PRESBYTERIANISM.

Waikato Times, Volume 113, Issue 18878, 23 February 1933, Page 9

PRESBYTERIANISM.

THE CHURCH TO-DAY. CONSERVATIVE AND PROGRESSIVE. MODERATOR'S ADDRESS. (Special to Times.) WANGANUI, Thursday. “ Many are feeling that the Church is fighting for her life to-day. Some indeed think that her lighting force is little better than a dying struggle, said the 'Rev. D. 'D. Scott, of Onehunga, in his inaugural address at the General Assembly of the (Presbyterian Church In New Zealand last evening. “ Certain Influential people are not in the least concerned to come to her rescue. No doubt more are Interested In her well-being than might be found if a census were taken on a given day of worship; but even on a favourable estimate a large percentage of the people do not regard themselves as being under any obligation to support the Church ‘by their attendance or by attachment in any other definite fashion. If the Church could retain those who have passed through her Sunday and Bible classes her power would be increased beyond anything we care to mention. It needs no very extensive acquaintance with the history.of the Church to know that she has had to iflght foher 'life on many a trying ■field. At times it seemed as if the trumpets of science were sounding the notes of dismissal at.her grave. At the present moment not only is the Church threatened, but the actual religion and ethic of Christianity are being spoken of with disdain. It is unworthy to allow ourselves to become panic-stricken and to forget that Christianity has won its victories by tenacious minorities that refused to surrender. An antiChristian propaganda has been attempted from time to time in New Zealand, but the soil does not appear to be favourable. Churchfanlty end Christianity.

11 Negligence towards the Church Is frequently attributed to faults on her side. More particularly her conservative spirit is -held to be blameworthy. This need not be roundly denied, but it should also be recognised that a distate for Christian living has much to do with indifference In this respect. Numerous persons avoid the Church lest they should he credited with a character they do not believe themselves’ to possess. If it is true that the Church is 'fighting for her life then a numerous company must be evading their part in the struggle much In the same way as an unpatriotic citizen may be deaf to the call of the nation in a time of trial. “ A distinction has been drawn between Churohianity and 'Christianity. Those who do very little for the Church are inclined to welcome the distinction. Churchianlty may be synonymous with externalism in religion, which is harmful enough, but if Ghurchianity represents an antithesis to Christianity in the sense that we would have a belter Christianity without the Church then every Churchman can point out that all the Christianity we know of has been given to the world by t'he Church. “ It is evident that the Church is subjected to critical review by those who despise her and by those who regard her as of religious and moral consequence to the world. We may learn from both friend and foe, but we should be on our guard lest the mouthing of negations be mistaken for genuine research. All the philosophy and all the science In the world have not made belief in God an absurdity. Nor has radical criticism disposed of Jesus Christ. “ A remark Is frequently made that the Church only changes by the impact of pressure from without, but it requires no expert knowledge to see how wonderful has been the tervice rendered to her advancement by those who were nurtured at her own bosom. “ A demand for adaptation to the intellectual and moral needs of men is quite in order when the question of the beliefs 'held by the Church is in view, but there should be no scornful denunciation when from the nature of the case certain forms of expression have a somewhat archaic sound. Even science Is not able to bring its forms of expression up to date. Compared with the Theism accepted and supported by theologians to-dav, the Deism of the Eighteenth Century appears to be a rather dim and distant figure. We may say without exaggeration that the doctrine of 'God proclaimed by -the Christian Church has outpaced the Agnosticism of Herbert Spencer and Thomas Henry Huxley.

Man Committed to Religion. •* The vastness of the universe and the antiquity of man have been pressed upon our attention from the soientlfl'o side. There is not much occasion to be perturbed about the time when man appeared at first upon the earth. The more Important question is concerned with what man can be shown to be and -with what are his posslbl'ttles. It has become more apparent than ever from anthropological researches that man is committed to religion and that he cannot 'get along without it "To the questions presented by these scientific discussions the Church oan adapt her outlook without detriment. 'Much debate has been heard upon the inspiration and authority of the Bible. It is Impossible to return to some views that were held a hundred years aso. Criticism in its textual meaning has given us a more perfect Bible than men possessed a century ago. Criticism of the historical* kind has affected former ideas about the date and authorship of certain books in the Old and New Testaments. The Church has been greatly helped in her understanding of Divine revelation by the place now assigned .to the Prophets in the Old Testament. Artificial interpretations are dropping out. of sight. The New Testament has been vindicated as a substantially Apostolic statement. The task of adjustment has been proceeding steadily 'and surety. But the Church is more than a group of scientific experts. She Is made up of men, women, and children, of all degrees of culture. She has to evangelise and to teach; she •has to teach and to evangelise. She is the spiritual home of people very diverse from each other in everything but their humanity and their need of God. “ We need not be unduly alarmed hv a direct challenge to Christian ethics, because -there have been for a very long time features in our civilisation that are in conflict with the. ethics |im Christian religion. But the church can only wage a truceless war

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against all that imperils monogamy and the consequent home life. If -home life has broken down for many, there is all the greater need for upholding the Christian ideals of purity and of family life. Problem of Church Union. “ The need for readjustment appears whenever wo •think of the denominational divisions of Christianity. Some divisions are by no means to the discredit of the Church. Certain denominations are drawing nearer to each other as the years go by. Others arc separated by only a thin partition. Much discussion must ensue, before the great denominations come together. and all parties will require to handle each other’s views very graciously, while no one should he too eager to claim an artificial infallibility for all that belongs to (lie communion in which lie has found his 'spiritual home. The Christian life within mo ■Church is of more consequence than any question about the vaiidiity of ordination. Men of the highest Christian standing view such matters in different ways, and wo must patiently hope for the happy restills of a more intimate fellowship within the whole Church.”