THE WAR AND RELIGION.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 16048, 5 February 1918, Page 5

THE WAR AND RELIGION.

A BROAD VIEWS. ' In the course of a sermon preached at an ordination service some little while back the Veu. Archdeacon Evans referred to the effect of the war on religion. Speaking of the held open among the soldiers to the ministry, he said;—“l think 1 am right in saying that in these years of the world’s greatest agony wo have had a new vision of humanity. How grand men are ! —in the hospital, on the field of battle, in the muddy trenches, on the sea, facing danger every minute of the day and night, in countless positions of clifbculty, in darkened homes. How great men and women are! A young Scotch soldier, whoso leg had been amputated, was found one day by his nuise crying. And when she chided him for it, be said; ‘lt’s not thojpain, sister, but with a wooden leg I "can never rejoin the old regiment.’ What sacrifice is too great to make for gallant sruls like this! What happiness to break the bread of life for them, to hold the cup of joy to their parched lips. 1 speak to you to-day after a long and intimate experience of work among men, and I know how kind and sympathetic and generous they can bo. Of course you will find the reverse—the fault-finding, unmanly, disloyal—but these only emphasise the grander natures. And oven with these'you will need to ho infinitely tender \f you are to ho like Christ. Our Master looked for the man in men. and Ho found it. He never lost faith in man, and never ceased to love man. And you too must seek for the man in men. You ’‘'ill find it often covered up with mannerisms, shyness, and self-consciousness. But underneath is the man. To reverence! to love! to pray for! to work for! to Seek to save! My brothers, yon will need to take yonr degree in the knowledge of humanity. You must seek to know men and women more fully-their needs, failings, virtues, ambitious. Often they are Christians without knowing it, carrying heavy crosses without complaint, cheerful under stress and strain, buoyant in want and danger. It is indeed a great glory to save such gallant souls for God. Wo need the enthusiasm for humanity. We must find our highest pleasure in ministering to men and women, God forbid that, like the priest of old, you should pass by on the other side. Like your Divine Master you must go down into the depths to find the richest pearls of human character.” During the months Archdeacon Evans was serving as a chaplain at the front, or on a hospital ship, he had abundant opportunities of studying human nature and character, and ho often “found the man in men” and.thc'nearl in most unlocked for places. From what he found probably ho formed the opinions expressed in the following words of his sermon:—“After the walls over a new spirit will manifest itself : a spirit of seriousness and inquiry of tremendous assistance to the work of the Church, it wo are wise enough to recognise and use it. A now binthorhood among the great nations will bo formed, pregnant with results. A deep practical spirit will be in the world, and men will demand a religion of the deepest reality. The teaching of the Church must be simple and definite; the worship of the Church must bo more intensely real than it has over been. Our services must be shortened and modified. The lectionary and psalter must, bo revised, drastically. There must bo congregational worship, and less exclusive) music by tho choirs if wo are to satisfy the new spirit of the ago. May God inspire tho Church with wisdom and faith to meet these new conditions. There will ho a broader unity amongst men. We must agree to differ. Wo can never again anathematise those noble fellows who have offered their lives for the Empire’s ideals, however we may differ in some details of faith. The'Church of the future must indeed include all sorts and conditions of men.” These are tho words .of a broadminded churchman who, ih departing from his ordinary duties, has come into close contact with all sorts and' conditions of men. and has found an unworked field awaiting only a new method of cultivation to yield a rich harvest. Also ho has the courage to point out what in his opinion\thnt new method must he.