RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 781, 2 April 1910, Page 9

RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY.

CHRISTIANITY AND MODERN THOUCHT. PHILOSOPHY, SCIENCE, AND THEOLOGY. : ■ An event of more than passing, in-, terest to educationists was that held at the Y.M.C.A. Hall, Sydney, .recently, .when the Rev. G. W. Thatcher, M.A., 8.D., 'the new warden of Cam'den. College, was inducted into his charge. The president of the council, tho Rev. G.' Campbell,, presided. .: '-.-'. The , Rev. G. W. Thatcher, in his inaugural, address, dealt particularly with tho advance in scholarship during his 20 years at Oxford. To them theological , scholarship was naturally the most im- I portant and the.most interesting. He was happy : to inaugurate his first public appearance in Sydney as warden of. a theological college that proposed to :use the best'results : of' theological scholarship for the highest purposes of religious life. He purposed to briefly depict.the movements (with some mention of their leaders) which were, influencing the thought and action of the .religious life'of England. Summing up; briefly the theological movements ..during the : last;2o years, he contended that- !■ on the academic ; side there had ..been much-advance.--The introduction of the: study of comparative .religion into -the ."University, curriculum was leading dis'tinguished laymen to an interest in theological studies; it was widening the interest of - the Christian theologian, and was.giving new power to missionaries and those interested in Bible So-.-ciety work. In tho East discovery and exploration wero making the history of the-Old Testament and the New Testament live again. In Egypt the discoveries of papyri were explaining much that was difficult in the languago of the New Testament. The gap in the history of the. Jewish thought, between the exile aud the time or Christ, was. being rapidly filled!. Scholars in Old and. New.Testament literature.werd finding and telling new and- unexpected mean- ■ ings in the sacred writings. Scholars in Church liistory were providing the world with, accurate .tests of .the eady Church writings , ; were, 'writing fuller accounts of the Reformation and.the reformers';, had given a bettor history.of. the. British Church,' arid the claim of 'Free Church origins to' enter .the realm oi history was now fully recognised. (Applause.) So far as theology proper was" concerned, proper' attention was being directed to tho Fatherhood of God,' and to Christ as the centre of Christianity. Tho questions of philosophy and science were being met, if only in a- tentative way, and the conviction was crowing that .philosophy, • science, and theology must work together in-the cause* of truth. (Applause.) In. the practical realm the Church hade recognised its -duty towards the claims of citizenship,' and was teaching that all true political and economic reform must meet with the-, sympathy of and be guided by Christ's teaching. Tho claims of the poor had been made more prominent. Worship had assumed new forms to meet'the needs of the present; day; At the same time,-a;-new desire for reverence, order, and dignity had come into tho : regular services of the Church. , Above all, Jhis new seriousness had.laid hold of the young men of the universities, ■ and a manly type of devoted Christianity had made itself .felt, and. : bad immense possibilities for good. (Applause.) ..,.'.•''

Dealing with the work of the late Max Minler;'" : regaffied-fas,the founder of the study of comparative religion in England, '.Mr. ' Thatcher, said- that so great had.',been'his influence that the 'recent congress of religions attracted over .600 members. Several scientific 1 works were written by English scholars on the subject, while in Manchester a professorship- of comparative religion was established. The alarm of Christians at treating Christianity as one of tho religious of the world, instead, of the religion, was passing away, and the new departure was recognised as one of the great theological acquisitions of our own tinies. • '

After dealing skilfully with the value of anthropology as , an., aid to studentsof early,; religions, the - speaker', discoursed upon the fascinating stud£; of archaeology, arid; the results' which accrued from latter-day exploration in , Palestine, Babylonia,, and ' Assyria. Egypt also . had, .yielded unexpected treasures m this department of knowledge. It was true that, the last 20 years had been largely given to the study of history and archaeology; still, the study of literature had advanced in a marked manner. (Applause.) . ,