PEOPLE AWAITING LEAD

Taranaki Daily News, 24 August 1931, Page 11

PEOPLE AWAITING LEAD

“ETHICS WANT REFORMING” fa XEW ZEALAND’S BIG PROBLEMS. CHRISTIAN ASPECT OF CRISIS. BISHOP ANALYSES POSITION. - 4 . .... . The world crisis of to-day, the causes <. it from a Christian standpoint, and the solution were dealt with by the Rt. Rev. C. A. Cherrington, Bishop of Waikato, in a sermon at St. Mary’s Church, New Plymouth, last night. Urging that the nations Jiad brought tn bie on themselves by trying to organise the world apart from God, the Bishop quoted the divorce law, failure to introduce religious teaching in chools and a low standard of morality in business as three outstanding causes of the crisis in New Zealand, and he urged the desirability of the arising of-a band of men who wo .Id live up to Christian ethics instead of mere!:’ talking about them. Basing his sermon on the text “and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched,” from the tenth chapter of the first book of Samuel, the Bishop dwelt upon the monumental work and teachings of the Apostles. Little was known of their lives, he said, but the result of theirlives was ours. He did not think we gave them sufficient credit, for their part in a crisis that was ■ equally as serious as the crisis with -which the world was faced to-day.i : They followed not knowino- whither they, were being led, but gradually .they .learnt and realised their mission in life. They began the history of Christianity, and it was impossible to exaggerate the importance of their work. -■ „ THE POSITION TO-DAY. ■ Everyone, he supposed, was thinking deeply of the facts revealed in the statement made on Saturday regarding the position in New Zealand, and by the cablegrams 0/ serious implication from the centre of the Empire. It was not the place nor the occasion to deal with many /aspects of the great prpblems’ that Parliament and Cabinet had to face during the next few days, but they .would not be men and women worthy ; . of the name ofChristians' if they did not give , some consideration to the problems from a Christian point

of view. If they believed in the principle of the creed “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and I Earth,” and if they lived as well as thought .'tha. par : 'of the : creed,: it amounted to • the fact that they believed New Zealand was owned and governed by God. And God expected them to search out His ways and to endeavour to live according to His laws. In that spirit they must approach the world crisis of to-day. Spiritual strength and rental alertness were required in a high degree, and it was their business to endeavour to see what they could do to help meet the crisis by prayer, thought and active co-operation. They might well ask themselves whether, individually or corporately, they were not contributing to the crisis. Was the crisis their misfortune, or was it in some measure their fault?

SO-CALLED CHRISTIAN TEACHING.

Going 'back eighty or ninety years, Bishop Cherrington asked his congregation to reflect on some of the socalled Christian teaching of the time. One could hardly believe, he said, that such things could be uttered in the name of Christianity. There were principles and statements that were completely at variance with the teachings of the Apostles. They must face facts and not be afraid to proclaim the truth. What Empire could hope to succeed when two of its largest cities, Liverpool and -Bristol, owed their success to the slave trade? What country cofdd succeed thr ’ was built up on the tears of those who laboured'in its industry ? It was true -that factory laws and egulations had been niade and had from time to time improved conditions, but it was a crying shame that it Should hav? been, necessary to make factory laws at all. There should never been "need for them. ' 'flhe truth was that the teaching of' the; apostles had been upset '■ in the foui'th century at the time,of the association of the Roman Emperor Constantine with the Church. Following upon thit the world had Been largely organised apart fro: - God. And they eoi'ild not organise a world made by God, according to the laws of God, without cooperation with God. - - In illustration of his statement the Bishop said there were three outstanding points in New Zealand’s present position to be taken into consideration. The first related to marriage. If there were such a thi: . as the law of God in regard to matrimony no country that played about with the marriage law could hope to escape the.wrath.of Secondly, if they believed the world was God’s world, they were only asking for disaster if they did not give every help to the teaching in schools of the principles that parents desired taught. The third point was .the large proportion of crookedness in business standards. Honesty aud truth were the two crying needs of New Zealand today, and of other countries also. .-“WHAT WAS THE SOLUTION?” What was the solution to these prob-

lems? asked the Bishop. What the country needed was another band of men whose hearts God had touched. It was of little avail to have one man like'John the Baptist with a voice crying in the wilderness. The country wanted a band of men to get together and reform the manners and ethics of the times. There had been a reformation 350 years ago, but he was not aware that Christian ethics had been * troubled about much. It was not Christian that one man should be rich and stick to his riches, while there were thousands of poor people thanking God they were poor. It was a fundamental law of Christian ethics that they should love one another. It had taken the world 1800 years to learn that slavery was wrong. Jt wafi taking longer than'lBoo years to learn that war was wrong, and lie supposed it wouk. take longer still to learn that the terrible inequality. tb:;t existed in all nations was not Tight.

In conclusion Bishop Cherrington urged his eongregarion to preach aud tqjpray that something should be done; t)j4t a band of men would arise .who of constantly aiming ! at Christ-: ethics ..and . talking

would live them; a band of men who would not ray down their weapons with their task unaccomplished. Ono thing ■ was. quite certain. They could not go on as they were. Let them not forget that there we. o three million unemployed in England who would take a vastly longer time to get back into work than they had taken to get out of it. They must realise that things were very acute and the crisis was a grave one. They urgently needed a band of men who would show them the road,; think out the means, and lead them iri such a ■ way that they would gladly and' -wholeyheartedly. follow. 'p