THE CHURCH TO-MORROW

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 68, Issue 5943, 15 May 1944, Page 3

THE CHURCH TO-MORROW

REFORM THAT IS OVERDUE VIEWS OF AUSTRALIAN WRITER The following article taken from the Melbourne Age is of New Zealand interest as Church Union has been a subject of discussion at many church conferences:— An earnest evangelical is said to have prayed, “O Lord, Thou knowest our church is in a very bad way, but we thank Thee that the Baptists across the road are no better.” Probably the story is apocyphal, but it may have a foundation of truth, and illustrates a spirit which too often has disgraced the church. Its great Founder prayed the night before He died “that they all may be one,” but the union did not last a generation, the first dissentients being the Judaisers. The Apostle Paul vigorously denounced them and every form of party spirit which kept intruding into the church. Heresies and disputations were rife; “by schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed.” The entire history of the church may be summed up under three headings—dissensions within, persecutions from without and persistent development. The Bishop of Lichfield recently published a brief sketch entitled “One Church: An Appeal to the Ordinary Christian,” in which he sets out the historical causes of the present disunion, evaluates them, and shows that the time has now arrived for a decisive step towards union. The Wesleyans hived off from the Church of England because of its lack of evangelistic passion. Other denominations were excluded or broke away from the Church of England for what they deemed to be good reasons.

All these denominations now see that there was truth on both sides.. The best of motives have generally admixtures of pride, obstinacy, jealousy and ambition; but there was often complete blindness to the sin of disunion. One of the most hopeful features in church circles to-day is the conviction that apartness from each other is essentially wrong. In 1930 conversations at Lambeth between bishops and representatives of the Free churches led to the acceptance of the principle that it is possible to achieve agreement on the fundamentals of the Christian faith while leaving churches free to express their order of worship according to their own instincts and traditions. On this point the Bishop of Lichfield grows quite lyrical. “Just imagine what such a reunited body of Christ might mean! Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Anglicans, Orthodox, Romans, bringing all they have to the common stock; yes, and the newer younger churches, African, Indian, Chinese,. Japanese, meeting Christianity as something to them wholly new. Think what contributions they could make—indeed, are already making.” Speaking broadly, the tide is moving towards unity, not necessarily to a complete merging of organisation and administration, but in active Christion fellowship and service. Members of the previously separated churches would after the union be entirely free to receive the Communion in any church of the united body. Quite recently in Melbourne events took place which show the practicability of union of the churches. The Age produced two photographs splendidly symbolic of “the new order” in the religious world. The first showed a group of four war chaplains who had paid a visit of friendship to the Methodist conference. One of these padres was a Roman Catholic; the rest represented the larger Protestant churches. The second photograph showed a group of professors and leaders of the Protestant churches, who have resolved to set up a colloge of the Bible, to be free to all who desire to sit at the feet of experts and make the Book a serious study. On the larger scale a great concourse of diverse races and nationalities met in St. Gile’s Cathedral in 1937, when the Archbishop of York, Dr Temple, read the “Affirmation of Unity.” It was an historic document, and began:—“We are one in faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God. We are one in allegiance to Him as Head of the church ... We humbly acknowledge that our divisions are contrary to the will of Christ, and we pray God in His mercy to shorten the days of our separation, and to guide us by His spirit into fulness of unity.” It is most interesting to learn that association between the Roman and non-Roman churches has been closer during the last few years than at any time since the split at the Reformation. Also the Nazi persecutions of the Christian church have created a degree of Christian comradeship among the Roman and Protestant churches such as was never known before in their history. In face of all the facts what is the duty of the hour in Australia ? G. K. Chesterton used to say, “If you want to make a thing living, make it local.” This movement for union, so skilfully begun by the leaders in all lands, must be taken up in every city, town, village and country church in New Zealand and Australia by the rank and file. Local ministers and office bearers must lead. The village with four churches should set about discussing why some of them should not amalgamate and make one decent congregation. They all worship the same God. Surely in many cases it is sheer “cussedness” that keeps them apart. If we do not help in promoting union how can we sing Like a Mighty Army Moves the Church of God?

We are living in great days; let us be worthy of them.