JUST THOUGHTS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 40, 1 February 1946, Page 5

JUST THOUGHTS

At a meeting of the Church, of Scotland’s Synod at Edinburgh, the Rev. David H. C. Read, C.F., Greenbank Churchy gave a warning against exaggerated estimates of the effect of the work done by chaplains with the forces, reports the Scotsman .

“There was,” he. said, “no -indication whatever of anything like a mass turning to God as a result of war experiences. The proportion of serving men and women who showed a deep concern over things of, 'the spirit and an active Christian witness was very much, the same as in ,the average parish at home.

“One of the most striking revelations to chaplains had been the enormous ignorance of the basic elements of the Christian faith. Did they fully realise how little they could take for granted today? It was impossible to. count on a prior acquaintance with even the, most well known characters of the Bible stories.

“Phrases that seemed to the chaplains crystal clear in their sermons were not mule.rstodo. The prayers might often as well be in Greek or Hebrew for all they meant to those who were not regular church habitues. For minds saturated with tlve terminology of the picture house, the football pool, a^a 1 the barrackroom a lot of what they said had no meaning.”