Passing Notes.

Freethought Review, Volume II, Issue 22, 1 July 1885, Page 6

Passing Notes.

Christianity like everything else is feeling the effects of hard times. The ‘ Presbyterian,’ published in Otago, has survived for six years, but the rev. editor acknowledges that he is now “ busily engaged in the labours of a committee appointed to hold a post mortem examination.” The concern wants 500 new subscribers, and surely Christianity can supply them and thus save another death. A correspondent of the ‘ Woodville Examiner ’ wonders “if it ever struck any of the members of the Christian Church that the best atmosphere to grow Freethinkers in, and for them to remain so too, is to live in the midst of a crowd of inconsistent Christians.” “ There is,” he says, “an article called colonial gold, and there is a hazy thing passing current, that may be aptly termed colonial Christianity.” The manner of keeping Sunday in London has greatly relaxed within recent years. Continental travel has incontestably done much to form public opinion in the direction of favouring a less rigorous and less austere mode of spending that holy day. A dozen years ago Sunday dinner parties were almost unknown in West End families. Now, on the contrary, festive banquets are given on that day in every fashionable square. Garden parties, lawn tennis matches, and outings on the Thames are familiar events on the Metropolitan Sunday. “ Creeds were naturally coloured by the times in which they were formed.” Such are the words by which an Auckland divine would excuse the alterations, or as he terms it, “ progression ”in Christianity. The fact is not new to us, but as the “ Bible is a progressive book, and may be said to generate the light in which it is studied,” we look forward to further changes. It is good, however, that Christians should know that the religion, known as Christianity, varies with the times, or as the rev. gentleman puts it —“ in relation to sin, the atonement, and retribution, the thought of Christendom has progressed.” The progression is going on —sin looks less black, the atonement more foolish, and the retribution less likely as each year rolls by. We have to acknowledge the receipt of “ A letter from the divisional war office,” which is nothing more startling than an explanation as to “ who gets all the money ” that the Salvation Army rises. The “Army” has two departments, a spiritual department and a trade department. In the former the receipts were £4OOO, but this besides subscriptions includes loans, contributions to building funds, and trade receipts on old accounts, while the expenditure contains besides travelling expenses, salaries and rents, trade payments on old accounts —items which should appear properly in the trade account. While the spiritual department has an overdraft of the trade department shows a bank balance of 7)400, and a balance of stock in hand of 7)537- There is no statement of assets and liabilites, but judging by the fact that 7)1646 is put down to purchases, and as payments on account of building funds, the army is accumulating property. Miss C. F. Gordon Gumming, in her recently published work, In the Himalayas,’ says:—“ I have often been assured by Hindoos, remarkable only for their roguery, that they were Christians, being willing to eat any meat and drink any fermented liquor we like to give them. The last clause is a particularly painful one, for whereas the world has never produced a more sober race than the people of India, while obedient to their own religious teaching, there is no doubt that the example of foreigners has done much to strengthen the craving for drink. An English clergyman, who worked in India for 30 years, stated his conviction (as regards the good and evil of foreign intercourse), that for every Hindoo converted to Christianity by missionaries the drinking practices of the English have made a thousand drunkards. Chunder Sen, too, the great native reformer, has told us of the bitter wail of the Indian widows and orphans, who curse the British Government for the introduction of licensed arrak-taverns.”

