Anzac Day Parade

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28264, 30 April 1957, Page 18

Anzac Day Parade

Sir, —“A Comrade” wants Anzac services in which i we do not notice that belief is a virtue and openmindedness a sin. He should be well satisfied. To ignore Scripture and reason is disastrous. We must start here to prepare for the next world or not be happy in the company of godly people there. The hymn, “I’ve tried in vain a thousand ways, but this I need, the . Bible says, is ever only Jesus,” written by a solider before being killed in action, reveals a hopeful mental outlook. Living or dying, trusting in the mercy and atonement of Jesus and clothed with His righteousness, not ours, we become fit for the company of the redeemed, a comrade indeed. To neglect or reject Christ, the only Saviour, cannot be offset by our patriotic sacrifices. —Yours, E. A. DENNIS. Hororata, April 29, 1957.

Sir, —The falling-off in the numbers attending the Anzac services may be attributed to the feeling that war as a method of settling disputes is totally inadequate. Also, there is always a great deal of emotion displayed by speakers at the functions, which the men who died, could they speak, would scoff at. There is no need for raising their prowess except as a means to making the next generation more willing to die for their country. Many of the war dead died horrible deaths, with not much glory. To cap everything, the speaker chosen for the last ceremony displayed sour hate for the Communists, something not very much in keeping with the best spirit of co-operation.—Yours, etc., P.J.A. April 29, 1957.