“NEED FOR PROTECTION”

Taranaki Daily News, 15 November 1934, Page 7

“NEED FOR PROTECTION”

PRESBYTERIAN STUDENTS POISONOUS TEACHINGS ALLEGED. DISCIPLINE TRAMPLED UNDERFOOT DOCTRINE IN NEW SOUTH WALES. By Telegraph—Press Association. Dunedin, Nov. 14. That Presbyterian discipline was being “trampled underfoot and that students for the ministry required protection from ‘the poisonous teachings of Dr. S. Angus,’ whose book ‘Truth and Tradition’ had given so much concern to the courts of the New South Wales Presbyterian Church,” were statements made at the session of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand this morning. The Rev. J. H. MacKenzie (Wellington) moved that in view of recent events in New South Wales the assembly should instruct the Theological Hall Committee that no student of the church be permitted to attend any lecture at St. Andrew’s College, Sydney. The clerk said that without wishing to commit the assembly he would say that Presbyterian discipline had been trampled underfoot. IJr. Angus had denied the virgin birth, the sinlessness of the Lord, his resurrection and the Deity. The Moderator, Dr. J. Dickie, said it would not be neighbourly to allow those things to be said at the assembly. He agreed with much that the clerk had said, but it would not be a sisterly act to condemn a member of a sister church. A motion that the next business be proceeded with was lost. Mr. MacKenzie added that he was not attacking Dr. Angus, but simply referred to the book. The students required protection from what could only be termed “poisonous gas.” The apparent inability of the courts of the New South Wales church to deal with, the case was distressing to thousands of loyal Presbyterians. If passed the motion would encourage those people. It would let them know that there was one Presbyterian church in the South Seas which was not becoming Unitarian. The Rev. Smith (Dunedin) said it was not likely that the Theological Hall Committee would permit any student to proceed to St. Andrew’s even if he made application. The Rev. Herron (Dunedin), convener of the committee, said that no requests had been before it. It was sometimes unfairly said that the teachings of the Theological Hall were classed with those of the New South Wales college. Dr. Angus’ book was crude. It would,, however, be unfriendly to pass the motion. A former student of Dr. Angus, the Rev. Blanchard (Wellington) said he had written Dr. Angus telling him that the book did not fairly and squarely represent his views. It represented an extremity of attitude into which the author had been provoked by the inevitable bitterness aroused. The motion was carried. Subsequently the Rev. Tipler (Auckland) gave notice of motion that the motion was not intended to embarrass the church in New South Wales or to pass judgment upon the case, which was still under consideration by that church.