AN INTERESTED' HEADER.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 888, 6 August 1910, Page 10

AN INTERESTED' HEADER.

Sir,—Tour correspondent, "Theist," is a truly wonderful logician, judging from his letter in your, columns, of the 30th ultimo, and I am unable to accept his unauthenticatcd figures as proving anything except a kind of puerile' reasoning which should be entirely absent in mattors of import. His murder statistics do not help him in the slightest, under the new heading, "Religion versus Morality." I will' take his figures as read and quote them, maximum ' against minimum. Italy, he states, has 7G murders per million inhabitants, while we, in New Zealand, barely have two per million. Well, what of it? Italy has had secular education • established' for a longer period than we, and she also has denominational schools similar to, New Zealand. And Italy has also a most virulont system 'of irreligion. Sho has also an organised band of knights of the stiletto, whom your correspondent holds up to view. This fact proves nothing, as I have read a great deal of thoir doings, and my ; gleanings are that the members are of the most, illiterate class, and not by any stretch of imagination representative of the Italian nation. To infer such would bo 1 a gross libel, and evidences a very superficial and cursory knowledge. Surely , "Theist" does not wish your readers to believe that' religion propagates the doctrine of murder? ■ ].s not this species of crime peculiarly temperamental? Would any thoughtful person druam of stating .that religion is morality? I do not, but still, I-uuhesl-tatingly state that religion teaches the very highest form of morality, and, furtiler, that religion and immorality do not go hand in hand. Show me a criminal, and then you generally produce a "scoifcr," a "sceptic,' and tho creature who - looks on Religion as something for old women;: .The greatest lights thai: have illumined the paths of science and . art were conscientious religious persons. The present generation is under a very heavy debt of gratitude to tnetn. For "Theist's" edification I will quote a few. In medical scicnce wo havo Harveyi "the discoverer of the circulation of tho blood, the renowned Louis I'asteur, tho chemist-bacteriologist, Sir Dominic Corrigan, Stokes and Graves, Schwann, who established tho cell theory, Claude Bernard,' the- eini'nent'f iiliysfologist; then thero are Johannes Miillcr and Nicolaus iU.imseii, nttoJ wMm ducts havo been named which ' are familiar' to every medical stndent. ..Auenbrugger gave tho theory of percussion to the medical world, Jennor, tho discoverer. of vaccination,' and Laennee, who discovered the stethoscope. These were very practical Christian ■lights. Elcctrical science also includes these bright Christian lights: Galvani, Volta, Ampere, Ohin, and Faraday, and I must not forget to mention theso eminent lights in the same category of practical Christians: M. and Madam Curie, Marconi, Lord Kelvin, Hertz, and Rontgon. Then there is the inventor of printing,. Johanu Gutenberg, whos'o first glory was the printing of the Bible. I now pertinently turn to "Theist" and ask him to. .name even a half-dozen of his ilk, who havo ever done anything in tho causo of humanity, compared with those persons above mentioned. His peculiar form of reasoning lands him in trouble when he quotes the case of Isabella Anderson, who died lately. He asks: "Where wero our clerics then?" I return. Iho query, and aSk where were he and his friends who prate so much about humanity? He has a very cursory knowlegde of humanitarianism, even in Wellington, so that it is not to be wondered at that his knowledge of foreign affairs is so cursory and hazy. Ho does not know of the ' many Christian associations here who are doing so much for the alienation of -sufferers. The Salvation Army rescue work has no room in his mind, and then it would be worth his while to visit Mother Aubert's Homes for the Incurable at Island Bay and Buckle Street. He will-fico something practical without any political or worldly glory attached thereto.

