Thoughtful Moments

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 44, 28 January 1944, Page 2

Thoughtful Moments

(Supplied by the Whakatp

RELIGION IN RUSSIA

The report of the Archbishop of York on his return from :i ten days' visit to Russia lias made the position of religion in Russia mm-h clearer. M gives a picture, of church services in Moscow and in a country church. Dr Garbett does not say whether those services were special senvkres* 01* whether they were ordinary services, but the ill roe hours service in Moscow was- obvi" ously of a special nature. Even so a congregation of 10,,000 people is a signiiieant number of people even in a large city like Moscow. The Archbishop deprecates the use of the term "religious revival" as describing the situation, and insists that the worshippers are Christians who maintained their faith through tht; days of persecution, suppression and ridicule. Large numbers' of the Russian people have been affected by the propaganda of the Godless societies and. the State is definitely non-religious. From Dr Garbe.tt's report it. is clear that some important gains have. Ixeen achieved. Although Godless societies still exist, anti-religi-ous propaganda has come to an end. The ridiculing of religion is discouraged, and, is increasingly regarded as bad form, while the place religion has played, in the history of the nation is respected and is portrayed on the screen and. on the stage. Church worship is fully allowed and the approval of M. Stalin of the election of the Patriarch and the. summoning of the Council ol Bishops is a great step forward. Nevertheless the Church is not free in the full sense in which wc understand freedom. Religious propaganda is not permitted. Although a religious magazine is being published,, it has an extraordinarily low circulation of 10,000. and its contents must have State approval. The fact that the. approval of the State is necessary before the Council of Bishops can be summoned is itself a proof of the lack of freedom which we possess in this country, and that the work of the Church is performed under grave disadvantages. It is clear, therefore, that the recent development in Russia arc a step in the right direction, but only a step. So long as the. Church does not possess the right of propagating her gospel in the community,

ne Ministers' Association).

OUR SUNDAY MESSAGE

CHURCH ''WAR CORRESPONDENTS"

.so long must her effective work be hampered. While the unfair advantage which the Godless Union had with its sole right of propaganda lias been removed, it would be better still if both the atheist, and the Church should possess the right to express leir view openly and unhampered. Freedom for all is a priceless heritage, and the Church would never insist that it should possess a privilege denied to others. The truth can never be afraid of opposition, and, indeed, can only progress as it meets such opposition frankly and courageously. Honest controversy j.s a desirable thing. We can rejoice with the Russian Church that a great, advance has been made, and share with it the prayer that. the. day is near when it will take its full place in the life of the people. The real battle has yet to be won. The relations; of the Church and the. State always involve problems of the utmost importance and, unless they are. solv-' ed in some measure the Church cannot do its work efficiently or elfective.ly. The words of our Lord apply with equal force to the State and to the Church : Render to Caesar the things, that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's.

Mr Hugh Redwood spoke, lo a large audience at the centenary of Oldbury Congregational Church, England, on the duty of glorifying God in one's own job. He. showed how it could be done by telling his hearers how the discovery of Christ as a living reality had. transformed a hard-boiled newspaper man's work even in middle life. His business., lie said, was news; and the Chris* tian Church had the greatest news of all if she would only get it across. Jiut Christ coukl also lie served by every other man in that calling to which his life was given. Sincere, direct and informal. Mr Redwood has the journalist's knack of "getting it across," and. his talk made a deep impression. He urged that every church should have its own "war correspondent" with hot news l'rom the. religious front, and spoke of the privilege of giving even a short but vital message onco a week to a large number ctf read-