Waiapu Church Gazette. JUNE Ist, 1917. Undenominationalism.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume VII, Issue 9, 1 June 1917, Page 94

Waiapu Church Gazette. JUNE Ist, 1917. Undenominationalism.

It is an ugly word but it is a very popular one just now. We have Undenominational Teaching, Undenominational Societies, Undenominational or " Combined " Services, and even " Undenominational Churches." Undenominationalism. is m fact one of the worst enemies of the Church of Jesus Christ, whilst it poses as the solvent of religious differences, and the ideal form of Christianity. Every error has a proportion of truth mixed with it, and the truth contained m the Undenominational idea is that Our Lord when He founded the Catholic Church did so to unite men under one head and as members of one body. "Denominations " of Christians are a living contradiction of the first principles of Christianity : St. Paul found a tendency to sects or separate societies within the Church of Corinth. A sect was only a society or party within the Church adopting a distinctive name, it does not become a M Denomination " m the modern sense until it has sepai*ated itself from the one body and set up a separate existence, but St. Paul condemned vigorously even these beginnings of Sectarianism and Denominationalism. It is curious that m these times the " Sects" or "Sectarians" that is "followers of party leaders or doctrines," who have separated themselves from the Catholic Church and become " Denominations " are the very ones who charge the Catholic Church with being " Seotarian" be-

cause she maintains the old faith and the old constitution ; the old sacraments and the old ministry -which they have discarded. After an experience varying from about fifty years to' a thousand years the various Sects have at last learned not to glory as they did m their divisions, and are now seeking to be united among themselves. The method by which they hope to accomplish this union is by " sinking their differences." Now what are the differences ? A great many are just those scraps of Catholic faith and practice which they carried away with them when they went into exile. So long as the various bodies maintained some portion of the Faith and fought for it, each had something positive m common with the Church, but when by the process of eliminating everything distinctive they have reached the indefinite dullness of Undenominationalism, they have hardly anything left but a mere sense of religiousness, overlaid with cant expressions and dreary platitudes, a thing utterly repugnant to every man who conscientiously holds the full Catholic faith. But Undenominationalisni is worse than this ; by its very existence as well as its teaching it proclaims that organisation, order, doctrines and sacraments do not matter. These ideas have been industriously spread even amongst Churchmen; they constitute the worst heresy the Church has ever had to face. They mean that there is no such thing as definite truth, a " faith once delivered to the Saints," but merely a choice of opinions one of which is just as good as another : they mean that Our Lord did not build a Church upon the foundations of the Apostles and Pro* phets, but merely left His followers a disorganised rabble to organise themselves as they pleased. And because the Church cannot be disloyal to 'the Master and surrender the sacred de* posit of truth, the Ministry of His appointment and the Sacraments that He gave to be her life, she is labelled as " Sectarian;" "Denominational," "Narrow," "Undemocratic," and •'Uncharitable." Unfortunately a large number of people are by nature illogical and muddleheaded and cannot see how dishonest and traitorous it would be for the Church to be faith* less to her .trust and to join hands with those whose one. common platform is that all definiteness must be

surrendered so as to abolish all grounds of difference. ■ The Church cannot fraternise with Undenominatipnalism because she teaches the faith as not a matter of variable opinion but as a matter of definite fact. She administers the , Sacraments not as mere beautiful and impressive ceremonies but as vehicles of Divine appointment to convey God's life and power through the agency of the Holy Spirit. She regards her ministers as not merely officials qualified by talents or scholarship for preaching and teaching, but as Christ's Ambassadors and as the Stewards of Divine Mysteries. .■'■■. . . . -.;.... A Churchman should leave the societies which call themselves " Undenominational" to the support of Undenominationalists. We rejoice that even those who have lost so- much of the faith and have cut themselves off from the Communion of the Catholic Church have still retained sufficient of the Christlike character to minister so zealously both at home and on the battlefield to the needs of the sick and the sad, the wounded and the fallen — and we wish them God speed, but we have a religion much richer to minister, we want to provide for and train our own orphans and give them liberally the fullness of Christ's riches both m knowledge and grace : we cannot consent to allow others to nurture them on the husks of Undenominationalism and rob them of their Catholio heritage. So with the fallen— there is no power m TJndenominationalism and Salvationism that can raise them up and support them m their battle against Sin like the Grace of God secured to them m the Sacraments of Christ's own appointment. The Church would be a disgrace* fully neglectful mother if she' handed over her children to TTndenomihationalism instead of caring for them herself. We are not satisfied to leave our heroes at the Front, who form sixty per cent of the troops, to the Spiritual ministrations of the V.M.C.A, or any other similar institution, we must care for them ourselves; every Churchman will do his level best to help the Church to do her duty to her own children, and if she neglects that duty^ as she has , sometimes done, we hope the faithful laity will never -let the Church authorities rest until they either learn to perform it satisfactorily 'or. give place to men -who will» , .:>■