I thank "Theist" for his information as to Sir' Robert Stout being an "agnostic," and that he, Sir Robert, takes olt his hut to the universe. But, sir,' thero is nothing very "moduli," "advanced," nor novel,. in this information, which, no doubt, is authentic. Why, even tho aavagis who has no hat to take off, recognises a "supremo being," and our forefathers, in Britain, who useil to subsist on herbs and roots, looked forward to a future happy limiting ground— "Valhalla." "Theist" should got hold of some fairly good primer on logic, and Study it carofully, and lie, no doubt, would get away from tho unreasoning habit of taking single instances, and drawing general inferences therefrom. He falls an easy victim to a general and open-minded writer, It will be nows to your correspondent that Mis» li'loreniu Nightingale is a . devout Christian, and was largely encouraged by the Church in her noble work. Also that his ideas of religion and iuorality uro' about fifteen hundred years old, but the votaries colled themselves "Pelagians." In conclusion, "Theist" cannot say that the Council of Churches has neglected its duty in the creation of a cleaner, nobler, aud purer morality in its consistent battle against gambling and drink. It is a strange fact that the Church, despite the assertions to the. contrary, has won big victories against drink, and is now going n step further in the interests of morality, by waging a war against indecent plays and pictures. We very seldom find the secularist in the van—he is always fur behind, and, in many instances, forms the nucleus of opposition to the purification and betterment of the coarse tastes which are taking hold of our, people. If he would co-operate with tho Rev. Sir. North and Dr. Gibb, he would lie doing something worth while writing about, and ho would not dabble in the I criminal statistics of New Zealand, or any other country, which arc based upon the unsworn testimony of criminals. On this point I would commend him to the guidance of tho Rev. C. J., Venning. Finally, I can assuro "Theist" that I am not a "cleric," hut an open-minded student of the world's history by authentic writers—l am, etc., VERITAS. Wellington, August 1, 1910,

Sir, —In a letter signed "Theist" on July 30 thero are points I desiro to make a few i remarks upon, by your kind permission. First, I think tho heading chosen is absurd, becauso religion, as generally understood, is the parent of morality, which is not of spontaneous birth. I am dealing with true Christian religion as taught in tho AVord of God by Jesus Christ Himself and His inspired Apostles. Referring to the condition of France, "Thirst" is not correct in stating sho has practically expelled Christianity, because she is endeavouring to cot tho Church to

attend to .'spiritual- matters only, instead of trying to. overrule the State. I tlunk the figures quoted as to ratio or murders in European countries iiidi— cato clearly that England and Germany, being the lowest, are more under th'o influence of religion, and therefore that those nations are really more Christian than those with higher figures; tlio number of priests and teachers with, ever so, many Churches in this comparison does not count—it is the effect that proves the quality of the tcachin" Referring to General Booth's noble "work he threw away nothing of religion which < ho already had, but found his Church, conncction not flexible enough, ai:d ho dimply founded an "order," as did St. Francis of Assissi, but ho never parted with an iota of his religion to work out his conception of what Christian people should do, to "work out" their own salvation, and invito all sorts, and conditions of men to first become Christians —not formal, but'real Christians—and then lire .the life and do the work o£ Christians, as the Gospel teaches men l to do.. The General and the Army invites all to "get saved" first, arid theii they will give the converts a sliaro o£ their work to do. It is not a new Gospel by any means, but it is a neiv ideal, that has wrought wonders; and tlio results commend it to all fair minds, that are not absolutely fanatical; and " I think a few more years will find tha Salvation Army plans will be ap-'-proved and established by all civilised 1 countries in the world. I mean their reform methods and industries. fortunately, I have not now time to go further into the letter of "Tlirist " be- : . y°. n d ?ayiug the noble work'of Florence fughtingale was undertaken and successful simply because she ivas a truly great Christian woman, full of desire to do good and to sympathiso with W man suffering—l am, etc., HIBERNIAN. P.S.—"Thirst" writes re our learned 1 Chief Justice, "has the courage to sas he is an Agnostic," etc. I can hardly believe that. Our King rules "by the grace of God"; our Governor rules by the same grace deputed by the King. How could Sir Robert take the necessary oath as Governor (acting) if were an Agnostic? [This correspondence is now closed.] :