Review Column.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume VIII, Issue 12, 1 June 1918, Page 94

Review Column.

We have received a copy of Gospel Booklets No. 14 from the publisher, Mr J.;.E. M. Rountree, Hills road, Marshlands, Christchurch (id) .• ... The Booklets so far published r are:entitled :— l. What is the Old Faith of Our Fathers (4th edition). 2. The Power of Forgery. 3; The Reformation. 4. The Smoke Screen. 5. They Say! What do They Say? Let Them Say. 11.' The Way of Peace. 12. Religion and the University— The Creed of a Teacher. 13. United Services — The Pretence or the Reality? 14.** Some Reasons for Public Baptism. 15. Martin Luther. 16. Why Don't You Make Your Communion Of tener? 17. What is Holy Communion? 21. By His Side— Our New Zealand Sol-dier—-Dead. Maori editions of 1 and 5 m preparation. We have seen several of these and have no hesitation m highly recommending them for circulation where the clergy wish to inculcate good, sound teaching m their parishes. The booklets are thoughtful, scholarly, and eminently readable. The tract has fallen into disrepute for several reasons. Even the splendid little Oxford u Penny Library" issued by the Community of Resurrection and written by some of the ablest Churchmen m England can be offered gratis to our Churchmen and hardly find readers, while many of the same people will read anti-Christian literature with avidity. Perhaps the floods of silly " Gospel tracts" circulate-.! broadcast by the Plymouthists arcresponsible for a general aversion to-** tracts of all kinds. But the . " tvact ' ' has a real work to do and the '/Gospel Booklets ' ' m question are the best we have seen of their kind. The particular one under review (No. 14) aims at explaining the reason for baptism being administered after the Second Lesson at morning and evening prayer as ordered m the Prayer Book. We heartily endorse all the reasons given, but we appreciate the difficulties m the way. If Baptism is to be administered at the proper place m the service the old custom must be revived of haying certain Sundays, set apart for this solemn administration. In a town church we should otherwise have a baptism at nearly every service. Again one reason why clergy are disinclined to obey, the rubric is the almost universal opinion that the present service is much too wordy and obsolete m. its language, and too long, and by those who are not well instructed the vicarious promises

of the God-parents are not understood. A shorter,' modernised service to be used during Evensong on special occasions, an/d a solemn form, longer if necessary, but modern m expression, to be used with appropriate hymns and ceremony as a separate service on such occasions as Easter, Whitsuntide and Christmas, would be far more satisfying than the present service which seems sometimes so far fetched and ambiguous m its language and which is not suitable for use during evensong, nor sufficiently ceremonious for a separate " Solemn" service. Those who use Hymns A. and M. are also at a disadvantage as regards suitable hymns. Nos. 325 and 3.26, which are good, are seldom used because of their unfamiliar tunes ; 327 and 328 are addressed to the child and to the God-parents, and are not hymns to God at all and confuse the seal of the Cross with the washing of regeneration. However, we agree that baptism should be sometimes publicly administered m spite of the practical difficulties to which we cannot shut our eyes-

We commend unreservedly the rest of the booklets that we have seen. It is an excellent series.