EVANGELICAL CHURCHMEN.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume 27, Issue 8, 1 August 1937, Page 1

EVANGELICAL CHURCHMEN.

THE OXFORD CONFERENCE. THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CHURCH. St. Peter's Hall, Oxford, of which the Rev. G. M. Chavasse, M.C., M.A., is the Master, was again the rendez-

vous of Evangelical Churchmen during the second week of April last, as they met m annual conclave to con-, sider the general subject of "The Responsibility of the Church."' The remarkable feature of the gathering was the proportion of younger men. The. subject of the conference was considered under appropriate headings: Responsibility to God, to the Nation, to the Christian State, to its members m regard to teaching and discipline, to those outside m the work of evangelisation, to the world m the anti-Christian attitude of many, and to the non-Christiari world. The following Findings were agreed upon at the final session of the Conference. They are to be taken, as m previous years, as expressing, the general sense of the Conference, and not as representing m detail the views of individual members. 1. The Conference (meeting so soon after the. Archbishop's Recall to Religion) records its conviction that the first responsibility of the Church (whether the term be used of the Universal Church on earth, or more particularly of the Church of England) m facing the present world situation is to withdraw itself m spirit, to stand before the judgment seat of God; and then to return to witness afresh to the world the Word of His Grace m the light of the Crossof Christ.

2. It is the special responsibility of the Church of England to maintain the spiritual liberty recovered at the Reformation, with its free ; access to the Bible; and m fresh study of Reformation principles and life and m fellowship with the sister churches of the Reformation to concentrate on faithful witness to the Truth. This can only be done m whole-hearted surrender to the service of Christ. UNCOMPROMISING MESSAGE OF THE CROSS. 3. The Conference recognises that, m spite of much advance m thought and conduct, sin has come to be regarded m the modern mind as a mere incident m an evolutionary process, and the facts of judgment and punishment are simply put on one side; that the distaste for that dogmatic

theology which has long acted as a moral astringent has weakened both the sense oi duty and the moral appeal of the Christian Faith, and produced a condition of softness and emotionalism. It is the responsibility of the Church to face this situation m the light of the Cross with a positive faith preached positively. The Church must give a faithful witness to the uncompromising message of the Cross and its power to grapple with sin. 4. But the Conference also, m humble thankfulness to Almighty God, recognises the underlying steadiness of the English people m the face of deep moral and spiritual issues. It believes that this steadiness is not the least of the fruits of the English Reformation; the fourth centenary of which must not be allowed to be sidetracked into the simple celebration of the putting forth of the Bible m English; for, great and far-reaching as that fact was, it was only one outstanding incident m the great movement of life and liberty that was the greatest event m history since Pentecost. UPHOLDING THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD. 5. The fact that the English State is a Christian State, m intimate relation with the English Church, gives to the Church a position of responsibility of which it is its duty to make full use for the fulfilment of God's righteous will. At this particular time the Church has a special responsibility to uphold the Christian standard of morals m relation to marriage and the due performance of all contractual obligations. 6. Still regarding the responsibility of the Church from the particular point of view of the English Church, that responsibility includes the systematic teaching from the pulpit of the Faith as contained m the Holy Scriptures and expressed m the Thirty-nine Articles of religion and the Book of Common Prayer. 7. The responsibility of the Church (here regarded m the wider sense) for evangelisation is admittedly paramount. That responsibility calls for the closest examination of old methods and the fearless acceptance of new ways of approach. The witness of the Church must be both spoken and lived, and the strongest

testimony to Christ Jesus — crucified and risen — is the witness of lives changed by Him m the power of the Holy Spirit. A NEW RESPONSIBILITY TO THE WORLD. 8. The great Church — universal on carth — has m these days a new responsibility to the world. The antiChristian forces challenge the Christian faith with a pureness of ideal passion for material amelioration that cannot be denied; yet they provide no effective belief m immortality, recognise no intervention by a supernatural power, and no moral imperative; they offer no redemption, and have no possibility of belief m the Holy Spirit. The Christian must live better than the Marxian Communist; he must out-think the scientific humanist, and he must out-love those whose zeal and ideals fall short of the love of God m Christ and the Christian response to that love. 9. The responsibilty of the Church to the non-Christian world which the Evangelical Revival of the eighteenth century brought home to the individual believer has m these days passed into a recognition of the corporate responsibility of the Church. The Conference rejoices that the Church of England is endeavouring to give official fulfilment of that duty. Nevertheless, the ultimate impulse must be looked for m the devotion of the individual Christian, and is still m practice the task and privilege of the members of the Church personally. 10. The Conference sums up its findings with the solemn recognition that the overmastering responsibility and obligation of the Church is to God Himself-^the personal and gracious Lord, Who gave the Son of His Love for the life of the world. The Church stands under the judgment of the Word of God, and the Recall to Religion must be the recall of the Church to the living God of revelation. — Australian Church Record.