THE LORD'S DAY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1482, 3 July 1912, Page 5

THE LORD'S DAY.

"NON-CHRISTIAN OBSERVANCE."

THE NEMESIS APPROACHING. "1 cannot help regarding tho present ii-creasing non-Christian observance oi Sunday as being almost equivalent to the deliberate abandonment of Christianity, remarked. Dr. Sprott, llishop of Wellington, in his presidential address itt -he opening of the annual meeting of tho Wellington Synod yesterday. "Chnrcngcing on Sunday may He but a small part of what is meant by Christian living, and of course it. is quite possible to lie a regular attendant at church ami to bo neither iu heart nor life a Christian. But to also is singing the National Antl.eiii and saluting the flag a small part of what is meant by loyalty and patriotism, end it is possible to do both without being eithtr loyal or patriotic. Nevertheless jhere arc times and occasions when the refusal to sing or to salute would be regarded by everyone as ipso facto disloyal and unpatriotic. Such a time would of course be when it was notorious that there were many disloyal alul unpatriotic pmons who were Haunting their disloyalty ami lack of patriotism. Even so there are times and occasions when 11011-cliiirch-goiiig may bo the very sign and pioof that 0110. has abandoned Christianity, and in my .opinion such a time is the i-VL'SMit, when .it is notorious that there <u-.' many pers-ans who have definitely renounced (ho Christian name, and not only so, but who arc also vigorously prosecut- i in,' an niiii-Christiaa propaganda. Tlio specifically Christian element in Sunday oh.-ervance is net cc.'nation of wcrk, but vcrship.'' Church's Hold of the Young. "Iu the prevailing nnn-Chri>iian obfn vnncoof Sunday, I find the chief cause of one grave evil, and a chief cause and symptom of another great evil. It is .1 Subject of constant complaint, that the Church, fail-, !o lelain its hold upon perhaps a majority of the children, who pass th.roll.7h its Sunday schools, and upon .at least a very considerable proportion of thoso who have lx-en confirmed, and who at the lime of confirmation seemed to he f'l ite sinccre. The blame for I his Male of tilings is usually thrown upon that unili.'inked but truly heroic, soul, the Stinrlay school teacher. who is supposed lo b'; woefully incompetent and futile. The tine explanation, of row-so, is that many of these scholars and cotilirmee- fcrlmig to film,lies tho elder moinl.--.-s of whii-ii never darken a church door, ns the savin;' IS. Is it. at all likely, is it rea'ouablV to expect tlio average boy or girl, Sunday by hundav, to attend 'e.hurc-h and Ilol'v Communion, when they sro (heir fathers and mothers and elder brother"; and siswrs lounpinjf about or {joins' picnicking, while the doinoitic as I to meal?, etc,, are entered not to suit the hours of worship,- but the exigencies oi' | sloth or pJeoMire? It j? not 1 to expect it. The nvrrajje hoy mnl «irl , havo not got flic strength of ch?.r-

acter which such a course demands. Wo niovo then in a most vicious circle. Numbers of our people still send their children tu Sunday School, and still expect them in duo eour.se to be confirmed, vjiile they themselves, by tlioir own irroligion, of which tlrair non-Christian observanco of Sunday is at once .-symptom and cause, nullify tho w.holo proceeding. Ho irreli-frio-n circles on from generation to generation.

Pursuit of Pleasure, "Tho sccond great evil of which the non-Christian observanco of tho lord's Day is tho most striking sign/' continued Dr. Sprott, "and to a larso extent also tho causa is tho inordinate pursuit of pleasure, so characteristic of our time. Has it occurred to you that in this inordinate pill-suit of pleasure, of which tho desecration of the Lord's Day is the symbol, ive have a chief cause—not the only cause, but—a chief cause of the present revolutionary unrc.-t .iinon# tho masses of tho people? They have before them tho spectacle of the educated, the well-to-do, more and more devoted to material enjoyment, feverishly striving to acquire iu order that they may spend Hie more upon tho elaborate machinery cf pleasure. They have not unnaturally come to think that enjoymont is the true emi, the true ambition, of life. They see that if only they had-a larger share of the fruits of toil, they too could reach that Real. They believe that at last tlioir opportunity has come. They too will enjoy themselves; but not at their own expensenot at t.heir own cxnense, at least in the first instance; thongli it iVill probably be nt their own expense in the end. So the Nemesis of pleasure-seeliins wealth is approaching, and, as tilie ancients figured, ner chariot is drawn by winged steeds. We'stand confessed Hedonists, vihoso cod is material happiness. And since the fourtcs of material happiness are a limited quantity, and not very evenly distributed, there will be a scramble. We are witii;essinj 'the tesinnins k>f -the scramble. Its end who can foresee?"