It is reported that Colonel Ingersoll is about to visit Europe. The ‘ Boston Investigator ’ has commenced its fiftyfifth volume, and as a Freethought journal, is still one of the best published. “ Verax ” writes us stating that he has a large number of Freethought papers and journals which may be of use to small Freethought Societies. These he is willing to send free on receipt of sufficient stamps to cover postage. As each paper will only require a halfpenny stamp, small societies may, by sending a shilling or two in stamps secure a large number of English, American, and Colonial Freethought journals. The stamps can be sent to us, and we will see that the papers are forwarded. Each bundle will be assorted. Under the new Police Offences Adi, a man at Westport was recently charged with working at his calling on Sunday. The offence consisted in hauling some logs from the river bank which the increasing tide threatened to carry out to sea and transport to parts unknown without any bill of lading being made out. The Magistrate dismissed the case. This is usually the course adopted by sensible Magistrates when having to deal with informations laid under this enlightened piece of legislature. The Rev. C. Worboys has been lecturing in Auckland on “ Faith and Freethought ” and on “ Christian Freethought.” In the first lecture he stated that Christianity “ recognised the requirements of the future as well as of the present existence,” and that “ Secularism does nothing for us that Christianity does not, and is essentially wanting in the greatest necessities of our being.” In his second lecture the rev. gentlemen is reported as having stated that “ A man may believe what he pleases about the inhabitants of the planet Jupiter, but not about the inhabitants of London. There facts comes in and limit the freedom of his thought.” This is exactly the position Freethinkers take up as to the “ requirements of the future.” Christians may believe what they please, but when they talk of “ London ” we know as much as they do. With regard to our “greatest necessities” Secularists hold that they have the same right to their opinions on this point as Christians, and if Secularism be correct then the things that appertain to this world form our “ greatest necessities.” In his second lecture the Rev. Mr Worboys took for his text “ Prove all things,” but judging by the short report we have seen he seems to have followed the usual course of assuming all things. There are, according to him, the “ facts ” that man has religious instincts, the fact of human consciousness, the fact that “ what I am, my father God must be,” and the fact of “ Christianity itself.” Proof does not seem to have been given of these religious instincts, but it appears that on this point as long as the most barbarous race on the earth have a fear of evil spirits, or a belief in dreams, they are put down as religious. The people who go to savages for proof of a universal belief in a “ god,” do not, as a rule, care whether the belief is really in a “ god,” or a devil, anything savouring of the supernatural does. The “ fact ” of human consciousness is proven in this neat way : —“ I know I am, that I am a person, have a mind, and a moral nature. What I am my Father, God, must be ; but in a higher sense, and free from evil.” The first sentence deals with what the lecturer “ knows,” the second with what, in his opinion, must be ” a system of “ proving all things,” which will not convert many who have to be convinced as to the reality of God. Then we have the fact of Christianity, of which the lecturer says, not all the so-called Freethought people in the world can prove it is not the “ power of God unto salvation, while thousands of Christians say it is, and their lives prove it.” If salvation means eternal life in heaven, the living Christians cannot be accepted as evidence ; if it means salvation from immorality, we do not need to deny it, but we can prove on the other hand that it is not the only means of salvation, as the lives of Secularists can prove.

As will be seen by an advertisement on the back page, the ladies of the Dunedin Freethought Association are to hold a bazaar during October next, in aid of the Lyceum Building Fund. The assistance of Freethought friends throughout the colony is asked, and we feel sure that this will be readily granted by Freethinkers on whom the work of assisting our cause has just demands.

The cause of Freethought is progressing on the West Coast of the North Island, and lately we have heard of the founding of a Lyceum at Palmerston North. One of the local papers, referring to the first meeting, states that :—" The resolution that the platform should be one of the widest, literally, was cordially received and confirmed. All denominations are welcomed, and free access to the platform permitted." A committee was elected to arrange with reference to suitable rooms in which to hold the weekly Lyceum meetings. Our " Appeal to Freethinkers" last month has resulted in our receiving a number of suggestions. One corresponpent at Ngaire suggests that we should say how many subscribers we require to pay expenses ; and that the associations should order 3,4, 6, or 12 a month for sale to their members who may not be subscribers; our friend also offers to take two extra copies monthly, an excellent idea. With regard to his first suggestion we require about 250 more subscribers to pay cost of paper and printing, and among all the associations it should not be difficult to raise these. A Gisborne friend has done what he could by securing 10 subscribers, and for this we thank him. Others can do much by dropping a word here and there or lending their back numbers in quarters where there is a tendency for Freethought literature.