Solution To Fitting And Lasting New World Found In Christ

Wanganui Chronicle, 18 May 1950, Page 2

Solution To Fitting And Lasting New World Found In Christ

'I he main topic of conversation during the past week has been the lifting of subsidies and the increased | cost of living, said the Rev. H. Prowse > when opening his address at the Marton Methodist Church on Sunday evening. “The world, we know, is reaping the harvest of its years of war; years when money could ue found in endless streams to help blow people into eternity and devastate the land as never before tn the history of the world,” said Mr Prowse. "When we view this unlimited spending against the background of the man-made depression of the late twenties we get a bad impression and wonder what the future has in store for us. We talk glibly of our democracy and boast of our freedom, but inwardly we are seething with revolt. But what have we to revolt against?” asked the preacher. “Is it against the powers that be?—they but represent the system we have made and no party under the present system can please everybody." In England there was a Parliamentary Christian Group who were dedicated to the idea that economic arrangements would succeed only if there was a- spiritual impulse behind them, said Mr Prowse. This was borne out by one of the world’s leading psychiatrists, who said that he . had never come across a single prin- ' cipie in psychiatry which was not ! paralleled in the New Testament. Christ’s words proved this to be true: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and ,|His righteousness and all those things shall be added.” But it was no good having the best j ammunition in the world if we fire it at the wrong target, added the preacher. The proclamations of the mighty acts of God gave us an inexhaustible supply of ammunition, but we must see that we aim it at the right target. “The target,” said Mr I Prowse, “is not only the congrega- , tion of the Church; it is also the age in which we live, and unless we can discern the signs of the times we cannot hope to administer the right -Imedicine either to ourselves or to the world. “The age in which we live is a . sick age in spite of it being an age , of science. It is also an age of doubt . and transition, and we, who proclaim . the Gospel, must know the mind ot , the age, for the character of our times shapes our preaching and di- ’ verts our aim to the right target. I Just as in the first world war Lord r Curzon stood up in the House of i Lords and quoted those words from j- Shelley: ‘The worlds great age be- . gins anew; the golden years return.’ ” , About the same time Aldous Huxley wrote: “We are living in a rather grisly morning-after.” Here were two contradictory statements —one of hope, the other of despair, said Mr Prowse. “When we think of all the technical skill of man we are filled with ■ hope that the Golden Age is just I around the corner, but the other side |of the picture shows man’s misuse of science, so that between hope and despair there is a lot of wishful thinking. There is today too much evidence of a widespread mood of scepticism, a neglect of public worship, an ignorance of the* Bible, and ot the rudiments of the Christian faith. There are doubts of the need or the validity of moral standards, and those are symptoms of the mood which doubts the reality of God and laugh at spiritual values. “The failure of man’s efforts to secure a brave new world by his science, education, politics, economic and social planning and the futility of scepticism when confronted with Personal problems of temptation, sin and suffering should make us search for a solution which is fitting and lasting,” said Mr Prowse. “I believe I the solution is to be found in Christ,' I said the preacher, “not in the reorganising of society or by this party jor that party in Parliament or by ; free education. Sin in its last resort is selfishness, seeking one’s own convenience, all out for profit and pleasure at all costs, and even many who are morally good and 'respectable follow this course. “Every hope that a man can work i out his own salvation ends in dis- | illusion and failure. But Jesus came ; to deal with the ingrained selfishness which is the root of all our woes. For that purpose He came from Heaven for us and for our salvation. Calvary is not a dead fact becoming less effective with passing years; jt is a vital achievement in the hearts of men and women today. We can, through Christ, be brought into vital contact with God in a way which brings peace and happiness. ”Our part is to place ourselves in I Christ’s hands and follow His instruction that 'we love one another,’ and J seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all those things I shall be added. All the things that I really matter and which we need He | gives to His children. The great men, >anf. women of the world have done| this,” concluded Mr Prowse, “and I that is what has made them great. | It is the only thing to change men’s . hearts and change the world.” BASKETBALL DRAW. The Marton basketball competitions will be advanced a further stage on Saturday when the third series of matches will be played. The draw is: Marton v. Turakina at 2 p.m. (Miss J. Wigglesworth); Marlon D.H. School No. 1 v. Marton D,H. School No. 2. at 2.30 p.m. (Mrs. L. Winn); Athletic A v. Athletic B. at 3 p.m. (Miss D. Heidrich); St. Andrew’s a bye. REPAIRS TO POST OFFICE Preparatory to carrying out plaster repairs to the Marton Post Office, scaffolding has been erected along the Broadway side of the building, and will later be shifted to the Follett Street side. The work is being undertaken by a firm of Wellington con-j tractors, which have engaged several Marton tradesmen. For some time small cracks in the! outs'.de plaster of the building have! been apparent, and recently a size-| 1 able piece of plaster fell from the top of a window opening, narrowly miss-« ing a person sitting on a seat below. The extent of the repairs will not be known until the plaster surface has been stripped away from the affected 1 parts, but the foreman said yesterday that it was expected the work would I take up to five months to complete.