THE MEANS OF IMMORTALITY

Taranaki Daily News, 18 October 1930, Page 11 (Supplement)

THE MEANS OF IMMORTALITY

WORK OF THE BIBLE SOCIETY. . GOVERNOR-GENERAL'S PRAISE. The great work which William Tyndale did in translating the Bible into the English language and the work of the British and Foreign Bible Society in spreading the "Scriptures throughout the world ’were extolled by the Gov-ernor-General, Lord Bledisloe, at the annual meeting of the Wellington auxiliary of the society. “Every human being is composed oftwo parts,” said Lord Bledisloe. “One inevitably ’dies, The other is capable of immortality or eternal fife. One we call body, the other soul Or spirit. AU mankind is conscious of this dual personality, and it creates an instinctive craving, which food and other bodily necessities do not satisfy. Referring to man’s mortal side, we speak of New Zealand as having the lowest death rate in the world, and of Wellington as having the lowest in. Now Zealand. Concerning his spiritual side, can we speak with the same confidence? Do New Zealand and Wellington contribute their quota and more than their quota to the blessed company of those who enjoy spiritual longevity, aye, and even more, imperishability? None- of us can answer such a question. The Almighty alone knows. But if we cannot be assured of eternal salvation, we can at least pursue the means to that end, and' extend the availability of such means to all around us. Our Lord Himself tells us (John 5, verse 24), ‘Ho that heareth my Word and believeth in Him that sent Me hath everlasting life,’ and ‘Search. the Scriptures, for in them ye realise ye have eternal life, and it in they which testify of Me.’ “To bring this, the means of immortality, within the reach of all mankind is the. work of. the British and Foreign Bib}?., Sqcjety, and it is difficult to contemplate' any'work which is more thoroughly God’s work. To render the Bible available to all, it must be in a language that all readers can understand. There was a time, 400 years ago, when this was not the case in England, the several parts of the Bible' being only available in Latin, or Greek, or Hebrew. Then came William Tyndale, Gloucestershire’s greatest son, who translated the Bible into English, and whose monument is the great landmark at Nibley, on the Cotswold Hills, where he was born—a monument which faces my own home across the Severn Sea. Tyndale was first strangled and then burnt at the stake for his ‘heresy’ in rendering the Holy Scriptures intelligible and available to bis fellow creatures, instead of being the monopoly of the priesthood. “It was William Tyndale who made the English Bible. We who hail from Gloucestershire are very proud of the fact. About 300 years later two events happened for which all New Zealanders should rejoice. William Williams, first Bishop of Waiapu, translated the Bible into the Maori language, and the British and Foreign Bible Society was established in -England, and lias been the means of translating the Good -Book into no less than 633 out of the 886 differefit languages in which it can now. be read. In these days of apparent worldliness and outspoken scepticism it must be a source of rejoicing and of hope that the annual output of Bibles is. greater than ever before, as well as the amount raised by private subscription for their publication and distribution. In this task New Zealand has b r '.o a worthy and a generous part, Considering her population, an Annual contribution of over £BOOO is not only a liberal one, but it indicates to other parte of the Empire and of the world the consciousness of the New Zealand people of the value to themselves of the greatest of- books and their desire, that ; others should benefit by its teachings. “As during this month throughout the world the 150th anniversary of the foundation of Sunday schools is being celebrated, and as the future of this country and Empire rests with the children of our race, let its remember gratefully the work of another Gloucestershire citizen, , Robert Raikes, in bringing Bible . teaching (the great foundation of character) to the children of England, and thence to the child-' ren of the world. ...

• “In the course of the visits of my wife and myself .to numerous institutions in Wellington and other parts of New Zealand .provided for the needy, the sick, the disabled, and especially' the aged, we have noticed—we could not help noticing—that in all those whose inniates were . contented, happy, and hopeful regarding their future, two factors were present. One wag the availability of work for the hands instead of sheer idleness, and the other was -the availability of the Bible and of religious worship. When tlic*se were absent there was on the faces of some of the inmates noticeable gloom and despondency". “The civiliised .world is faced, to-day with many serious problems, some of which would appear to be almost insoluble. 1 firmly believe that their solution would be facilitated by tbe spread of .religion among all classes of the people, and a greater reliance upon the eternal truths which, the greatest of all books, 'contains. The dying words of my dear friend Archbishop Davidson to his successor, the ; present Archbishop of Canterbury, were: ‘God give you judgment.. This is what is most needed by all those who guide public opinion in church and State, and faith in God and knowledge of His Word on its surest foundation ana inspiration.’”