THE DECAY OF FAITH

Southland Times, Issue 25691, 28 June 1943, Page 6

THE DECAY OF FAITH

Sir,—l must compliment you upon an interesting and thoughtful leading article on the subject of “The Decay of Faith,” published on "June 26. There is one point, however, upon which I feel I would like to comment. This is your reference to “pagan myths which seem to anticipate the fundamental biblical situations” and to Christian sacraments having “prototypes, crude and impure, among Asiatic cults.” There is no question, I think, among students of comparative religion, that among preChristian and even pre-Jewish religions in widely separated parts of the world “fundamental biblical situations” —for example, stories regarding the birth and crucifixion of Jesus—are definitely “anticipated” in considerable detail. In fact, one might say that in the story of Isis, Osiris and Horus, of Egypt, in the legend of Krishna of India, of Quetzalcoatl in Mexico and in certain Chinese legends of the Buddha we have almost identical parallels with the much later story of Christ. Further, there are very close correspondences with Christian sacraments in Brahmin, Egyptian, Peruvian and other rites, but it is only because of our modern lack of understanding that these are indiscriminately classed as “crude and impure,” I would by no means take the standpoint of the shallow thinkers to whom you refer, and condemn the Christian rites as superstitions and the Christian stories as false, on account of these revelations of comparative religion and mythology. While my own position is that of a liberal Christian, I would suggest an attitude towards religions other than our .own of respect and appreciation rather than one of derogatory criticism. I believe, and there is strong evidence to support such belief, that there is a deep spiritual significance underlying this parallelism of the religions of the world. With our obsession about racial and religious superiority, we egotists of the West send missionaries to convert the “heathen” of India and China, peoples with a culture and civilization far older than our own, despised by us only because of our lack of understanding. Perhaps it has been the narrow and intolerant theology and proselytizing mania of the Christian Church that has contributed mainly to the state of affairs occasioning this concern of the Church Assembly in London. We would probably be much wiser and better informed upon many of life’s problems and mysteries if, instead of sending missionaries, we sent religious ambassadors to these other countries in order to gain enlightenment from their point of view and from their religious philosophies. This is not to say that we, too, have not something to contribute, but it should not be in a 'proselytizing' spirit that we go to bestow the benefits of our culture and our religious point of view. It is not generally realized how much our western culture has benefited from the socalled “heathen” religions. Indian philosophy intinctured all of Emerson's work, while *the same may be said of Edward Carpenter. The former philosopher was said to have always carried a copy of that gem from the Hindu Scriptures, “The Bhagavad Gita” upon his person. Why should our religious thought not benefit in the same way ? A movement too little known today is the World Fellowship of Faiths, which endeavours to bring about unity and understanding among the great religions of the world. Surely the widespread acceptance of a broad tolerance such as this would do much Jo solve many of the religious problems of our day ' N. S. JENKIN. Invercargill, June 26.