NEEDS OF THE AGE.

Waikato Times, Volume 109, Issue 18258, 20 February 1931, Page 5

NEEDS OF THE AGE.

CHURCH’S OPPORTUNITY. CALL TO UNITY. METHODIST PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS (Special to Times.) DUNEDIN, Friday. “If there is one thing that condemns Ihe Church of the past it has been her failure to keep Christ's central law of love. Never can the Gospel of love make its full appeal to the world imtil it is convincingly and conclusively manifested in the household of fahh within.” In these terms reference to the subject of church ur.irn was made by Ihe Rev. E. D. PatcV’it. the newlvelecled President of the New Zealand Methodist Church, in the course of his i laugural address las! night at the opening of the Churci's annual con Terence in Dunedin. Ail b*rriers, and ihey were nut flimsy burners to-day, continued tire speaker, were ieady (o break down before the touch of the finger of love. Surely Ihe world needed •as never before, the witness of a united church. His own belief was I fiat if the churches of this land would take their own cherished traditions and church loyalties, and lay them at the feet of Christ in a spirit of sacrificial love, in order that they might rise up as one, the effect of their witness would be immeasurably increased, and the church would shine with renewed splendour. Her Day Is Coming. “ AVe live to-day in a world,” said the President, “ which confessedly has little love for the church. That does not mean that the world is to lie roundly condemned, nor the church unduly pitied. Men to-day have fallen eagerly in love with ihe wonderful new life and liberty which arc theirs. Hence I heir neglect of Die church. But the, church knows that her day is coming. Man’s nature is such that it is bound lo come.” It was true, Mr Hatchett, continued, that a pre-occu-pied world was to-day captivated by the glamour of its own achievements and ambitions. It hurried past Ihe church’s door, not with execration, but merely forgetful of the church in Hie feast of life. It turned a deaf ear to the church’s message, not because it believed there was no God to worship, no divine law to keep, but because it was carried forward on the flood tide of a new and captivating experience. Within the life-time of the present generation the world had accelerated to such a degree that it seemed to have been projected centuries into tiie future. What wonder that many had been carried off their feet? But while the outward conditions of life had greatly changed, the heart of man was still the same, and because the church of God thought long, long thoughts, it could afforJ to look with a certain calmness and courage upon the present tendency. A Subtle Danger. There was, however, a subtle danger lo liie church of an indifferent age—that of accepting herself at the world’s \aluation, of <jkfing intimidated by the indifference oflnen. Seeing the world flowing past her doors in ever-increas-ing llood she was apt to trail her faith as a broken wing. Yet the chief peril of the church had never been the presence,or absence of Hie multitude; her chief peril had been that her own light should grow dim and her spiritual fervour abate. Let her hold on her high way of unselfish service to God and man, and great would be her reward. The more her message was scorned, the more necessary it became; the more difficult her day, the greater the call for her devotion. He urged that they should believe in the future of their church as earnestly and hopefully as they believed in God, for the templb they built could never be destroyed, except, Samson-like, they pulled it about their own ears. Reminding themselves continually of the divine origin of the church, and her divinelyordained purpose of bringing in the reign of God on earth, they should not be too disturbed by the prevalent criticism that ihe church had had its day, that institutional religion was dying—a false prophecy. The only possible ground for a paralysing pessimism concerning the future of the ■hurch was the unthinkable fear that Christ had changed his purpose concerning her, or withdrawn his presence from her. Their thought of the church should not be governed by I lie uncharitable prophecies of the world, but the word of Jesus, Who had promised that the gates of Hell should not prevail against it. The Foul Breath of War. The Methodist witness was of great value in an age of spiritual declension. It supported the view that the heart of man, underneath its modern veneer, is incurably religious, that human life is marvellously redeemable. In assessing the church's problems to-day, had they reckoned with the Great War, and made allowance for the historical verdict that the harvest of a great war was a bitter harvest? As the church shared in the crime of war, so she must surely share in its cause. It was no exaggeration to say that she lived in an age when nearly every moral and spiritual ideal iiad been tainted by the foul breath of war. That was part of the price they were called upon to pay for ihe world’s madness. But tlie price would lie paid, and an unencumbered future emerge, .fop the dying of nature to live was a parable of 1 lie church. As a living organism the church, of course, must adapt herself to' new conditions, proving not only that she lias an unchanging foundation but an expanding life. Then would come Ihe fulfilment of the whole law of social brotherhood and love, ihe final outlawry of evils such as war and the licensed liquor traffic, the high enthronement of justice and righteousness for all. He urged that as a necessary condition of the application of the Gospel to the needs of the new age they must give more attention to an educated evangelism, and to the spiritual nurture of the young, who presented such splendid material to work upon. In this connection, believing in the inalienable right of every child in Ihe land to grow up with a knowledge of God and Ilis word, their church ardently supported the work of the Bible-in-School League. They rejoiced in Hie concordat with" (tie Roman Calholic Church, believing that Ibis amicable underslanding had brought ihe promised land in sight.