief. In this connection he affirmed, as being beyond dispute, that the moral theory which excludes all religious references musb be essentially atheistic. Dr Dunlop then referred at some length to the influence of religion in general, and of the Christian religion ia particular, on moral belief and practice ; and, after dealing with that brauch of his subject, said that the ethics of naturalism told them in effect that heaven, with its perfection, was bub an empty dream, and that the only good attainable by the noblest of men perished with their mortal bodies— or, at beat, with the life of the race. The lecture, which occupied about an hour ia delivery, was so closely reasoned throughout that any condensed report of it yould inevitably fail to do it justice, and it was listened to wifch complete attention. The Chairman, in expressing the thanks of ths audience to Dr Dunlop, said he was 6ure the lecturer had shown himself very capable o£ doing for them Ml that could be done in the way of explanation and elucidation. The Indian famine relief fund at Napier. haS closed with the total at £48i